Fall River County is a

county A county () is a geographic region of a country used for administrative or other purposesL. Brookes (ed.) '' Chambers Dictionary''. Edinburgh: Chambers Harrap Publishers Ltd, 2005. in some nations. The term is derived from the Old French denoti ...

in the

U.S. state In the United States, a state is a constituent political entity, of which there are 50. Bound together in a political union, each state holds governmental jurisdiction over a separate and defined geographic territory where it shares its so ...

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 ...

. As of the 2020 census, the population was 6,973. Its

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 ...

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 ...

. The county was founded in 1883. It is named for the Fall River which runs through it.

Geography

Fall River County lies at South Dakota's SW corner. Its south borderline abuts the north borderline of the state of

Nebraska Nebraska ( ) is a landlocked U.S. state, state in the Midwestern United States, Midwestern region of the United States. It borders South Dakota to the north; Iowa to the east and Missouri to the southeast, both across the Missouri River; Ka ...

, and its west borderline abuts the east borderline of the state of

Wyoming Wyoming ( ) is a landlocked U.S. state, state in the Mountain states, Mountain West subregion of the Western United States, Western United States. It borders Montana to the north and northwest, South Dakota and Nebraska to the east, Idaho t ...

. The Fall River County terrain contains a mountainous area in the north-central portion, with rolling hills in the rest of the county. Outside the mountainous area, the county's highest point is its SW corner, at ASL. Of the several peaks in the mountainous area, one in the NE portion of that zone rises to ASL. The terrain slopes to the north and east. Discharging from the Angostura Reservoir, the

Cheyenne River The Cheyenne River (; "Good River"), also written ''Chyone'', referring to the Cheyenne people who once lived there, is a tributary of the Missouri River in the U.S. states of Wyoming and South Dakota. It is approximately 295 miles (475 ...

flows northeasterly through the upper part of the county, departing the county through its north boundary line into Custer County. Fall River County has a total area of , of which is land and (0.5%) is water.

Major highways

* * * * * *

Adjacent counties

* Custer County - north * Oglala Lakota County - east * Dawes County, Nebraska - southeast * Sioux County, Nebraska - south * Niobrara County, Wyoming - west

Protected areas

* Angostura Reservoir State Game Production Area * Angostura State Recreation Area * Bailey State Lakeside Use Area * Battle Mountain State Game Production Area *

Black Hills National Forest Black Hills National Forest is located in southwestern South Dakota and northeastern Wyoming, United States. The forest has an area of over 1.25 million acres (5,066 km2) and is managed by the Forest Service. Forest headquarters are located ...

(partial) *

Buffalo Gap National Grassland Buffalo Gap National Grassland is a National Grassland located primarily in southwestern South Dakota, United States. It is also the second largest National Grassland, after Little Missouri National Grassland in North Dakota. Characteristics o ...

(partial) * Friendshuh State Game Production Area (partial) * Hill Ranch State Game Production Area * Oral State Game Production Area * Romey State Game Production Area * Scherbarth State Game Production Area * Sheps Canyon State Lakeside Use Area * Sheps Canyon State Recreation Area * Williams Dam State Game Production

Lakes

* Angostura Reservoir * Coldbrook Lake * Cottonwood Springs Lake

Demographics

2020 census

As of the 2020 census, there were 6,973 people, 3,226 households, and 1,891 families residing in the county. 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 4,081 housing units.

2010 census

As of the 2010 census, there were 7,094 people, 3,272 households, and 1,899 families in the county. The population density was . There were 4,191 housing units at an average density of . The racial makeup of the county was 88.6% white, 7.1% American Indian, 0.7% black or African American, 0.4% Asian, 0.3% from other races, and 2.9% from two or more races. Those of Hispanic or Latino origin made up 2.2% of the population. In terms of ancestry, 39.7% were German, 12.6% were Irish, 11.2% were English, 8.4% were Norwegian, 5.9% were Dutch, and 2.3% were American. Of the 3,272 households, 20.4% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 46.2% were married couples living together, 8.9% had a female householder with no husband present, 42.0% were non-families, and 37.6% of all households were made up of individuals. The average household size was 2.10 and the average family size was 2.74. The median age was 50.5 years. The median income for a household in the county was $35,833 and the median income for a family was $53,750. Males had a median income of $36,495 versus $32,058 for females. The per capita income for the county was $21,574. About 11.4% of families and 17.4% 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 11.3% of those under age 18 and 21.3% of those age 65 or over.

Communities

Cities

* Edgemont *

Town

* Oelrichs

Census-designated places

* Angostura * Ardmore *

Dudley Dudley ( , ) is a market town in the West Midlands, England, southeast of Wolverhampton and northwest of Birmingham. Historically part of Worcestershire, the town is the administrative centre of the Metropolitan Borough of Dudley. In the ...

* Maverick Junction *

Oral The word oral may refer to: Relating to the mouth * Relating to the mouth, the first portion of the alimentary canal that primarily receives food and liquid **Oral administration of medicines ** Oral examination (also known as an oral exam or ora ...

* Provo * Smithwick

Other communities

* Burdock (ghost town) * Cascade Springs (ghost town) * Heppner (ghost town) * Rumford

Townships

Argentine Argentines, Argentinians or Argentineans are people from Argentina. This connection may be residential, legal, historical, or cultural. For most Argentines, several (or all) of these connections exist and are collectively the source of their ...

* Provo * Robins

Unorganized territories

* Northeast Fall River * Southwest Fall River

Politics

Fall River voters have been reliably Republican for decades. In no national election since 1936 has the county selected the Democratic Party presidential candidate.

Education

School districts include:
Text list
/ref> * Edgemont School District 23-1 * Hot Springs School District 23-2 * Oelrichs School District 23-3

References

External links

Fall River County Courthouse Official Website

Hot Springs Chamber of Commerce

Hot Springs City Hall

Edgemont City Hall
{{coord, 43.25, -103.52, display=title, type:adm2nd_region:US-SD_source:UScensus1990 1883 establishments in Dakota Territory Populated places established in 1883