Dewey County is a

county A county () is a geographic region of a country used for administrative or other purposesL. Brookes (ed.) '' Chambers Dictionary''. Edinburgh: Chambers Harrap Publishers Ltd, 2005. in some nations. The term is derived from the Old French denoti ...

in the

U.S. state In the United States, a state is a constituent political entity, of which there are 50. Bound together in a political union, each state holds governmental jurisdiction over a separate and defined geographic territory where it shares its so ...

South Dakota South Dakota (; Sioux language, Sioux: , ) is a U.S. state, state in the West North Central states, North Central region of the United States. It is also part of the Great Plains. South Dakota is named after the Dakota people, Dakota Sioux ...

. As of the 2020 census, the population was 5,239. Its

county seat A county seat is an administrative center, seat of government, or capital city of a county or parish (administrative division), civil parish. The term is in use in five countries: Canada, China, Hungary, Romania, and the United States. An equiva ...

is Timber Lake. The county was created in 1883 and organized in 1910. It was named for William P. Dewey, Territorial surveyor-general from 1873 to 1877. Almost the entire county lies in the

Cheyenne River Indian Reservation The Cheyenne River Indian Reservation was created by the United States in 1889 by breaking up the Great Sioux Reservation, following the attrition of the Lakota people, Lakota in a series of wars in the 1870s. The reservation covers almost ...

. The balance of the county, along its extreme northern county line, lies in the

Standing Rock Sioux Reservation The Standing Rock Sioux Tribe of North & South Dakota controls the Standing Rock Reservation (), which straddles the border between North and South Dakota in the United States, and is inhabited by ethnic " Hunkpapa and Sihasapa bands of Lak ...

. It is one of five South Dakota counties that are contained within

Indian reservations An American Indian reservation is an area of land land tenure, held and governed by a List of federally recognized tribes in the contiguous United States#Description, U.S. federal government-recognized Native American tribal nation, whose gov ...

Geography

The Moreau River flows east-northeasterly through the upper central parts of Dewey County, discharging into the

Missouri River The Missouri River is a river in the Central United States, Central and Mountain states, Mountain West regions of the United States. The nation's longest, it rises in the eastern Centennial Mountains of the Bitterroot Range of the Rocky Moun ...

near the county's NE corner. Smaller drainages move runoff water northward from the central-eastern portions to the Missouri River, discharging near the community of Promise. A significant arm of the Missouri River forms the county's southeastern border. The county terrain consists of rolling hills, sloping southeastward and dropping off into the Missouri River basin. The county has a total area of , of which is land and (5.8%) is water. The eastern portion of South Dakota's counties (48 of 66) observe Central Time; the western counties (18 of 66) observe

Mountain Time The Mountain Time Zone of North America keeps time by subtracting seven hours from Coordinated Universal Time (UTC) when standard time ( UTC−07:00) is in effect, and by subtracting six hours during daylight saving time ( UTC−06:00). The clo ...

. Dewey County is the easternmost of the SD counties to observe Mountain Time.

Major highways

* U.S. Highway 212 * South Dakota Highway 20 * South Dakota Highway 63 * South Dakota Highway 65

Adjacent counties

* Corson County – north * Walworth County – northeast (observes Central Time) * Potter County – east (observes Central Time) * Sully County – southeast (observes Central Time) * Stanley County – south * Ziebach County – west

Protected Areas

* Firesteel Dam State Game Production Area * Isabel Lake State Game Production Area * Little Moreau State Game Production Area * Little Moreau State Recreation Area

Lakes

* Lake Isabel *

Lake Oahe Lake Oahe () is a large reservoir behind the Oahe Dam on the Missouri River; it begins in central South Dakota and continues north into North Dakota in the United States. The lake has an area of and a maximum depth of . By volume, it is the four ...

(partial) * Little Moreau Lake

Demographics

2020 census

As of the 2020 census, there were 5,239 people, 1,705 households, and 1,180 families residing in the county. The

population density Population density (in agriculture: Standing stock (disambiguation), standing stock or plant density) is a measurement of population per unit land area. It is mostly applied to humans, but sometimes to other living organisms too. It is a key geog ...

was . There were 1,923 housing units.

