Davison County, South Dakota

County in South Dakota, United States

County in South Dakota

Davison County

County

Davison County Courthouse in Mitchell

Location within the U.S. state of South Dakota

South Dakota's location within the U.S.

Coordinates: 43°41′N 98°10′W﻿ / ﻿43.68°N 98.16°W﻿ / 43.68; -98.16
Country|  United States
State|  South Dakota
Founded| 1873 (created)
1874 (organized)
Seat| Mitchell
Largest city| Mitchell
Area

• Total

| 437 sq mi (1,130 km2)
• Land| 436 sq mi (1,130 km2)
• Water| 1.4 sq mi (4 km2)  0.3%
Population

(2020)

• Total

| 19,956

• Estimate

(2024)

| 19,907
• Density| 46/sq mi (18/km2)
Time zone| UTC−6 (Central)
• Summer (DST)| UTC−5 (CDT)
Congressional district| At-large
Website| www.davisoncounty.org

Davison County is a county in the U.S. state of South Dakota. As of the 2020 census, the population was 19,956, making it the 10th most populous county in South Dakota.[1] Its county seat is Mitchell.[2] The county was created in 1873 and organized in 1874.[3] It was named for Henry C. Davison, the first settler in the county.[4]

Davison County is part of the Mitchell, SD Micropolitan Statistical Area.

## History

[edit]

The area's first settlement occurred in 1871 in "Firesteel Creek"; the settlers were Herman Cady Greene and John Head. Greene brought lumber from Yankton in 1872 and built a frame house. The small community which grew around this house was called Firesteel. It became part of a county created by the territorial legislature in 1873.

In 1881 the territorial legislature met and considered two bills redefining the boundaries of Hanson and Davison Counties. They considered adjusting the two counties' boundaries by either combining the two, or changing their method of separation. A public vote determined to add four townships to the west, and split the two previous counties down the middle.

The settlement originally called "Arlandton" was renamed "Mount Vernon" in 1882; by 1883 it boasted a hardware store, a livery stable, lumber yard, drugstore, cigar maker, and a hotel.[5]

During the latter part of the nineteenth century the county was served by railroad spur lines.[6] By the mid-twentieth century, those lines had been abandoned and removed.[7]

## Geography

[edit]

The terrain of Davison County consists of rolling hills. Its area is largely devoted to agriculture. The James River flows south-southeastward through the NE portion of the county. A local drainage flows eastward through the upper quarter of the county, terminating in Lake Mitchell, north of the city of Mitchell.[7] The terrain slopes to the east, and rises toward its SW corner. Its highest point is on the western portion of its southern border, at 1,667 ft (508 m) ASL.[8]

The county has a total area of 437 square miles (1,130 km2), of which 436 square miles (1,130 km2) is land and 1.4 square miles (3.6 km2) (0.3%) is water.[9] It is the fourth-smallest county in South Dakota by area.

### Major highways

[edit]

* Interstate 90
* South Dakota Highway 37
* South Dakota Highway 42

### Transit

[edit]

* Jefferson Lines

### Adjacent counties

[edit]

* Sanborn County \- north
* Hanson County \- east
* Hutchinson County \- southeast
* Douglas County \- southwest
* Aurora County \- west

## Demographics

[edit]

Historical population Census| Pop.| Note| %±

|
|
|

1880| 1,256| | —
1890| 5,449| | 333.8%
1900| 7,483| | 37.3%
1910| 11,625| | 55.4%
1920| 14,139| | 21.6%
1930| 16,821| | 19.0%
1940| 15,336| | −8.8%
1950| 16,522| | 7.7%
1960| 16,681| | 1.0%
1970| 17,319| | 3.8%
1980| 17,820| | 2.9%
1990| 17,503| | −1.8%
2000| 18,741| | 7.1%
2010| 19,504| | 4.1%
2020| 19,956| | 2.3%
2024 (est.)| 19,907| [10]| −0.2%
U.S. Decennial Census[11]
1790–1960[12] 1900–1990[13]
1990–2000[14] 2010–2020[1]

### 2020 census

[edit]

As of the 2020 census, there were 19,956 people, 8,581 households, and 4,983 families residing in the county.[15] The population density was 45.8 inhabitants per square mile (17.7/km2). There were 9,484 housing units.

### 2010 census

[edit]

As of the 2010 census, there were 19,504 people, 8,296 households, and 4,892 families in the county. The population density was 44.8 inhabitants per square mile (17.3/km2). There were 8,852 housing units at an average density of 20.3 per square mile (7.8/km2). The racial makeup of the county was 94.4% white, 2.5% American Indian, 0.5% Asian, 0.4% black or African American, 0.1% Pacific islander, 0.5% from other races, and 1.6% from two or more races. Those of Hispanic or Latino origin made up 1.5% of the population. In terms of ancestry, 51.8% were German, 10.6% were Norwegian, 10.1% were Irish, 7.4% were English, 6.0% were Dutch, and 4.5% were American.

