Huron, SD
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Huron is a city in and the
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 ...
of
Beadle County, South Dakota Beadle County is a County (United States), county in the U.S. state of South Dakota. As of the 2020 United States census, 2020 census, the population was 19,149, making it the List of counties in South Dakota, 11th most populous county in South ...
, United States. The population was 14,263 at the 2020 census, making it the 8th most populous city in South Dakota. The first settlement at Huron was established in 1880. Huron is the site of the South Dakota State Fair and of a statue called the ''World's Largest Pheasant''.


History

Huron was founded during railroad and land booms in the 1880s. The early history of the town is closely linked with the Chicago and Northwestern Railway. At the direction of Marvin Hughitt, general manager of the railroad, the west bank of the
James River The James River is a river in Virginia that begins in the Appalachian Mountains and flows from the confluence of the Cowpasture and Jackson Rivers in Botetourt County U.S. Geological Survey. National Hydrography Dataset high-resolution flowli ...
was selected as the railway's division headquarters. The company gained title to of land at that location. Huron was named for the Huron Indians. The original
plat In the United States, a plat ( or ) (plan) is a cadastral map, drawn to scale, showing the divisions of a piece of land. United States General Land Office surveyors drafted township plats of Public Lands Survey System, Public Lands Surveys to ...
covered 11 blocks, and Huron's first settler was John Cain, a practical printer from
Troy, New York Troy is a city in and the county seat of Rensselaer County, New York, United States. It is located on the western edge of the county, on the eastern bank of the Hudson River just northeast of the capital city of Albany, New York, Albany. At the ...
. He learned in Chicago, from the railroad people, that they would have their chief town and operating headquarters at their James River crossing. Beginning in 1880, Huron and Pierre vied to be selected as the state capital, until Pierre was chosen in 1904. Campbell Park and Winter Park in Huron were previously designated as properties for the capital grounds, and a city block of land between the parks with Victorian houses was originally slated for the capitol building. *Chronology: **1879 – The town site was located **1880 – Town site surveyed and platted **1881 – First town government formed - a board of four trustees, a town clerk, a justice of the peace, one marshal and a surveyor **1882 – Alderman system of government adopted **1883 – Incorporated as the City of Huron - the city still operates under the original charter and seal **1910 – Changed from alderman to city commission form of government **1935 – City manager form of government adopted


Geography

According to the
United States Census Bureau The United States Census Bureau, officially the Bureau of the Census, is a principal agency of the Federal statistical system, U.S. federal statistical system, responsible for producing data about the American people and American economy, econ ...
, the city has a total area of , of which is land and is water.


Climate

Huron has a
humid continental climate A humid continental climate is a climatic region defined by Russo-German climatologist Wladimir Köppen in 1900, typified by four distinct seasons and large seasonal temperature differences, with warm to hot (and often humid) summers, and cold ...
, with hot, humid summers, cold, dry winters, and wide temperature extremes; it is part of USDA
hardiness zone A hardiness zone is a geographic area defined as having a certain average annual minimum temperature, a factor relevant to the survival of many plants. In some systems other statistics are included in the calculations. The original and most widely ...
4b. The normal monthly mean temperature ranges from in January to in July. On average, there are 1.7 days that reach or higher, 21.9 days that reach or higher, 66.7 days that do not climb above freezing, 27.7 days with a low of or below, and 3.1 days that do not rise above annually. The average window for freezing temperatures are September 30 through May 5, allowing a growing season of 147 days. Extreme temperatures officially range from on January 12, 1912, and January 8, 1887, up to on July 10, 1966; the record cold daily maximum is on January 14, 1888, while, conversely, the record warm daily minimum is on July 11, 1936. Precipitation is greatest in May and June and averages annually, but has ranged from in 1952 to in 2010. Snowfall averages per season, and has historically ranged from in 1930–31 to in 2000–01; the average window for measurable (≥) snowfall is November 3 through April 11, although snow in October occurs several times per decade and snow in May is a much rarer event.


