Hand 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 3,145. Its

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Miller A miller is a person who operates a mill, a machine to grind a grain (for example corn or wheat) to make flour. Milling is among the oldest of human occupations. "Miller", "Milne" and other variants are common surnames, as are their equivalents ...

History

Hand County was named for George A. Hand, territorial secretary. It was created in 1873 by the Dakota territorial

legislature A legislature (, ) is a deliberative assembly with the legal authority to make laws for a political entity such as a country, nation or city on behalf of the people therein. They are often contrasted with the executive and judicial power ...

. The boundaries were finalized in 1882, the year it was organized.

Geography

The terrain of Hand County consists of rolling hills, dotted with infrequent ponds and small lakes. Most of the area is devoted to agriculture.''Hand County SD'' Google Maps (accessed February 3, 2019)
/ref> The terrain slopes to the east and northeast; its highest point is on the lower part of the county's west boundary line, at ASL. The county contains a total area of , of which is land and (0.2%) is water.

Major highways

* U.S. Highway 14 * U.S. Highway 212 * South Dakota Highway 26 * South Dakota Highway 45

Adjacent counties

* Faulk County - north * Spink County - northeast * Beadle County - east * Jerauld County - southeast * Buffalo County - southwest * Hyde County - west

Protected areas

* Collins State Game Production Area * Dakota State Game Production Area * East Pearl State Game Production Area * Hawkins State Game Production Area * Lake Jones State Game Production Area * Lake Louise State Game Production Area * Lake Louise State Recreation Area * Lechtenberg State Game Production Area * Reinhardt State Game Production Area * Rosehill State Game Production Area * Spring Lake State Game Production Area * West Pearl State Game Production Area

Lakes

* Costigan Slough Lake * Jones Lake * Lake Louise * Matter Lake * Spring Lake * Wall Lake

Demographics

2020 census

As of the 2020 census, there were 3,145 people, 1,348 households, and 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 1,705 housing units.

2010 census

As of the 2010 census, there were 3,431 people, 1,494 households, and 972 families residing in the county. The population density was . There were 1,815 housing units at an average density of . The racial makeup of the county was 98.4% white, 0.3% Asian, 0.2% American Indian, 0.1% black or African American, 0.2% from other races, and 0.8% from two or more races. Those of Hispanic or Latino origin made up 0.6% of the population. In terms of ancestry, 57.3% were

German German(s) may refer to: * Germany, the country of the Germans and German things **Germania (Roman era) * Germans, citizens of Germany, people of German ancestry, or native speakers of the German language ** For citizenship in Germany, see also Ge ...

, 15.3% were Irish, 9.0% were Norwegian, 8.1% were English, 6.1% were Dutch, and 3.4% were American. Of the 1,494 households, 23.8% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 56.6% were married couples living together, 5.3% had a female householder with no husband present, 34.9% were non-families, and 32.2% of all households were made up of individuals. The average household size was 2.26 and the average family size was 2.84. The median age was 48.2 years. The median income for a household in the county was $45,895 and the median income for a family was $52,407. Males had a median income of $40,725 versus $24,844 for females. The per capita income for the county was $23,238. About 11.4% of families and 13.1% 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 18.9% of those under age 18 and 16.5% of those age 65 or over.

Communities

Cities

(county seat) * Wessington (partial)

Towns

* Ree Heights * St. Lawrence

Census-designated place

* Millerdale Colony

Unincorporated communities

Source: *

Polo Polo is a stick and ball game that is played on horseback as a traditional field sport. It is one of the world's oldest known team sports, having been adopted in the Western world from the game of Chovgan (), which originated in ancient ...

* Vayland

Townships

* Alden *Alpha *Bates *Burdette *Campbell *Carlton *Cedar *Como *Florence *Gilbert *Glendale *Grand *Greenleaf *Hiland *Holden *Hulbert *Linn *Logan *Midland *

*Mondamin *Ohio *Ontario *Park *Pearl *Plato *Pleasant Valley *Ree Heights *Riverside *Rockdale *Rose Hill *St. Lawrence *Spring Hill *Spring Lake *Wheaton *York

Unorganized territory

The county contains one area of unorganized territory: Northwest Hand.

Politics

Hand County voters have voted Republican for many decades. In only one national election since 1936 has the county selected the Democratic Party candidate. As shown in the table below, Hand County has voted the same way as South Dakota for more than a century, last voting for a candidate who lost South Dakota in 1916, when Hand County voted Democratic but South Dakota went Republican.

References

External links

* {{authority control 1873 establishments in Dakota Territory Populated places established in 1873