Gettysburg is a city in and the county seat of Potter County, South Dakota, United States, along the 45th parallel. The population was 1,104 at the 2020 census.

History

Gettysburg was

plat In the United States, a plat ( or ) (plan) is a cadastral map, drawn to scale, showing the divisions of a piece of land. United States General Land Office surveyors drafted township plats of Public Lands Survey System, Public Lands Surveys to ...

ted in 1884. The city was named in commemoration of the

Battle of Gettysburg The Battle of Gettysburg () was a three-day battle in the American Civil War, which was fought between the Union and Confederate armies between July 1 and July 3, 1863, in and around Gettysburg, Pennsylvania. The battle, won by the Union, ...

. A large share of the early settlers were

Civil War A civil war is a war between organized groups within the same Sovereign state, state (or country). The aim of one side may be to take control of the country or a region, to achieve independence for a region, or to change government policies.J ...

veterans of the Union Army. Gettysburg was once home to Gettysburg Air Force Station which closed in 1968.

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.

Climate

With a precipitation slightly above 465 mm, the city can be considered the watershed between the dry climates of the

American West The Western United States (also called the American West, the Western States, the Far West, the Western territories, and the West) is census regions United States Census Bureau As American settlement in the U.S. expanded westward, the mea ...

to the humid climates of the American East, although closer to the former, with a center characterized by the

steppe In physical geography, a steppe () is an ecoregion characterized by grassland plains without closed forests except near rivers and lakes. Steppe biomes may include: * the montane grasslands and shrublands biome * the tropical and subtropica ...

s and medium precipitation marking the east limit of the group B of dry climates (except for the hot versions on the subcontinent) for the 99.9 °W meridian. From the climatic map of the

University of Melbourne The University of Melbourne (colloquially known as Melbourne University) is a public university, public research university located in Melbourne, Australia. Founded in 1853, it is Australia's second oldest university and the oldest in the state ...

, Gettysburg is the easternmost city in

North America North America is a continent in the Northern Hemisphere, Northern and Western Hemisphere, Western hemispheres. North America is bordered to the north by the Arctic Ocean, to the east by the Atlantic Ocean, to the southeast by South Ameri ...

with a semi-arid cold climate (

Köppen Köppen is a German surname. Notable people with the surname include: * Bernd Köppen (1951–2014), German pianist and composer * Carl Köppen (1833-1907), German military advisor in Meiji era Japan * Edlef Köppen (1893–1939), German author ...

: ''Bsk''). The average high temperature is 12.7 °C and the low average is -0.4 °C, which makes temperatures below the

freezing point The melting point (or, rarely, liquefaction point) of a substance is the temperature at which it changes state of matter, state from solid to liquid. At the melting point the solid and liquid phase (matter), phase exist in Thermodynamic equilib ...

predominate for at least part of the year. The annual average

snow Snow consists of individual ice crystals that grow while suspended in the atmosphere—usually within clouds—and then fall, accumulating on the ground where they undergo further changes. It consists of frozen crystalline water througho ...

is of 99 cm. For the official data of the

NOAA The National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA ) is an American scientific and regulatory agency charged with forecasting weather, monitoring oceanic and atmospheric conditions, charting the seas, conducting deep-sea exploratio ...

/ Weather Service: the average annual precipitation is of 501 mm, by which it strengthens its role of confluence. The wettest months range from May to July ranging from 72 to 88 mm and the driest January (only 9 mm). The amount of

is average in proportion to its cold weather surpassing the 20 cm between February and March.

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 1,162 people, 534 households, and 310 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 617 housing units at an average density of . The racial makeup of the city was 97.3%

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 ...

, 0.3%

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 ...

, 1.2% Native American, 0.2% Asian, and 1.0% 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 0.6% of the population. There were 534 households, of which 21.9% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 49.1% 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, 5.1% had a female householder with no husband present, 3.9% had a male householder with no wife present, and 41.9% were non-families. 37.8% of all households were made up of individuals, and 21.8% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 2.08 and the average family size was 2.74. The median age in the city was 50.3 years. 19.7% of residents were under the age of 18; 4.7% were between the ages of 18 and 24; 18.1% were from 25 to 44; 29.7% were from 45 to 64; and 27.6% were 65 years of age or older. The gender makeup of the city was 48.4% male and 51.6% female.

2000 census

As of the

of 2000, there were 1,352 people, 588 households, and 365 families living in the city. The population density was . There were 683 housing units at an average density of . The racial makeup of the city was 97.93%

, 1.26% Native American, 0.07% Asian, and 0.74% from two or more races.

or Latino of any race were 0.15% of the population. There were 588 households, out of which 26.9% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 52.9% were

living together, 6.0% had a female householder with no husband present, and 37.9% were non-families. 36.4% of all households were made up of individuals, and 20.6% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 2.21 and the average family size was 2.88. In the city, the population was spread out, with 23.9% under the age of 18, 4.0% from 18 to 24, 21.8% from 25 to 44, 24.3% from 45 to 64, and 26.0% who were 65 years of age or older. The median age was 45 years. For every 100 females, there were 92.0 males. For every 100 females age 18 and over, there were 87.8 males. As of 2000 the median income for a household in the city was $30,469, and the median income for a family was $37,763. Males had a median income of $26,316 versus $16,979 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 $16,516. About 7.9% of families and 10.7% 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 14.4% of those under age 18 and 11.3% of those age 65 or over.

Controversy over Confederate Flag

In June 2020, in the midst of national and international protests in opposition to racism following the murder of George Floyd, Gettysburg became the focus of controversy regarding the presence of the Confederate battle flag on the patch of the city's police department. The patch featured overlapping equal-sized U.S. and Confederate flags and a civil-war era cannon along with the city's name, in a nod to the city's namesake,

Gettysburg, Pennsylvania Gettysburg (; ) is a borough (Pennsylvania), borough in Adams County, Pennsylvania, United States, and its county seat. As of the 2020 United States census, 2020 census, the borough had a population of 7,106 people. Gettysburg was the site of ...

, site of the famous

battle A battle is an occurrence of combat in warfare between opposing military units of any number or size. A war usually consists of multiple battles. In general, a battle is a military engagement that is well defined in duration, area, and force co ...

. The historical reference logo for the police emblem and uniform patch was designed in 2009. George Floyd's uncle resides in Gettysburg and advocated for the logo to change for the two-person police force. The police patch and logo were removed in July 2020.

References

External links

{{Authority control Cities in South Dakota Cities in Potter County, South Dakota County seats in South Dakota Populated places established in 1884 1884 establishments in Dakota Territory