Demographics


2010 census

As of the
census A census (from Latin ''censere'', 'to assess') is the procedure of systematically acquiring, recording, and calculating population information about the members of a given Statistical population, population, usually displayed in the form of stati ...
of 2010, there were 12,592 people, 5,418 households, and 3,179 families residing in the city. 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 6,023 housing units at an average density of . The racial makeup of the city was 86.9%
White White is the lightest color and is achromatic (having no chroma). It is the color of objects such as snow, chalk, and milk, and is the opposite of black. White objects fully (or almost fully) reflect and scatter all the visible wa ...
, 1.0%
African American African Americans, also known as Black Americans and formerly also called Afro-Americans, are an Race and ethnicity in the United States, American racial and ethnic group that consists of Americans who have total or partial ancestry from an ...
, 1.2% Native American, 4.9% Asian, 0.1%
Pacific Islander Pacific Islanders, Pasifika, Pasefika, Pacificans, or rarely Pacificers are the peoples of the list of islands in the Pacific Ocean, Pacific Islands. As an ethnic group, ethnic/race (human categorization), racial term, it is used to describe th ...
, 3.9% from other races, and 1.9% from two or more races.
Hispanic The term Hispanic () are people, Spanish culture, cultures, or countries related to Spain, the Spanish language, or broadly. In some contexts, Hispanic and Latino Americans, especially within the United States, "Hispanic" is used as an Ethnici ...
or Latino of any race were 9.8% of the population. There were 5,418 households, of which 28.7% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 44.4% were
married couples Marriage, also called matrimony or wedlock, is a culturally and often legally recognised union between people called spouses. It establishes rights and obligations between them, as well as between them and their children (if any), and b ...
living together, 9.8% had a female householder with no husband present, 4.4% had a male householder with no wife present, and 41.3% were non-families. 36.1% of all households were made up of individuals, and 15% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 2.27 and the average family size was 2.94. The median age in the city was 39.8 years. 24.1% of residents were under the age of 18; 8.7% were between the ages of 18 and 24; 22.8% were from 25 to 44; 26.4% were from 45 to 64; and 17.8% were 65 years of age or older. The gender makeup of the city was 49.4% male and 50.6% female.


2000 census

As of the
census A census (from Latin ''censere'', 'to assess') is the procedure of systematically acquiring, recording, and calculating population information about the members of a given Statistical population, population, usually displayed in the form of stati ...
of 2000, there were 11,893 people, 5,263 households, and 3,047 families residing in the city. The population density was . There were 5,872 housing units at an average density of . The racial makeup of the city was 95.92%
White White is the lightest color and is achromatic (having no chroma). It is the color of objects such as snow, chalk, and milk, and is the opposite of black. White objects fully (or almost fully) reflect and scatter all the visible wa ...
, 0.96%
African American African Americans, also known as Black Americans and formerly also called Afro-Americans, are an Race and ethnicity in the United States, American racial and ethnic group that consists of Americans who have total or partial ancestry from an ...
, 1.29% Native American, 0.42% Asian, 0.03%
Pacific Islander Pacific Islanders, Pasifika, Pasefika, Pacificans, or rarely Pacificers are the peoples of the list of islands in the Pacific Ocean, Pacific Islands. As an ethnic group, ethnic/race (human categorization), racial term, it is used to describe th ...
, 0.35% from other races, and 1.03% from two or more races.
Hispanic The term Hispanic () are people, Spanish culture, cultures, or countries related to Spain, the Spanish language, or broadly. In some contexts, Hispanic and Latino Americans, especially within the United States, "Hispanic" is used as an Ethnici ...
or Latino of any race were 1.20% of the population. There were 5,263 households, out of which 26.4% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 46.6% were
married couples Marriage, also called matrimony or wedlock, is a culturally and often legally recognised union between people called spouses. It establishes rights and obligations between them, as well as between them and their children (if any), and b ...
living together, 8.5% had a female householder with no husband present, and 42.1% were non-families. 37.3% of all households were made up of individuals, and 16.8% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 2.18 and the average family size was 2.86. As of 2000 the median income for a household in the city was $29,097. Males had a median income of $27,027 versus $19,921 for females. The
per capita income Per capita income (PCI) or average income measures the average income earned per person in a given area (city, region, country, etc.) in a specified year. In many countries, per capita income is determined using regular population surveys, such ...
for the city was $18,275.


Arts and culture

The community operates a fine arts center and community theater. In 2005, The Huron Event Center was opened, connecting an arena, hotel, and convention center. The South Dakota State Fair is at the South Dakota State Fair Speedway.


Parks and recreation

The city operates a waterpark called Splash Central, featuring an Olympic-sized pool, slides, and children's area.