Of the 8,296 households, 28.1% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 46.6% were married couples living together, 8.5% had a female householder with no husband present, 41.0% were non-families, and 34.3% of all households were made up of individuals. The average household size was 2.26 and the average family size was 2.91. The median age was 37.8 years.

The median income for a household in the county was $41,867 and the median income for a family was $54,677. Males had a median income of $37,688 versus $26,223 for females. The per capita income for the county was $22,794. About 6.9% of families and 13.8% of the population were below the poverty line, including 12.1% of those under age 18 and 10.4% of those age 65 or over.

## Communities

[edit]

### Cities

[edit]

* Mitchell (county seat)
* Mount Vernon

### Town

[edit]

* Ethan

### Census-designated place

[edit]

* Loomis

### Townships

[edit]

* Badger Township
* Baker Township
* Beulah Township
* Blenden Township
* Tobin Township
* Lisbon Township
* Mitchell Township
* Mount Vernon Township
* Perry Township
* Prosper Township
* Rome Township
* Union Township

## Politics

[edit]

Davison County voters traditionally vote Republican in presidential elections, but Bill Clinton managed to pick up a plurality of the county's vote in 1992, and 20 years earlier it gave a majority of its votes to losing Democratic candidate George McGovern, who was brought up in the county seat of Mitchell.

United States presidential election results for Davison County, South Dakota[16] Year  | Republican | Democratic | Third party(ies)

|
|
|

No. | % | No. | % | No. | %
2024 | 6,208  | 67.65% | 2,743  | 29.89%  | 226  | 2.46%
2020 | 5,613  | 66.39% | 2,648  | 31.32%  | 193  | 2.28%
2016 | 5,157  | 64.85% | 2,355  | 29.62%  | 440  | 5.53%
2012 | 4,757  | 59.68% | 3,042  | 38.16%  | 172  | 2.16%
2008 | 4,731  | 55.96% | 3,554  | 42.03%  | 170  | 2.01%
2004 | 5,561  | 62.12% | 3,263  | 36.45%  | 128  | 1.43%
2000 | 4,445  | 59.05% | 2,936  | 39.00%  | 147  | 1.95%
1996 | 3,371  | 44.78% | 3,364  | 44.69%  | 793  | 10.53%
1992 | 3,111  | 38.19%  | 3,285  | 40.33% | 1,750  | 21.48%
1988 | 4,024  | 51.68% | 3,705  | 47.59%  | 57  | 0.73%
1984 | 4,783  | 59.43% | 3,248  | 40.36%  | 17  | 0.21%
1980 | 4,743  | 55.72% | 3,107  | 36.50%  | 662  | 7.78%
1976 | 3,688  | 44.71%  | 4,510  | 54.68% | 50  | 0.61%
1972 | 3,796  | 44.50%  | 4,710  | 55.21% | 25  | 0.29%
1968 | 3,869  | 50.12% | 3,585  | 46.44%  | 265  | 3.43%
1964 | 2,789  | 36.46%  | 4,861  | 63.54% | 0  | 0.00%
1960 | 4,105  | 49.98%  | 4,108  | 50.02% | 0  | 0.00%
1956 | 4,056  | 51.57% | 3,809  | 48.43%  | 0  | 0.00%
1952 | 4,774  | 59.67% | 3,227  | 40.33%  | 0  | 0.00%
1948 | 2,996  | 42.03%  | 4,064  | 57.01% | 68  | 0.95%
1944 | 2,929  | 47.62%  | 3,222  | 52.38% | 0  | 0.00%
1940 | 3,659  | 46.38%  | 4,230  | 53.62% | 0  | 0.00%
1936 | 2,510  | 32.16%  | 4,983  | 63.84% | 312  | 4.00%
1932 | 2,147  | 28.70%  | 5,233  | 69.96% | 100  | 1.34%
1928 | 3,821  | 58.15% | 2,729  | 41.53%  | 21  | 0.32%
1924 | 2,801  | 51.71% | 578  | 10.67%  | 2,038  | 37.62%
1920 | 2,605  | 54.16% | 1,105  | 22.97%  | 1,100  | 22.87%
1916 | 1,516  | 50.48% | 1,374  | 45.75%  | 113  | 3.76%
1912 | 0  | 0.00%  | 1,266  | 45.28%  | 1,530  | 54.72%
1908 | 1,276  | 50.92% | 1,081  | 43.14%  | 149  | 5.95%
1904 | 1,626  | 68.84% | 506  | 21.42%  | 230  | 9.74%
1900 | 853  | 50.27% | 782  | 46.08%  | 62  | 3.65%
1896 | 616  | 45.13%  | 733  | 53.70% | 16  | 1.17%
1892 | 569  | 42.81%  | 120  | 9.03%  | 640  | 48.16%

