Spink 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 6,361. 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 ...

is Redfield. The county was created in 1873, and was organized in 1879 within

Dakota Territory The Territory of Dakota was an organized incorporated territory of the United States that existed from March 2, 1861, until November 2, 1889, when the final extent of the reduced territory was split and admitted to the Union as the states of ...

History

Spink county was formed in 1879 as part of Dakota Territory. It Folded to South Dakota in 1889. Spink County's population peaked before the Great Depression. In the years following, Spink County became one of the counties with the greatest percentage loss in population as part of the depopulation of the Great Plains.

Geography

The terrain of Spink County consists of rolling hills, dedicated to agriculture. The

James River The James River is a river in Virginia that begins in the Appalachian Mountains and flows from the confluence of the Cowpasture and Jackson Rivers in Botetourt County U.S. Geological Survey. National Hydrography Dataset high-resolution flowli ...

flows southerly through the central portion of the county. The terrain slopes to the south; its highest point is in its northeast corner, at ASL. The county has a total area of , of which is land and (0.4%) is water.

Major highways

* U.S. Highway 212 * U.S. Highway 281 * South Dakota Highway 20 * South Dakota Highway 26 *

South Dakota Highway 28 South Dakota Highway 28 (SD 28) is a state highway in the east-central South Dakota, United States, that connects Hitchcock, Estelline, and Toronto. SD 28 was established between 1932 and 1935. It replaced SD 26. It w ...

* South Dakota Highway 37

Protected area

* Fisher Grove State Park

Adjacent counties

* Brown Countynorth * Day Countynortheast * Clark Countyeast * Beadle Countysouth * Hand Countysouthwest * Faulk Countywest

Lakes

* Alkali Lake * Cottonwood Lake * Twin Lakes

Demographics

2020 census

As of the 2020 census, there were 6,361 people, 2,520 households, and 1,560 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 2,983 housing units.

2010 census

As of the 2010 census, there were 6,415 people, 2,608 households, and 1,677 families in the county. The population density was . There were 3,139 housing units at an average density of . The racial makeup of the county was 97.1% white, 1.2% American Indian, 0.3% black or African American, 0.1% Asian, 0.4% from other races, and 0.9% from two or more races. Those of Hispanic or Latino origin made up 1.1% of the population. In terms of ancestry, 52.6% were German, 11.6% were Norwegian, 10.0% were Irish, 9.2% were English, and 5.5% were American. Of the 2,608 households, 26.5% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 53.4% were married couples living together, 6.4% had a female householder with no husband present, 35.7% were non-families, and 31.8% of all households were made up of individuals. The average household size was 2.30 and the average family size was 2.89. The median age was 44.4 years. The median income for a household in the county was $45,000 and the median income for a family was $60,639. Males had a median income of $40,273 versus $26,139 for females. The per capita income for the county was $25,295. About 8.2% of families and 17.0% 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 19.0% of those under age 18 and 12.0% of those age 65 or over. Several

Hutterite Hutterites (; ), also called Hutterian Brethren (German: ), are a communal ethnoreligious branch of Anabaptists, who, like the Amish and Mennonites, trace their roots to the Radical Reformation of the early 16th century and have formed intent ...

communities are in Spink County, including near Ashton and Stratford.

Communities

Cities

* Ashton * Conde * Doland * Frankfort * Mellette * Redfield (county seat)

Towns

Brentford Brentford is a suburban town in West (London sub region), West London, England and part of the London Borough of Hounslow. It lies at the confluence of the River Brent and the River Thames, Thames, west of Charing Cross. Its economy has dive ...

* Northville * Tulare * Turton

Census-designated places

* Camrose Colony * Clark Colony * Glendale Colony * Hillside Colony *

Mansfield Mansfield is a market town and the administrative centre of the Mansfield District in Nottinghamshire, England. It is the largest town in the wider Mansfield Urban Area and the second largest settlement in Nottinghamshire (following the city ...

(partial) * Spink Colony

Other unincorporated communities

* Athol * Crandon

Townships

*Antelope *Athol *Belle Plaine *Belmont *Benton *Beotia *Buffalo *Capitola *Clifton *Conde *Cornwall *Crandon *Exline *Frankfort *Garfield *Great Bend *Groveland *Harmony *Harrison *Jefferson *Lake *La Prairie *Lincoln *Lodi *Mellette *Northville *Olean *Prairie Center *Redfield *Richfield *Spring *Sumner *Tetonka *Three Rivers *Tulare *Turton *Union

Politics

Spink County was historically a swing county, but in the past few decades has become fairly Republican. In no national election since 1992 has the county selected the Democratic Party candidate (as of 2024).

References

{{Coord, 44.94, -98.35, display=title, type:adm2nd_region:US-SD_source:UScensus1990 1879 establishments in Dakota Territory Populated places established in 1879