Government

The Huron government is "commissioner form". Under the commissioner form of government the board of commissioners consists of a mayor and four commissioners, who are all elected at large for three-year terms. The commission has control over all departments of the city and can make and enforce rules and regulations which it may see fit for the organization, management, and operation of the departments of the city. Responsibilities are divided into the following areas: Public Safety Commissioner, Public Works Commissioner, Utilities Commissioner, and Finance Commissioner with each commissioner having oversight in each respective area. Huron has a federal building, field offices that is home to
Social Security Administration The United States Social Security Administration (SSA) is an Independent agencies of the United States government, independent agency of the Federal government of the United States, U.S. federal government that administers Social Security (United ...
, Western Area Power Administration,
United States Fish and Wildlife Service The United States Fish and Wildlife Service (USFWS or FWS) is a List of federal agencies in the United States, U.S. federal government agency within the United States Department of the Interior which oversees the management of fish, wildlife, ...
,
General Services Administration The General Services Administration (GSA) is an Independent agencies of the United States government, independent agency of the United States government established in 1949 to help manage and support the basic functioning of federal agencies. G ...
,
Farm Service Agency The Farm Service Agency (FSA) is the United States Department of Agriculture agency that was formed by merging the farm loan portfolio and staff of the Farmers Home Administration (FmHA) and the Agricultural Stabilization and Conservation Service ...
and the
USDA The United States Department of Agriculture (USDA) is an United States federal executive departments, executive department of the Federal government of the United States, United States federal government that aims to meet the needs of commerc ...
. Huron is also home to Area offices for state offices.


Education

The Huron School District, which covers Huron, has three public elementary schools, one middle school, and one high school. Huron High School's mascot is the "Tigers". 2022-2023 enrollment is approximately 2900 students. It was the home of Si Tanka University (formerly Huron College) from 1883 to 2005. Huron is also home to a Catholic elementary school called Holy Trinity School, and a private non-denomination K-12 School, James Valley Christian School.


Media


Newspaper

The '' Huron Daily Plainsman'' is the newspaper.


Television

KTTW operates a satellite station, operated by
Tri-State Christian Television Tri-State Christian Television, Inc., trade name, doing business as TCT Network and TCT Ministries (formerly Total Christian Television), is a religious broadcasting, religious television network in the United States. The network was founded in M ...
.


Radio

Radio stations include: * 1210 AM - KOKK (
country music Country (also called country and western) is a popular music, music genre originating in the southern regions of the United States, both the American South and American southwest, the Southwest. First produced in the 1920s, country music is p ...
) * 1340 AM - KIJV (
adult contemporary music Adult contemporary music (AC) is a form of radio-played popular music, ranging from 1960s vocal and 1970s soft rock music to predominantly ballad-heavy music of the 1980s to the present day, with varying degrees of easy listening, pop, sou ...
) * 88.7 FM - KVCH (
Christian radio Christian radio refers to Christian media radio formats that focus on Christian religious broadcasting or various forms of Christian music. Many such formats and programs include contemporary Christian music, gospel music, sermons, radio dramas, ...
) * 88.7 FM - K213CL (
National Public Radio National Public Radio (NPR) is an American public broadcasting organization headquartered in Washington, D.C., with its NPR West headquarters in Culver City, California. It serves as a national Radio syndication, syndicator to a network of more ...
) * 93.3 FM - KJRV (
classic rock Classic rock is a radio format that developed from the album-oriented rock (AOR) format in the early 1980s. In the United States, it comprises rock music ranging generally from the mid-1960s through the early-1990s, primarily focusing on comm ...
) * 95.3 FM - K237EL (adult contemporary music)


Infrastructure


Transportation

U.S. Route 14 is an east–west route passing through the northern part of the city. It intersects with north–south South Dakota Highway 37 in the city. This was the historical designation of the north–south U.S. Route 281, which was later moved to a more direct route that passes about ten miles west of Huron. The Rapid City, Pierre and Eastern Railroad runs east–west, with maintenance facilities and a working roundhouse in the city. The
Huron Regional Airport Huron Regional Airport is in Huron, South Dakota, United States. The airport has charter passenger flights operated by fixed base operator (FBO), Fly Jet Center and Revv Aviation. Federal Aviation Administration records say the airport had ...
is city-owned. It had scheduled passenger flights operated by a commuter air carrier, Great Lakes Airlines, with Beechcraft 1900D commuter turboprop aircraft service to Denver. The airport does not currently have any scheduled service. People's Transit provides demand-response transit in and around Huron, and also provides a connection to
Jefferson Lines Jefferson Lines (JL or JLI) is a regional intercity bus company operating in 14 states in the Midwest and the West of the United States. History The company is operated by Jefferson Partners L.P., located in Minneapolis, Minnesota. Jefferson P ...
intercity buses at Mitchell.