## See also

[edit]

* National Register of Historic Places listings in Davison County, South Dakota

## References

[edit]

1. ^ a b "State & County QuickFacts". United States Census Bureau. Retrieved March 21, 2024.
2. ^ "Find a County". National Association of Counties. Archived from the original on May 31, 2011. Retrieved June 7, 2011.
3. ^ "Dakota Territory, South Dakota, and North Dakota: Individual County Chronologies". Dakota Territory Atlas of Historical County Boundaries. The Newberry Library. 2006. Archived from the original on April 2, 2018. Retrieved March 29, 2015.
4. ^ Gannett, Henry (1905). The Origin of Certain Place Names in the United States. Govt. Print. Off. p. 101.
5. ^ A Brief History of Davison County (accessed February 1, 2019)
6. ^ American Rails/South Dakota (accessed February 1, 2019)
7. ^ a b Davison County SD Google Maps (accessed February 1, 2019)
8. ^ ""Find an Altitude" Google Maps (accessed February 1, 2019)". Archived from the original on May 21, 2019. Retrieved February 2, 2019.
9. ^ "2010 Census Gazetteer Files". United States Census Bureau. August 22, 2012. Retrieved March 24, 2015.
10. ^ "County Population Totals and Components of Change: 2020-2024". Retrieved March 15, 2025.
11. ^ "U.S. Decennial Census". United States Census Bureau. Retrieved July 20, 2014.
12. ^ "Historical Census Browser". University of Virginia Library. 2007. Archived from the original on December 12, 2009. Retrieved July 20, 2014.
13. ^ Forstall, Richard L. (March 27, 1995). "Population of Counties by Decennial Census: 1900 to 1990". United States Census Bureau. Archived from the original on February 19, 1999. Retrieved July 20, 2014.
14. ^ "Census 2000 PHC-T-4. Ranking Tables for Counties: 1990 and 2000" (PDF). United States Census Bureau. Archived (PDF) from the original on March 27, 2010. Retrieved July 20, 2014.
15. ^ "US Census Bureau, Table P16: Household Type". United States Census Bureau. Retrieved March 21, 2024.
16. ^ Leip, David. "Atlas of US Presidential Elections". uselectionatlas.org. Retrieved April 15, 2018.

## External links

[edit]

* Davison County, SD government website

Places adjacent to Davison County, South Dakota

|  | Sanborn County |

|
|

|  |
Aurora County |

Davison County, South Dakota

| Hanson County
|  |
Douglas County |
| Hutchinson County

* v
* t
* e

Municipalities and communities of Davison County, South Dakota, United States

County seat: Mitchell

City|

* Mitchell
* Mount Vernon

Town|

* Ethan

CDP|

* Loomis

* South Dakota portal
* United States portal

* v
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* e

State of South Dakota

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Larger incorporated places
pop. over 5,000|

* Aberdeen
* Belle Fourche
* Box Elder
* Brandon
* Brookings
* Harrisburg
* Huron
* Madison
* Mitchell
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* Rapid City
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Smaller incorporated places
pop. 1,000 - 5,000|

* Aurora
* Baltic
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* Britton
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* Piedmont
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* Redfield
* Salem
* Sisseton
* Springfield
* Summerset
* Tyndall
* Volga
* Wagner
* Webster
* Winner

Largest CDPs
pop. over 1,000|

* Blackhawk
* Colonial Pine Hills
* Dakota Dunes
* Fort Thompson
* Green Valley
* North Eagle Butte
* North Spearfish
* Oglala
* Pine Ridge
* Rapid Valley
* Rosebud

Counties|

* Aurora
* Beadle
* Bennett
* Bon Homme
* Brookings
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* Charles Mix
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* Codington
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* Gregory
* Haakon
* Hamlin
* Hand
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* Hughes
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* Hyde
* Jackson
* Jerauld
* Jones
* Kingsbury
* Lake
* Lawrence
* Lincoln
* Lyman
* Marshall
* McCook
* McPherson
* Meade
* Mellette
* Miner
* Minnehaha
* Moody
* Oglala Lakota
* Pennington
* Perkins
* Potter
* Roberts
* Sanborn
* Spink
* Stanley
* Sully
* Todd
* Tripp
* Turner
* Union
* Walworth
* Yankton
* Ziebach

South Dakota portal

43°41′N 98°10′W﻿ / ﻿43.68°N 98.16°W﻿ / 43.68; -98.16

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