Editing Hutchinson County, South Dakota

{{short description|County in South Dakota, United States}}
{{use mdy dates|date=December 2021}}
{{Infobox U.S. county
 | county               = Hutchinson County
 | state                = South Dakota
 | seal                 = 
 | founded year         = 1862 (created)<br/>1871 (organized)
 | founded date         = 
 | seat wl              = Olivet
 | largest city wl      = Parkston
 | area_total_sq_mi     = 814
 | area_land_sq_mi      = 813
 | area_water_sq_mi     = 1.5
 | area percentage      = 0.2
 | population_as_of     = 2020
 | population_total     = 7427
 | pop_est_as_of        = 2024
 | population_est       = 7416 {{decrease}}
 | density_sq_mi        = auto
 | named for            = John Hutchinson
 | time zone            = Central
 | ex image             = Hutchinson County Courthouse.JPG
 | ex image cap         = Former Hutchinson County Courthouse in Olivet
 | district             = At-large
 | website              = {{URL|https://www.hutchinsoncountysd.org/|hutchinsoncountysd.org}}
}}

'''Hutchinson County''' is a [[County (United States)|county]] in the [[U.S. state]] of [[South Dakota]]. As of the [[2020 United States census|2020 census]], the population was 7,427.<ref name="QF">{{cite web|title=State & County QuickFacts |url=https://www.census.gov/quickfacts/fact/table/hutchinsoncountysouthdakota/PST045224 |publisher=United States Census Bureau |access-date=March 21, 2024}}</ref> Its [[county seat]] is [[Olivet, South Dakota|Olivet]].<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.naco.org/Counties/Pages/FindACounty.aspx|access-date=June 7, 2011|title=Find a County|publisher=National Association of Counties|url-status=dead|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110531210815/http://www.naco.org/Counties/Pages/FindACounty.aspx|archive-date=May 31, 2011}}</ref> The county was created in 1862 and organized in 1871; it was named for John Hutchinson, first territorial secretary.<ref>{{cite book|url=https://archive.org/details/bub_gb_9V1IAAAAMAAJ|title=The Origin of Certain Place Names in the United States|publisher=Govt. Print. Off.|author=Gannett, Henry|year=1905|page=[https://archive.org/details/bub_gb_9V1IAAAAMAAJ/page/n163 164]}}</ref>

==History==
Hutchinson County was created by act of the territorial legislature on May 8, 1862. Its boundaries included portions of present-day Davison and Hanson Counties, and part of what is presently Hutchinson County was within the boundaries of Jayne County. Maxwell City was established as the county seat, and it remained there until October 1873 when it was moved to Olivet following an election. On 13 January 1871, the territorial legislature established the present county boundaries and completed its governing organization. In two actions in January 1873, the legislature divided Hutchinson County into two counties - the northern half was named Armstrong County, with Milltown as the seat. However, in 1879, Armstrong County was dissolved and its area re-annexed into Hutchinson County.<ref group="note">The Territorial Legislature ordered the re-uniting of the two counties into one, apparently against the desires of Armstrong County officials. The legislature ordered the county officers of Armstrong County to deliver their records, money and papers to Olivet. However, the Armstrong people refused and continued to serve as county officers until a court decision in 1881 compelled them to surrender the records.</ref><ref>{{cite web|url=http://publications.newberry.org/ahcbp/documents/DAKs_Individual_County_Chronologies.htm|title=Dakota Territory, South Dakota, and North Dakota: Individual County Chronologies|website=Dakota Territory Atlas of Historical County Boundaries|publisher=The Newberry Library|date=2006|access-date=March 29, 2015|archive-date=April 2, 2018|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180402202102/http://publications.newberry.org/ahcbp/documents/DAKs_Individual_County_Chronologies.htm|url-status=dead}}</ref><ref>[http://ujs.sd.gov/County_Information/hutchinson.aspx ''History'', First Circuit Court, SD Unified Justice System (accessed February 4, 2019)]</ref>

==Geography==
The [[James River (Dakotas)|James River]] flows south-southeasterly through the central part of Hutchinson County. The county's terrain consists of rolling hills, with the area largely devoted to agriculture.<ref name="HCSD">{{Cite web |title=Hutchinson County · South Dakota |url=https://www.google.com/maps/place/Hutchinson+County,+SD/@43.3275866,-97.8080177,11.22z/data=!4m5!3m4!1s0x878f57eac143e47d:0x2fc64a67e338ac39!8m2!3d43.3017202!4d-97.6982272 |access-date=2024-04-27 |website=Google Maps |language=en}}</ref> The terrain slopes to the river valley from both sides, with the county's highest point at its southwest corner: 1,880' (573m) ASL.<ref>{{Cite web |url=https://www.daftlogic.com/sandbox-google-maps-find-altitude.htm |title="Find an Altitude"  Google Maps (accessed February 4, 2019) |access-date=February 4, 2019 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190521043409/https://www.daftlogic.com/sandbox-google-maps-find-altitude.htm |archive-date=May 21, 2019 |url-status=dead }}</ref>

