Plankinton 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 Aurora County,

South Dakota South Dakota (; Sioux: , ) is a U.S. state in the North Central region of the United States. It is also part of the Great Plains. South Dakota is named after the Lakota and Dakota Sioux Native American tribes, who comprise a large porti ...

, United States. The population was 781 at the 2020 census.

History

Plankinton sprang up with the arrival of the

Chicago, Milwaukee, St. Paul and Pacific Railroad The Chicago, Milwaukee, St. Paul and Pacific Railroad (CMStP&P), often referred to as the "Milwaukee Road" , was a Class I railroad that operated in the Midwest and Northwest of the United States from 1847 until 1986. The company experience ...

to the area in 1880. The town was named for

Milwaukee Milwaukee ( ), officially the City of Milwaukee, is both the most populous and most densely populated city in the U.S. state of Wisconsin and the county seat of Milwaukee County. With a population of 577,222 at the 2020 census, Milwaukee ...

-based meatpacker and railroad official

John Plankinton John Plankinton (March 11, 1820 – March 29, 1891) was an American businessman. He is noted for expansive real estate developments in Milwaukee, including the luxurious Plankinton House Hotel designed as an upscale residence for the wealthy. ...

. The voters approved the incorporation of Plankinton as a village in an election on September 7, 1882. The first officials were elected on September 22, 1882. The first village trustees were C. Thompson, C.C. Irons, T.C. Granger, W.H. Ferguson. On 7 October 1897, the girls' dormitory at the State Industrial School in town burned, killing seven people. Plankinton was home to an annual

wheat Wheat is a grass widely cultivated for its seed, a cereal grain that is a worldwide staple food. The many species of wheat together make up the genus ''Triticum'' ; the most widely grown is common wheat (''T. aestivum''). The archaeologi ...

palace, which became a successful regional attraction and inspired the

Corn Palace The Corn Palace, commonly advertised as The World's Only Corn Palace and the Mitchell Corn Palace, is a multi-purpose arena/facility located in Mitchell, South Dakota, United States. The Moorish Revival building is decorated with crop art; the mu ...

in nearby

Mitchell Mitchell may refer to: People *Mitchell (surname) *Mitchell (given name) Places Australia * Mitchell, Australian Capital Territory, a light-industrial estate * Mitchell, New South Wales, a suburb of Bathurst * Mitchell, Northern Territo ...

. The first Grain Palace in South Dakota opened in Plankinton on September 29, 1891, while the last closed in October 1892.Evans, Rod (2009). Palaces on the Prairie. Canada: North Dakota Institute for Regional Studies.

Geography

Plankinton is located at (43.7148, -98.4832). 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 t ...

, the city has a total area of , all land. Plankinton has been assigned the ZIP code 57368 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 ...

50020.

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 in ...

of 2010, there were 707 people, 294 households, and 191 families residing in the city. The

population density Population density (in agriculture: 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 geographical ...

was . There were 341 housing units at an average density of . The racial makeup of the city was 92.8%

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 o ...

, 0.7%

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 ...

, 0.4% Native American, 5.8% 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 0.3% from two or more races.

Hispanic The term ''Hispanic'' ( es, hispano) refers to people, 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 viceroyalties forme ...

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 10.2% of the population. There were 294 households, of which 30.6% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 50.7% were married couples living together, 10.2% had a female householder with no husband present, 4.1% had a male householder with no wife present, and 35.0% were non-families. 29.9% of all households were made up of individuals, and 13.3% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 2.40 and the average family size was 2.99. The median age in the city was 38.6 years. 26.2% of residents were under the age of 18; 4.7% were between the ages of 18 and 24; 26.3% were from 25 to 44; 25.5% were from 45 to 64; and 17.3% were 65 years of age or older. The gender makeup of the city was 49.6% male and 50.4% female.

2000 census

As of the

of 2000, there were 601 people, 265 households, and 170 families residing in the city. The

was 920.6 people per square mile (357.0/km²). There were 298 housing units at an average density of 456.5 per square mile (177.0/km²). The racial makeup of the city was 94.51%

, 0.17% Native American, 0.17%

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 ...

, 3.99% from

, and 1.16% from two or more races.

of any race were 5.99% of the population. There were 265 households, out of which 25.3% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 53.2% were married couples living together, 7.5% had a female householder with no husband present, and 35.5% were non-families. 34.3% of all households were made up of individuals, and 20.4% 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 2.89. In the city, the population was spread out, with 22.1% under the age of 18, 8.0% from 18 to 24, 23.1% from 25 to 44, 26.0% from 45 to 64, and 20.8% who were 65 years of age or older. The median age was 42 years. For every 100 females, there were 95.8 males. For every 100 females age 18 and over, there were 91.0 males. The median income for a household in the city was $32,019, and the median income for a family was $40,809. Males had a median income of $26,645 versus $19,531 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 $15,611. About 3.5% of families and 6.2% 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 5.1% of those under age 18 and 6.8% of those age 65 or over.

References

External links

* {{Authority control Cities in Aurora County, South Dakota Cities in South Dakota County seats in South Dakota