Colton is a city in

Minnehaha County Minnehaha County is a county on the eastern border of the state of South Dakota. As of the 2020 census, the population was 197,214, making it the state's most populous county, and was estimated to be 208,639 in 2024. It contains over 22.56% o ...

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 ...

, United States. The population was 738 at the 2020 census. Colton has the name of J. E. Colton, a railroad official.

History

Creation

The town started with a creamery in 1897, made by J. E. Colton. Other businesses started to form around the creamery, making a Main Street. In 1901, the founder started a newspaper called "The Colton Courier" that stayed in place for years. The three other shareowners were W. O. Colton and Dave Crooks, the founder of Colton's Neighboring town, Crooks. Between 1905 and 1906 a railroad was built through Colton, which used to have passenger service. J. E. Colton was 53 years old when he died in 1910.

Schools

The first Colton school was made in 1879 by the town's founder, J. E. Colton, and was a one-room schoolhouse. From 1903 to 1905 a new, larger schoolhouse was built in place of the old one and began to teach high school subjects. In 1907 a high school was built that was meant to put students through for two years each. It met that goal, but lasted no more than two years, being put out of use in 1909. 1913 started a new four-year high school with six teachers that lasted much longer. Near the end of 1924, a new school was built out of brick. It used the same standard system as the previous school. The school stopped being used in 1967 when the school of Tri-Valley was constructed, which combined the students of several small towns.

1993 Tornado

On June 7th 1993, an F4

tornado A tornado is a violently rotating column of air that is in contact with the surface of Earth and a cumulonimbus cloud or, in rare cases, the base of a cumulus cloud. It is often referred to as a twister, whirlwind or cyclone, although the ...

passed to the northeast of the town, causing significant damage to several homes and injuring 4

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 , all land.

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 687 people, 302 households, and 184 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 320 housing units at an average density of . The racial makeup of the city was 98.4%

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 ...

, 0.1%

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 ...

, 0.7% Native American, and 0.7% 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 0.7% of the population. There were 302 households, of which 30.8% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 47.0% 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, 7.9% had a female householder with no husband present, 6.0% had a male householder with no wife present, and 39.1% were non-families. 34.8% of all households were made up of individuals, and 16.5% 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 2.92. The median age in the city was 36.1 years. 26.2% of residents were under the age of 18; 5.7% were between the ages of 18 and 24; 29.2% were from 25 to 44; 23.2% were from 45 to 64; and 15.9% were 65 years of age or older. The gender makeup of the city was 48.6% male and 51.4% female.

2000 census

As of the

of 2000, there were 662 people, 266 households, and 184 families residing in the city. The population density was . There were 285 housing units at an average density of . The racial makeup of the city was 99.09%

, 0.30% Native American, 0.15%

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 ...

, 0.30% from other races, and 0.15% from two or more races.

or Latino of any race were 1.21% of the population. There were 266 households, out of which 32.7% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 57.9% were

living together, 9.0% had a female householder with no husband present, and 30.5% were non-families. 27.4% of all households were made up of individuals, and 13.2% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 2.43 and the average family size was 2.95. In the city, the population was spread out, with 24.5% under the age of 18, 8.8% from 18 to 24, 27.3% from 25 to 44, 19.5% from 45 to 64, and 19.9% who were 65 years of age or older. The median age was 37 years. For every 100 females, there were 94.7 males. For every 100 females age 18 and over, there were 96.1 males. The median income for a household in the city was $42,054, and the median income for a family was $45,139. Males had a median income of $28,958 versus $22,083 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 $18,189. About 3.6% of families and 4.1% 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 4.4% of those under age 18 and 4.6% of those age 65 or over.

References

{{Authority control Cities in South Dakota Cities in Minnehaha County, South Dakota Sioux Falls, South Dakota metropolitan area