Notable people

* Adolphus W. Burtt, South Dakota Attorney General * Earl Caddock, professional wrestler * J. L. Carr, English novelist, taught at the public school in Huron in 1938–1939 and 1956–1957 * Roxanne Conlin, Iowan politician, ran for senator in 2010 * Patrick Davis, Republican political consultant and former director of the National Republican Senatorial Committee. * John K. Fairbank, historian of China, was born in Huron in 1907 * Archibald K. Gardner, former federal judge * Bob Glanzer, former member of the
South Dakota House of Representatives The South Dakota House of Representatives is the lower house of the South Dakota Legislature. It consists of 70 members, two from each legislative district. Two of the state's 35 legislative districts, Districts 26 and 28, are each subdivided ...
* Josh Haeder, 33rd State Treasurer of South Dakota * Candace Hilligoss, actress * Muriel Humphrey, U.S. Senator from Minnesota in 1978 and wife of Hubert Humphrey * Raymond A. Johnson, aviation pioneer * Amit Kapur, former
Chief operating officer A chief operating officer (COO), also called chief operations officer, is an executive in charge of the daily operations of an organization (i.e. personnel, resources, and logistics). COOs are usually second-in-command immediately after the C ...
of
MySpace Myspace (formerly stylized as MySpace, currently myspace; and sometimes my␣, with an elongated Whitespace character#Substitute images, open box symbol) is a social networking service based in the United States. Launched on August 1, 2003, it w ...
* Craig Kennedy, member of the South Dakota Senate *
Cheryl Ladd Cheryl Ladd (born Cheryl Jean Stoppelmoor; July 12, 1951) is an American actress, singer, and author best known for her role as Kris Munroe in the ABC television series '' Charlie's Angels'', whose cast she joined in its second season in 1977 ...
, actress and singer * Vernon C. Miller, Beadle County Sheriff turned
Prohibition Prohibition is the act or practice of forbidding something by law; more particularly the term refers to the banning of the manufacture, storage (whether in barrels or in bottles), transportation, sale, possession, and consumption of alcoholic b ...
criminal * Arthur L. Padrutt, Wisconsin politician * John M. Patton, member of the
Minnesota Senate The Minnesota Senate is the upper house of the Minnesota Legislature, Legislature of the U.S. state of Minnesota. At 67 members, half as many as the Minnesota House of Representatives, it is the largest upper house of any State legislature (Unite ...
and funeral director * Gladys Pyle, first woman elected to the U.S. Senate without having previously been appointed * John L. Pyle, former Attorney General of South Dakota * Mamie Shields Pyle, women's suffrage advocate * Mike Rounds, South Dakota governor and U.S. senator *
Chic Sale Chic (; ), meaning "stylish" or "smart", is an element of fashion. It was originally a French-speaking world, French word. Etymology '':wikt:chic#French, Chic'' is a French-speaking world, French word, established in English language, English ...
, actor and vaudevillian, born in Huron * Ron Tschetter, Director of the
Peace Corps The Peace Corps is an Independent agency of the U.S. government, independent agency and program of the United States government that trains and deploys volunteers to communities in partner countries around the world. It was established in Marc ...
* Fred M. Wilcox, former South Dakota state senator


See also

* USS ''Huron'', at least 2 ships


Notes


References


Further reading

* Carr, J. L. (1957) '' The Old Timers: A Social History of the Way of Life of the Home-steading Pioneers in the Prairie States during the FirstFfew Years of Settlement, as Shown by a Typical Community, the 'Old-timers' of Beadle County in South Dakota''. Huron, South Dakota: privately printed. * Jones , Mildred McEwen (1961) ''Early Beadle County 1879 to 1900''. Huron, South Dakota: privately printed. * Littlefield, Jennifer and Louis Van Poll. ''Huron (Images of America)''. Arcadia Publishing, 2024. *


External links


Huron government website
{{Authority control Cities in Beadle County, South Dakota Cities in South Dakota County seats in South Dakota Micropolitan areas of South Dakota Populated places established in 1883 1883 establishments in Dakota Territory