Kingsbury County, South Dakota

Kingsbury County, South Dakota
Kingsbury County is a county in the U.S. state of South Dakota. As of the 2020 census, the population was 5,187. Its county seat is De Smet. The county was created in 1873, and was organized in 1880. It was named for brothers George W. and T. A. Kingsbury, descendants of the colonial English Kingsbury family in Boston, Massachusetts. They were prominently involved in the affairs of Dakota Territory and served as elected members of several Territorial Legislatures.
Geography
The terrain of Kingsbury County consists of low rolling hills. The central and east portions of the county hold numerous lakes and ponds. The land is largely devoted to agriculture. The terrain generally slopes to the southwest, and the highest point is near the midpoint of the east boundary line, at ASL. The county has a total area of , of which is land and (6.2%) is water.
Lakes
Cherry Lake
Mud Lake
Lake Albert
Lake Badger
Lake Henry
Lake Iroquois
Lake Preston
Lake Thisted
Lake Thompson
Lake Whitewood
Osceola Lake
Plum Lake
Spring Lake
Spirit Lake
Twin Lakes (partial)
Major highways
U.S. Highway 14
U.S. Highway 81
South Dakota Highway 25
Adjacent counties
Hamlin County – northeast
Brookings County – east
Lake County – southeast
Miner County – south
Sanborn County – southwest
Beadle County – west
Clark County – northwest
Protected areas
Arnold State Public Shooting Area
Demographics
Industrialization of agriculture and the attraction of urban areas have contributed to the decline in population of Kingsbury County, similar to what has occurred in other Plains rural areas. In 2010 it had less than half the population of its peak in 1930, before the Dust Bowl and the Great Depression.
2020 census
As of the census of 2020, there were 5,187 people.
2010 census
As of the census of 2010, there were 5,148 people, 2,222 households, and 1,418 families in the county. The population density was . There were 2,720 housing units at an average density of . The racial makeup of the county was 98.1% white, 0.5% American Indian, 0.3% Asian, 0.1% black or African American, 0.3% from other races, and 0.8% from two or more races. Those of Hispanic or Latino origin made up 1.4% of the population. In terms of European ancestry, 42.8% were German, 25.5% were Norwegian, 10.9% were Danish, 9.6% were Irish, 7.2% were English, and 3.5% were American.
Of the 2,222 households, 24.3% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 55.6% were married couples living together, 5.0% had a female householder with no husband present, 36.2% were non-families, and 32.2% of all households were made up of individuals. The average household size was 2.23 and the average family size was 2.81. The median age was 47.1 years.
The median income for a household in the county was $44,948 and the median income for a family was $56,925. Males had a median income of $35,585 versus $28,141 for females. The per capita income for the county was $24,660. About 7.0% of families and 9.2% of the population were below the poverty line, including 8.8% of those under age 18 and 10.8% of those age 65 or over.
Communities
Cities
De Smet (county seat)
Arlington (partial)
Iroquois (partial)
Lake Preston
Oldham
Towns
Badger
Bancroft
Erwin
Hetland
Census-designated place
Spring Lake Colony
Unincorporated communities
Esmond
Osceola
Ghost town
Manchester
Townships
Badger
Baker
De Smet
Denver
Esmond
Hartland
Iroquois
Le Sueur
Manchester
Mathews
Spirit Lake
Spring Lake
Whitewood
Notable people
Harvey Dunn - painter and professor of Fine Arts
Eugene Peter Knudsen - Minnesota state legislator and farmer
Theodore Schultz - Nobel prize winning economist
Laura Ingalls Wilder - author
Politics
Kingsbury County voters have been reliably Republican for decades. In only two national elections since 1932 has the county selected the Democratic Party candidate (as of 2020).
See also
National Register of Historic Places listings in Kingsbury County, South Dakota
References
External links
Official website
Further reading
Johnson, Lyle R. "Decades of Drought: A Year by Year-by-Year Account of Weather-Related Changes in 1930s Kingsbury County," South Dakota History 43 (Fall 2013), 218–44.
1880 establishments in Dakota Territory
Populated places established in 1880