Hutchinson County has a total area of {{convert|814|sqmi}}, of which {{convert|813|sqmi}} is land and {{convert|1.5|sqmi}} (0.2%) is water.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www2.census.gov/geo/docs/maps-data/data/gazetteer/counties_list_46.txt|publisher=United States Census Bureau|access-date=March 26, 2015|date=August 22, 2012|title=2010 Census Gazetteer Files}}</ref>

===Major highways===
{{div col|colwidth=33em}}
* [[Image:US 18.svg|20px]] [[U.S. Route 18 in South Dakota|U.S. Highway 18]]
* [[Image:US 81.svg|20px]] [[U.S. Route 81 in South Dakota|U.S. Highway 81]]
* [[Image:SD 25.svg|20px]] [[South Dakota Highway 25]]
* [[Image:SD 37.svg|20px]] [[South Dakota Highway 37]]
* [[Image:SD 44.svg|20px]] [[South Dakota Highway 44]]
{{div col end}}

===Adjacent counties===
{{div col|colwidth=33em}}
* [[Hanson County, South Dakota|Hanson County]] - north
* [[McCook County, South Dakota|McCook County]] - northeast
* [[Turner County, South Dakota|Turner County]] - east
* [[Yankton County, South Dakota|Yankton County]] - southeast
* [[Bon Homme County, South Dakota|Bon Homme County]] - south
* [[Charles Mix County, South Dakota|Charles Mix County]] - southwest
* [[Douglas County, South Dakota|Douglas County]] - west
* [[Davison County, South Dakota|Davison County]] - northwest
{{div col end}}

===Protected areas===
* Mogck Slough State Public Shooting Area<ref name=HCSD/>
* Weigher Slough State Public Shooting Area<ref name=HCSD/>

===Lakes===
Source:<ref name=HCSD/>

{{div col|colwidth=15em}}
* Lake Dimock
* Lake Menno
* Silver Lake
* Tripp Lake
{{div col end}}

==Demographics==
{{US Census population
|1870= 37
|1880= 5573
|1890= 10469
|1900= 11897
|1910= 12319
|1920= 13475
|1930= 13904
|1940= 12668
|1950= 11423
|1960= 11085
|1970= 10379
|1980= 9350
|1990= 8262
|2000= 8075
|2010= 7343
|2020= 7427
|estyear=2024
|estimate=7416
|estref=<ref name="USCensusEst2024">{{cite web|title=County Population Totals and Components of Change: 2020-2024 |url=https://www.census.gov/data/tables/time-series/demo/popest/2020s-counties-total.html |access-date=March 15, 2025}}</ref>
|align-fn=center
|footnote=U.S. Decennial Census<ref>{{cite web|title=U.S. Decennial Census |url=https://www.census.gov/programs-surveys/decennial-census.html |publisher=United States Census Bureau |access-date=July 20, 2014}}</ref><br>1790–1960<ref>{{cite web|title=Historical Census Browser |url=http://mapserver.lib.virginia.edu |publisher=University of Virginia Library |url-status=live |date=2007 |access-date=July 20, 2014 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20091212224028/http://mapserver.lib.virginia.edu/ |archive-date=December 12, 2009}}</ref> 1900–1990<ref>{{cite web|last=Forstall |first=Richard L. |title=Population of Counties by Decennial Census: 1900 to 1990 |url=https://www.census.gov/population/cencounts/sd190090.txt |publisher=United States Census Bureau |url-status=live |date=March 27, 1995 |access-date=July 20, 2014 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/19990219135447/http://www.census.gov/population/cencounts/sd190090.txt |archive-date=February 19, 1999}}</ref><br>1990–2000<ref>{{cite web|title=Census 2000 PHC-T-4. Ranking Tables for Counties: 1990 and 2000 |url=https://www.census.gov/population/www/cen2000/briefs/phc-t4/tables/tab02.pdf |url-status=live |publisher=United States Census Bureau |access-date=July 20, 2014 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20100327165705/http://www.census.gov/population/www/cen2000/briefs/phc-t4/tables/tab02.pdf |archive-date=March 27, 2010}}</ref> 2010–2020<ref name="QF"/>
}}

===2020 census===
As of the [[2020 United States census|2020 census]], there were 7,427 people, 2,797 households, and 1,802 families residing in the county.<ref>{{Cite web|title=US Census Bureau, Table P16: Household Type |url=https://data.census.gov/table?q=Hutchinson%20County,%20South%20Dakota%20p16&y=2020 |access-date=March 21, 2024 |publisher=United States Census Bureau}}</ref> The [[population density]] was {{convert|9.1|PD/sqmi}}. There were 3,212 housing units.