2010 census

As of the 2010 census, there were 5,301 people, 1,730 households, and 1,239 families in the county. The population density was . There were 2,002 housing units at an average density of . The racial makeup of the county was 74.9% Native American, 21.0% white, 0.2% Asian, 0.1% black or African American, 0.2% from other races, and 3.6% from two or more races. Those of Hispanic or Latino origin made up 1.8% of the population. In terms of ancestry, 13.2% were

German German(s) may refer to: * Germany, the country of the Germans and German things **Germania (Roman era) * Germans, citizens of Germany, people of German ancestry, or native speakers of the German language ** For citizenship in Germany, see also Ge ...

, 6.5% were Irish, and 0.6% were American. Of the 1,730 households, 45.9% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 37.6% were married couples living together, 24.2% had a female householder with no husband present, 28.4% were non-families, and 24.6% of all households were made up of individuals. The average household size was 3.05 and the average family size was 3.60. The median age was 30.0 years. The median income for a household in the county was $33,255 and the median income for a family was $40,500. Males had a median income of $33,942 versus $28,594 for females. The per capita income for the county was $15,632. About 20.5% of families and 30.5% of the population were below the

poverty line The poverty threshold, poverty limit, poverty line, or breadline is the minimum level of income deemed adequate in a particular country. The poverty line is usually calculated by estimating the total cost of one year's worth of necessities for ...

, including 39.5% of those under age 18 and 13.5% of those age 65 or over.

Communities

Cities

* Eagle Butte (partial) * Timber Lake (county seat)

Town

Isabel Isabel is a female name of Iberian origin. Isabelle is a name that is similar, but it is of French origin. It originates as the medieval Spanish form of ''Elizabeth (given name), Elisabeth'' (ultimately Hebrew ''Elisheba''). Arising in the 12th c ...

Census-designated places

* Green Grass * La Plant * Lantry * North Eagle Butte * Swift Bird *

Whitehorse Whitehorse () is the capital of Yukon, and the largest city in Northern Canada. It was incorporated in 1950 and is located at kilometre 1426 (Historic Mile 918) on the Alaska Highway in southern Yukon. Whitehorse's downtown and Riverdale areas ...

Unincorporated communities

* Bear Creek * Firesteel * Glencross *

Parade A parade is a procession of people, usually organized along a street, often in costume, and often accompanied by marching bands, floats, or sometimes large balloons. Parades are held for a wide range of reasons, but are usually some variety ...

Promise A promise is a commitment by someone to do or not do something. As a noun ''promise'' means a declaration assuring that one will or will not do something. As a verb it means to commit oneself by a promise to do or give. It can also mean a capacity ...

* Ridgeview

Unorganized territories

The county is divided into two areas of unorganized territory: North Dewey and South Dewey.

Politics

Dewey has since the 1990s been a strongly Democratic county in solidly Republican South Dakota. The last Republican to carry the county was

Ronald Reagan Ronald Wilson Reagan (February 6, 1911 – June 5, 2004) was an American politician and actor who served as the 40th president of the United States from 1981 to 1989. He was a member of the Republican Party (United States), Republican Party a ...

in his 1984 landslide when he came within 3,761 votes of claiming all fifty states. Before this period, by contrast, Dewey was a Republican-leaning county even for South Dakota. Between its formation and 1984, Dewey had voted Democratic only in the three landslide Democratic wins of 1964, 1936 and 1932, plus for

Woodrow Wilson Thomas Woodrow Wilson (December 28, 1856February 3, 1924) was the 28th president of the United States, serving from 1913 to 1921. He was the only History of the Democratic Party (United States), Democrat to serve as president during the Prog ...

in 1916 when his anti-war policies had strong appeal in the West.

Education

School districts include:
Text list
/ref> * Dupree School District 64-2 *

Eagle Butte School District 20-1 Eagle Butte School District 20-1, is a school district with its headquarters in Eagle Butte, South Dakota. The district covers sections of Ziebach County and Dewey County. The district and the Bureau of Indian Education (BIE) jointly administ ...

* Timber Lake School District 20-3

References

{{authority control 1910 establishments in South Dakota Populated places established in 1910