Oacoma is a town in Lyman County, South Dakota, United States. The population was 386 at the 2020 census. Oacoma is located on the west bank of 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 ...

, across from Chamberlain, South Dakota.

History

On September 17, 1804,

Lewis and Clark Lewis may refer to: Names * Lewis (given name), including a list of people with the given name * Lewis (surname), including a list of people with the surname Music * Lewis (musician), Canadian singer * " Lewis (Mistreated)", a song by Radiohe ...

camped on the west bank of the Missouri River near American Island where Oacoma is now located. During the remainder of the 19th century the area was a stopping off place for explorers, fur traders and steamboat men. The township of Oacoma was laid out in 1891 as the county seat for the newly formed Lyman County; the County seat was transferred to the town of Kennebec in 1922. The Chicago, Milwaukee, St. Paul and Pacific Railroad arrived in Oacoma in 1905, and Oacoma was known as a "banking post-village". In the 21st century, it is a rest stop for travelers on

Interstate 90 Interstate 90 (I-90) is an east–west transcontinental freeway and the longest Interstate Highway in the United States at . It begins in Seattle, Washington, and travels through the Pacific Northwest, Mountain states, Mountain West, Great Pla ...

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 town has a total area of , of which is land and is water. American Crow Creek, a tributary to the Missouri River, enters the Missouri River in Oacoma. The town is located approximately halfway between

Sioux Falls Sioux Falls ( ) is the most populous city in the U.S. state of South Dakota and the 117th-most populous city in the United States. It is the county seat of Minnehaha County and also extends into northern Lincoln County. The population was 192 ...

and

Rapid City Rapid City is the county seat of Pennington County, South Dakota, United States. It is located on the eastern slope of the Black Hills in western South Dakota and was named after Rapid Creek, where the settlement developed. It is the second-mo ...

Demographics

2010 census

As of the census of 2010, there were 451 people, 205 households, and 135 families residing in the town. The population density was . There were 236 housing units at an average density of . The racial makeup of the town was 88.9%

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 ...

, 0.2%

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 ...

, 6.4% Native American, 0.4% Asian, 0.7% from other races, and 3.3% 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 1.8% of the population. There were 205 households, of which 27.8% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 52.7% were married couples living together, 8.3% had a female householder with no husband present, 4.9% had a male householder with no wife present, and 34.1% were non-families. 30.2% of all households were made up of individuals, and 9.3% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 2.20 and the average family size was 2.64. The median age in the town was 44.3 years. 19.7% of residents were under the age of 18; 7.4% were between the ages of 18 and 24; 24.1% were from 25 to 44; 33.4% were from 45 to 64; and 15.3% were 65 years of age or older. The gender makeup of the town was 52.5% male and 47.5% female.

2000 census

As of the census of 2000, there were 390 people, 169 households, and 111 families residing in the town. The population density was . There were 188 housing units at an average density of . The racial makeup of the town was 94.36%

, 3.33% Native American, and 2.31% from two or more races.

or Latino of any race were 0.26% of the population. There were 169 households, out of which 33.1% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 50.9% were married couples living together, 9.5% had a female householder with no husband present, and 34.3% were non-families. 29.0% of all households were made up of individuals, and 8.3% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 2.31 and the average family size was 2.86. In the town, the population was spread out, with 26.2% under the age of 18, 5.4% from 18 to 24, 30.3% from 25 to 44, 27.7% from 45 to 64, and 10.5% who were 65 years of age or older. The median age was 38 years. For every 100 females, there were 107.4 males. For every 100 females age 18 and over, there were 102.8 males. The median income for a household in the town was $36,719, and the median income for a family was $44,250. Males had a median income of $26,500 versus $18,750 for females. The per capita income for the town was $17,206. About 8.4% of families and 7.4% of the population were below the poverty line, including 8.7% of those under age 18 and 16.7% of those age 65 or over.

References

External links

*
Chamberlain-Oacoma Area Chamber of Commerce
{{authority control Towns in Lyman County, South Dakota Towns in South Dakota South Dakota populated places on the Missouri River Populated places established in 1891 1891 establishments in South Dakota