===2010 census===
As of the [[2010 United States census|2010 census]], there were 7,343 people, 2,930 households, and 1,871 families in the county. The population density was {{convert|9.0|PD/sqmi}}. There were 3,351 housing units at an average density of {{convert|4.1|/mi2|/km2|disp=preunit|units&nbsp;|units|}}. The racial makeup of the county was 97.4% white, 0.7% American Indian, 0.4% black or African American, 0.2% Asian, 0.5% from other races, and 0.9% from two or more races. Those of Hispanic or Latino origin made up 1.6% of the population. In terms of ancestry, 67.7% were [[Germans|German]], 8.7% were [[Russians|Russian]], 7.4% were [[Norwegians|Norwegian]], 6.9% were [[Irish people|Irish]], and 3.6% were [[Americans|American]].

Of the 2,930 households, 24.6% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 55.6% were married couples living together, 5.0% had a female householder with no husband present, 36.1% were non-families, and 33.4% of all households were made up of individuals. The average household size was 2.22 and the average family size was 2.82. The median age was 46.8 years.

The median income for a household in the county was $39,310 and the median income for a family was $52,390. Males had a median income of $35,180 versus $25,417 for females. The per capita income for the county was $21,944. About 6.4% of families and 10.4% of the population were below the [[poverty line]], including 11.5% of those under age 18 and 14.5% of those age 65 or over.

===Mennonites and Hutterites===
Hutchinson County is the most heavily [[Mennonite]]-populated county of South Dakota. [[German language|German-speaking]] [[Russian Mennonites|Mennonites from Russia]] settled in the county beginning in 1874 until the early 1880s.<ref>{{cite web|last=Unruh|first=J. D.|title=Hutchinson County (South Dakota, USA)|website=Global Anabaptist Mennonite Encyclopedia Online|date=1956|access-date=July 30, 2015|url=http://gameo.org/index.php?title=Hutchinson_County_(South_Dakota,_USA) }}</ref> South Dakota has the nation's largest population of [[Hutterites]],<ref>{{cite web|title=Color them plain but successful|publisher=The Federal Reserve Bank of Minneapolis|access-date=December 14, 2008|url=http://www.minneapolisfed.org/publications_papers/pub_display.cfm?id=1409}}</ref> a communal [[Anabaptist]] group that emigrated also from Russia during the same period as the Mennonites, with whom they share the [[Anabaptist]] faith. Hutterites live in communities each of about 150 people. [[Wolf Creek Colony, South Dakota|Wolf Creek Colony]] is in Hutchinson County, where the Wolf meets the [[James River (Dakotas)|James River]]. This colony is west of Freeman and north of Olivet and Menno.<ref>{{cite news|url=https://www.nytimes.com/1987/11/25/us/wolf-creek-journal-idealists-with-a-knack-for-being-prosperous.html|title=Wolf Creek Journal; Idealists With a Knack For Being Prosperous|date=November 25, 1987|access-date=June 20, 2015|first=Dirk|last=Johnson|newspaper=[[The New York Times]]}}</ref> Other Hutterite communities in the county are [[Maxwell Colony, South Dakota|Maxwell Colony]], [[New Elm Spring Colony, South Dakota|New Elm Spring Colony]], [[Old Elm Spring Colony, South Dakota|Old Elm Spring Colony]], and [[Tschetter Colony, South Dakota|Tschetter Colony]].

