Beadle County, South Dakota

History

Beadle County, named in honor of Brigadier General William Henry Harrison Beadle, was created by the Dakota Territory Legislature in 1879 and formally organized in 1880 with the appointment of three county commissioners by Governor Nehemiah G. Ordway. The first town within Beadle County was Cavour, but Huron was named the county seat when the county commissioners first met there in July 1880.

Geography

According to the U.S. Census Bureau, the county has a total area of 1,265 square miles (3,280 km²), of which 1,259 square miles (3,260 km²) is land and 6.1 square miles (16 km²) (0.5%) is water.

Major highways

Adjacent counties

2000 census

As of the census of 2000, there were 17,023 people, 7,210 households, and 4,535 families residing in the county. The population density was 14 people per square mile (5/km²). There were 8,206 housing units at an average density of 6 per square mile (3/km²). The racial makeup of the county was 96.93% White, 0.69% Black or African American, 0.95% Native American, 0.31% Asian, 0.02% Pacific Islander, 0.26% from other races, and 0.85% from two or more races. 0.91% of the population were Hispanic or Latino of any race. 49.9% were of German, 11.7% Norwegian, 6.1% Irish, 5.8% English and 5.5% United States or American ancestry.

There were 7,210 households out of which 28.30% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 52.50% were married couples living together, 7.40% had a female householder with no husband present, and 37.10% were non-families. 33.10% of all households were made up of individuals and 15.00% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 2.30 and the average family size was 2.94.

In the county, the population was spread out with 24.70% under the age of 18, 8.30% from 18 to 24, 24.70% from 25 to 44, 23.00% from 45 to 64, and 19.40% who were 65 years of age or older. The median age was 40 years. For every 100 females there were 96.60 males. For every 100 females age 18 and over, there were 93.70 males.

The median income for a household in the county was $30,510, and the median income for a family was $40,596. Males had a median income of $26,910 versus $19,785 for females. The per capita income for the county was $17,832. About 7.90% of families and 11.90% of the population were below the poverty line, including 14.20% of those under age 18 and 12.30% of those age 65 or over.

2010 census

As of the 2010 United States Census, there were 17,398 people, 7,276 households, and 4,509 families residing in the county. The population density was 13.8 inhabitants per square mile (5.3/km²). There were 8,304 housing units at an average density of 6.6 per square mile (2.5/km²). The racial makeup of the county was 89.7% white, 3.6% Asian, 1.1% American Indian, 0.8% black or African American, 0.1% Pacific islander, 3.0% from other races, and 1.6% from two or more races. Those of Hispanic or Latino origin made up 7.7% of the population. In terms of ancestry, 45.4% were German, 11.7% were Norwegian, 10.3% were Irish, 8.8% were English, and 4.1% were American.

Of the 7,276 households, 28.6% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 49.5% were married couples living together, 8.3% had a female householder with no husband present, 38.0% were non-families, and 33.0% of all households were made up of individuals. The average household size was 2.31 and the average family size was 2.92. The median age was 41.2 years.

The median income for a household in the county was $40,716 and the median income for a family was $56,288. Males had a median income of $37,020 versus $25,824 for females. The per capita income for the county was $23,409. About 6.3% of families and 13.1% of the population were below the poverty line, including 12.8% of those under age 18 and 12.5% of those age 65 or over.

Cities

Towns

Census-designated place

Townships

The county is divided into thirty-six townships: