Flandreau is a city in and

county seat A county seat is an administrative center, seat of government, or capital city of a county or civil parish. The term is in use in Canada, China, Hungary, Romania, Taiwan, and the United States. The equivalent term shire town is used in the US st ...

of Moody County,

South Dakota South Dakota (; Sioux language, Sioux: , ) is a U.S. 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 Lakota people, Lakota and Dakota peo ...

, United States. The population was 2,372 at the 2020 census. It was named in honor of Charles Eugene Flandrau, a judge in the territory and state of Minnesota. He is credited with saving the community of New Ulm,

Minnesota Minnesota () is a state in the upper midwestern region of the United States. It is the 12th largest U.S. state in area and the 22nd most populous, with over 5.75 million residents. Minnesota is home to western prairies, now given over to ...

, from destruction during conflict with the

Sioux The Sioux or Oceti Sakowin (; Dakota language, Dakota: Help:IPA, /otʃʰeːtʰi ʃakoːwĩ/) are groups of Native Americans in the United States, Native American tribes and First Nations in Canada, First Nations peoples in North America. The ...

tribe in 1862. In 2015, the nearby federally recognized

Flandreau Indian Reservation The Flandreau Indian Reservation is an Indian reservation, belonging to the Federally recognized tribe, federally recognized Flandreau Santee Sioux Tribe of South Dakota. They are Santee Dakota people, part of the Sioux tribe of Native Americans i ...

Santee Sioux The Dakota (pronounced , Dakota language: ''Dakȟóta/Dakhóta'') are a Native American tribe and First Nations band government in North America. They compose two of the three main subcultures of the Sioux people, and are typically divided into ...

had planned to open the nation's first recreational

marijuana Cannabis, also known as marijuana among other names, is a psychoactive drug from the cannabis plant. Native to Central or South Asia, the cannabis plant has been used as a drug for both recreational and entheogenic purposes and in various tra ...

lounge in a former bowling alley, close to its existing Royal River Casino and Hotel. Any tourists or non-tribal members using marijuana on tribal land risked state prosecution, so they abandoned the plan.

Geography

Flandreau is located at (44.047855, −96.596417), along the

Big Sioux River The Big Sioux River is a tributary of the Missouri River in eastern South Dakota and northwestern Iowa in the United States. It flows generally southwardly for ,U.S. Geological Survey. National Hydrography Dataset high-resolution flowline dataTh ...

. According to the

United States Census Bureau The United States Census Bureau (USCB), officially the Bureau of the Census, is a principal agency of the U.S. Federal Statistical System, responsible for producing data about the American people and economy. The Census Bureau is part of the ...

, the city has a total area of , of which is land and is water. Flandreau has been assigned the ZIP code 57028 and the

FIPS place code The Federal Information Processing Standards (FIPS) of the United States are a set of publicly announced standards that the National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST) has developed for use in computer systems of non-military, American ...

21540.

Climate

Demographics

2010 census

As of the

census A census is the procedure of systematically acquiring, recording and calculating information about the members of a given population. This term is used mostly in connection with national population and housing censuses; other common censuses incl ...

of 2010, there were 2,341 people, 973 households, and 583 families living in the city. The

population density Population density (in agriculture: 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 geographical term.Matt RosenberPopul ...

was . There were 1,091 housing units at an average density of . The racial makeup of the city was 64.2%

White White is the lightest color and is achromatic (having no hue). It is the color of objects such as snow, chalk, and milk, and is the opposite of black. White objects fully reflect and scatter all the visible wavelengths of light. White on ...

, 0.5%

African American African Americans (also referred to as Black Americans and Afro-Americans) are an ethnic group consisting of Americans with partial or total ancestry from sub-Saharan Africa. The term "African American" generally denotes descendants of ens ...

, 27.7% Native American, 2.3%

Asian Asian may refer to: * Items from or related to the continent of Asia: ** Asian people, people in or descending from Asia ** Asian culture, the culture of the people from Asia ** Asian cuisine, food based on the style of food of the people from Asi ...

, 1.5% from

other races Other often refers to: * Other (philosophy), a concept in psychology and philosophy Other or The Other may also refer to: Film and television * ''The Other'' (1913 film), a German silent film directed by Max Mack * ''The Other'' (1930 film), a ...

, and 3.8% from two or more races.

Hispanic The term ''Hispanic'' ( es, hispano) refers to people, Spanish culture, cultures, or countries related to Spain, the Spanish language, or Hispanidad. The term commonly applies to countries with a cultural and historical link to Spain and to Vic ...

Latino Latino or Latinos most often refers to: * Latino (demonym), a term used in the United States for people with cultural ties to Latin America * Hispanic and Latino Americans in the United States * The people or cultures of Latin America; ** Latin A ...

of any race were 3.5% of the population. There were 973 households, of which 29.4% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 39.6% were

married couples Marriage, also called matrimony or wedlock, is a culturally and often legally recognized union between people called spouses. It establishes rights and obligations between them, as well as between them and their children, and between t ...

living together, 12.8% had a female householder with no husband present, 7.5% had a male householder with no wife present, and 40.1% were non-families. 34.5% of all households were made up of individuals, and 15.8% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 2.35 and the average family size was 3.00. The median age in the city was 38.4 years. 25.9% of residents were under the age of 18; 8.2% were between the ages of 18 and 24; 22.3% were from 25 to 44; 25.1% were from 45 to 64; and 18.6% were 65 years of age or older. The gender makeup of the city was 47.3% male and 52.7% female.

2000 census

As of the

of 2000, there were 2,376 people, 986 households, and 605 families living in the city. The

was 1,370.9 people per square mile (530.3/km²). There were 1,090 housing units at an average density of 628.9 per square mile (243.3/km²). The racial makeup of the city was 70.62%

, 0.46%

, 24.92% Native American, 1.22%

, 0.08% from

, and 2.69% from two or more races.

of any race were 1.05% of the population. There were 986 households, out of which 30.5% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 43.6% were

living together, 12.7% had a female householder with no husband present, and 38.6% were non-families. 34.3% of all households were made up of individuals, and 18.5% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 2.35 and the average family size was 2.96. In the city, the population was spread out, with 26.4% under the age of 18, 8.7% from 18 to 24, 24.2% from 25 to 44, 20.0% from 45 to 64, and 20.8% who were 65 years of age or older. The median age was 38 years. For every 100 females, there were 88.9 males. For every 100 females age 18 and over, there were 84.1 males. As of 2000 the median income for a household in the city was $31,090, and the median income for a family was $40,272. Males had a median income of $26,369 versus $19,738 for females. The

per capita income Per capita income (PCI) or total income measures the average income earned per person in a given area (city, region, country, etc.) in a specified year. It is calculated by dividing the area's total income by its total population. Per capita i ...

for the city was $15,895. About 9.8% of families and 12.2% 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 t ...

, including 18.2% of those under age 18 and 10.9% of those age 65 or over.

Early history

The British established a

Hudson's Bay Company The Hudson's Bay Company (HBC; french: Compagnie de la Baie d'Hudson) is a Canadian retail business group. A fur trading business for much of its existence, HBC now owns and operates retail stores in Canada. The company's namesake business div ...

trading post in 1763 in this area. Present-day Flandreau developed near there, with people attracted to the community because of trading business. The town of Flandreau was originally settled in 1857, and named for U.S Indian Agent Charles E. Flandrau. (In the early years, it was sometimes spelled as 'Flandrau'.) Like other settlements in the region, it was abandoned within a year, as a result of threatening activities of the

Yankton Sioux The Dakota (pronounced , Dakota language: ''Dakȟóta/Dakhóta'') are a Native American tribe and First Nations band government in North America. They compose two of the three main subcultures of the Sioux people, and are typically divided into ...

during the Indian Wars. They were trying to expel European Americans from their territory. In 1869, following the American Civil War, the area was resettled by twenty-five families of

Christianized Christianization ( or Christianisation) is to make Christian; to imbue with Christian principles; to become Christian. It can apply to the conversion of an individual, a practice, a place or a whole society. It began in the Roman Empire, conti ...

Sioux from the

Santee Santee may refer to: People * Santee Dakota, a subgroup of the Dakota people, of the U.S. Great Plains * Santee (South Carolina), a Native American people of South Carolina Places * Lake Santee, Indiana, a reservoir and census-designated place * ...

reservation. White settlement resumed in 1872. When Moody County was organized in 1873, Flandreau was designated as the county seat.

Richard F. Pettigrew Richard Franklin Pettigrew (July 23, 1848October 5, 1926) was an American lawyer, surveyor, and land developer. He represented the Dakota Territory in the U.S. Congress and, after the Dakotas were admitted as States, he was the first U.S. Senato ...

Sioux Falls, South Dakota Sioux Falls () is the most populous city in the U.S. state of South Dakota and the 130th-most populous city in the United States. It is the county seat of Minnehaha County and also extends into Lincoln County to the south, which continues up ...

, a relative of Pettigrew settlers in Flandreau, promoted establishing an Indian School at Flandreau as part of what was his successful 1889 campaign in the state legislature to be elected for the U.S. Senate. The federal government authorized a school here, and what was first known as the Riggs Institute was opened in 1892. The Bureau of Indian Affairs took over a former Presbyterian Church mission school for the facility. It has been known as the

Flandreau Indian School Flandreau Indian School (FIS), previously Flandreau Indian Vocational High School, is an boarding school for Native American children (primarily Lakota) in unincorporated Moody County, South Dakota, adjacent to Flandreau. It is operated by the Bu ...

, an off-reservation

Indian boarding school American Indian boarding schools, also known more recently as American Indian residential schools, were established in the United States from the mid 17th to the early 20th centuries with a primary objective of "civilizing" or assimilating Na ...

operated by the

Bureau of Indian Education The Bureau of Indian Education (BIE), headquartered in the Main Interior Building in Washington, D.C., and formerly known as the Office of Indian Education Programs (OIEP), is a division of the U.S. Department of the Interior under the Assistant S ...

(BIE) (an agency established in 2006).

Landmarks

The

of the Santee Sioux is in the area.

Education

Flandreau School District 50-3 Flandreau School District 50-3 , also known as Flandreau Public Schools, is a school district headquartered in Flandreau, South Dakota. It operates an elementary school, a middle school, and a high school. History In 2018 the district approved ...

is the local public school district operated by the state.

is in the area.

Notable people

Gene Amdahl Gene Myron Amdahl (November 16, 1922 – November 10, 2015) was an American computer architect and high-tech entrepreneur, chiefly known for his work on mainframe computers at IBM and later his own companies, especially Amdahl Corporation ...

(1922-2015), computer architect known for

Amdahl's Law In computer architecture, Amdahl's law (or Amdahl's argument) is a formula which gives the theoretical speedup in latency of the execution of a task at fixed workload that can be expected of a system whose resources are improved. It states tha ...

Roger W. Hunt Roger Wayne Hunt (February 23, 1938 – November 9, 2018) was an American politician and lawyer. He served in the South Dakota House of Representatives from 1991 to 2000, 2005 to 2012, and 2015 to 2017. He was also speaker of the house from 1999 ...

(1938-2018), South Dakota legislator * Bill Janklow (1939-2012), politician, South Dakota Attorney General, 4-term Governor, and 1-term member of US House of Representatives *

Dell L. Dailey Dell Lee Dailey (born 1949) is a retired United States Army lieutenant general and former head of the State Department's counterterrorism office, serving from July 2007 to April 2009. Childhood and education Dailey was born into an Army family in ...

, American military officer

References

External links

* {{Authority control Cities in South Dakota Cities in Moody County, South Dakota County seats in South Dakota Populated places established in 1902 1902 establishments in South Dakota 1857 establishments in Minnesota Territory Populated places established in 1857