Edgemont is a city in Fall River County,

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 725 at the 2020 census. The city lies on the far southern edge of the

Black Hills The Black Hills is an isolated mountain range rising from the Great Plains of North America in western South Dakota and extending into Wyoming, United States. Black Elk Peak, which rises to , is the range's highest summit. The name of the range ...

in southwestern South Dakota. Edgemont is a crew change point for

BNSF BNSF Railway is the largest freight railroad in the United States. One of six North American Class I railroads, BNSF has 36,000 employees, of track in 28 states, and over 8,000 locomotives. It has three transcontinental routes that provide ...

freight trains A freight train, also called a goods train or cargo train, is a railway train that is used to carry cargo, as opposed to passengers. Freight trains are made up of one or more locomotives which provide propulsion, along with one or more railroad ...

in the

Gillette, Wyoming Gillette (, ''Help:Pronunciation respelling key, jih-LET'') is a city in and the county seat of Campbell County, Wyoming, United States. The town was founded in 1891 as a major railway town on the Chicago, Burlington and Quincy Railroad. The po ...

Alliance, Nebraska Alliance is a city in and the county seat of Box Butte County, Nebraska, Box Butte County, in the western part of the state of Nebraska, in the Great Plains region of the United States. Its population was 8,151 at the 2020 census. Alliance is ho ...

division. Nearly 50 pool crews were operating out of the town in early 2023.

History

Edgemont had its start in 1890 with the building of the

Burlington Railroad The Chicago, Burlington and Quincy Railroad was a railroad that operated in the Midwestern United States. Commonly referred to as the Burlington Route, the Burlington, CB&Q, or as the Q, it operated extensive trackage in the states of Colorado ...

through that territory. In 2012, the White Draw Fire burned eight miles northeast of Edgemont. On July 1, 2012, an airplane fighting the fire crashed near town, killing four military personnel and injuring two. On the morning of January 17, 2017, a BNSF Railway westbound train struck and killed two roadway workers, including the watchman/lookout. The accident occurred at milepost 477, on the Black Hills subdivision, in Edgemont.

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. The city lies at the intersection of US Highway 18 and

South Dakota Highway 471 South Dakota Highway 471 (SD 471) is a state highway in western Fall River, South Dakota, United States, that connects Highway 71 (SD 71), southeast of Rumford, with U.S. Route 18 (US 18), in Edgemont. Route des ...

. Its closest neighbors are

Burdock ''Arctium'' is a genus of biennial plants commonly known as burdock, family Asteraceae. Native to Europe and Asia, several species have been widely introduced worldwide. Burdock's clinging properties, in addition to providing an excellent mecha ...

and Dewey to the northwest,

Hot Springs A hot spring, hydrothermal spring, or geothermal spring is a Spring (hydrology), spring produced by the emergence of Geothermal activity, geothermally heated groundwater onto the surface of the Earth. The groundwater is heated either by shallow ...

to the northeast, and Provo and

Rumford Rumford may refer to: People * William Byron Rumford (1908–1986), California politician * Sir Benjamin Thompson, Count Rumford (1753–1814), American-British-German inventor, scientist, soldier, and official * Kennerley Rumford (1870–1957), E ...

to the south. Edgemont lies just to the south of the Elk Mountains, a small range that is part of the Black Hills.

Climate

According to the

Köppen Climate Classification The Köppen climate classification divides Earth climates into five main climate groups, with each group being divided based on patterns of seasonal precipitation and temperature. The five main groups are ''A'' (tropical), ''B'' (arid), ''C'' (te ...

system, Edgemont has a

cold semi-arid climate Cold is the presence of low temperature, especially in the atmosphere. In common usage, cold is often a subjective perception. A lower bound to temperature is absolute zero, defined as 0.00K on the Kelvin scale, an absolute thermodynamic ...

, abbreviated "BSk" on climate maps. The hottest temperature recorded there was on June 22, 2016, and July 21, 2016, while the coldest temperature recorded was on December 22, 1989.

Education

Edgemont Public Schools are part of the Edgemont School District. The district has one elementary school and one high school. Students attend Edgemont High School.

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 774 people, 386 households, and 201 families living 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 509 housing units at an average density of . The racial makeup of the city was 92.1%

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 ...

, 3.4% Native American, 0.3% from other races, and 4.1% 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 2.1% of the population. There were 386 households, of which 18.9% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 41.5% 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, 7.0% had a female householder with no husband present, 3.6% had a male householder with no wife present, and 47.9% were non-families. 42.2% of all households were made up of individuals, and 21.7% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 2.01 and the average family size was 2.71. The median age in the city was 51.3 years. 17.8% of residents were under the age of 18; 6.1% were between the ages of 18 and 24; 17.2% were from 25 to 44; 34.1% were from 45 to 64; and 24.7% were 65 years of age or older. The gender makeup of the city was 51.3% male and 48.7% female.

2000 census

As of the

of 2000, there were 867 people, 409 households, and 260 families living in the city. The population density was . There were 516 housing units at an average density of . The racial makeup of the city was 93.19%

, 3.92% Native American, 0.46% from other races, and 2.42% from two or more races.

or Latino of any race were 1.85% of the population. There were 409 households, out of which 21.0% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 54.3% were

living together, 6.1% had a female householder with no husband present, and 36.2% were non-families. 32.0% of all households were made up of individuals, and 16.9% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 2.12 and the average family size was 2.64. In the city, the population was spread out, with 20.0% under the age of 18, 3.6% from 18 to 24, 20.1% from 25 to 44, 31.8% from 45 to 64, and 24.6% who were 65 years of age or older. The median age was 49 years. For every 100 females, there were 103.0 males. For every 100 females age 18 and over, there were 98.3 males. The median income for a household in the city was $24,919, and the median income for a family was $36,667. Males had a median income of $36,250 versus $16,667 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 $17,273. About 10.3% of families and 18.6% 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 20.9% of those under age 18 and 21.1% of those age 65 or over.

References

External links

Edgemont Chamber of Commerce

Edgemont Herald Tribune - latest news

Edgemont School District

Edgemont City Hall
{{Authority control Cities in South Dakota Cities in Fall River County, South Dakota Black Hills