==Communities==
===Cities===
* [[Freeman, South Dakota|Freeman]]
* [[Parkston, South Dakota|Parkston]]

===Towns===
{{div col|colwidth=33em}}
* [[Dimock, South Dakota|Dimock]]
* [[Menno, South Dakota|Menno]]
* [[Olivet, South Dakota|Olivet]] (county seat)
* [[Tripp, South Dakota|Tripp]]
{{div col end}}

===Census-designated places===
* [[Kaylor, South Dakota|Kaylor]]
* [[Maxwell Colony, South Dakota|Maxwell Colony]]
* [[Milltown, South Dakota|Milltown]]
* [[New Elm Spring Colony, South Dakota|New Elm Spring Colony]]
* [[Old Elm Spring Colony, South Dakota|Old Elm Spring Colony]]
* [[Tschetter Colony, South Dakota|Tschetter Colony]]
* [[Wolf Creek Colony, South Dakota|Wolf Creek Colony]]

===Unincorporated communities===
* Clayton<ref name=HCSD/>
* Lake Tripp<ref name=HCSD/>
* Wolf Creek<ref name=HCSD/>

===Townships===
{{div col|colwidth=22em}}
*Capital
*Clayton
*Cross Plains
*Fair
*Foster
*German
*Grandview
*Kassel
*Kaylor
*Kulm
*Liberty
*Mittown
*Molan
*Oak Hollow
*Pleasant
*Sharon
*Silver Lake
*Starr
*Susquehanna
*Sweet
*Valley
*Wittenberg
*Wolf Creek
{{div col end}}

==Politics==
Like most of South Dakota, Hutchinson County is overwhelmingly Republican. Only one Democratic presidential candidate – [[Franklin D. Roosevelt]] in his 1932 landslide – has ever carried the county. Surprisingly, in the 1928 and 1972 Republican landslides Hutchinson County actually voted more Democratic than the nation at-large due to German Lutheran [[Prohibition in the United States|anti-Prohibition]] voting for [[Al Smith]] in the first case and a strong “[[favorite son]]” vote for [[George McGovern]] in the latter. Apart from these two hugely anomalous cases, only four Democrats have ever topped forty percent of the county's vote, and only four statewide Republican nominees failed to win a majority.{{citation needed|date=April 2019}}
{{PresHead|place=Hutchinson County, South Dakota|source=<ref>{{cite web|url=http://uselectionatlas.org/RESULTS|title=Atlas of US Presidential Elections|last=Leip|first=David|website=uselectionatlas.org|access-date=April 15, 2018}}</ref>}}
<!-- PresRow should be {{PresRow|Year|Winning party|GOP/Whig vote #|Dem vote #|3rd party vote #|State}} -->
{{PresRow|2024|Republican|2,918|755|63|South Dakota}}
{{PresRow|2020|Republican|2,944|762|61|South Dakota}}
{{PresRow|2016|Republican|2,517|692|156|South Dakota}}
{{PresRow|2012|Republican|2,451|923|51|South Dakota}}
{{PresRow|2008|Republican|2,285|1,242|81|South Dakota}}
{{PresRow|2004|Republican|2,899|1,177|71|South Dakota}}
{{PresRow|2000|Republican|2,497|1,052|76|South Dakota}}
{{PresRow|1996|Republican|2,177|1,285|449|South Dakota}}
{{PresRow|1992|Republican|2,002|1,211|943|South Dakota}}
{{PresRow|1988|Republican|2,700|1,594|22|South Dakota}}
{{PresRow|1984|Republican|3,372|1,237|15|South Dakota}}
{{PresRow|1980|Republican|3,789|1,145|246|South Dakota}}
{{PresRow|1976|Republican|2,822|2,062|22|South Dakota}}
{{PresRow|1972|Republican|3,092|2,248|8|South Dakota}}
{{PresRow|1968|Republican|3,544|1,412|175|South Dakota}}
{{PresRow|1964|Republican|2,884|2,189|0|South Dakota}}
{{PresRow|1960|Republican|3,948|1,557|0|South Dakota}}
{{PresRow|1956|Republican|3,870|1,420|0|South Dakota}}
{{PresRow|1952|Republican|4,322|875|0|South Dakota}}
{{PresRow|1948|Republican|2,906|1,209|36|South Dakota}}
{{PresRow|1944|Republican|3,799|699|0|South Dakota}}
{{PresRow|1940|Republican|5,051|1,103|0|South Dakota}}
{{PresRow|1936|Republican|2,804|2,500|497|South Dakota}}
{{PresRow|1932|Democratic|1,504|3,630|58|South Dakota}}
{{PresRow|1928|Republican|2,145|1,898|34|South Dakota}}
{{PresRow|1924|Progressive|893|180|2,550|South Dakota}}
{{PresRow|1920|Republican|1,873|243|1,546|South Dakota}}
{{PresRow|1916|Republican|1,636|519|80|South Dakota}}
{{PresRow|1912|Progressive|0|647|1,492|South Dakota}}
{{PresRow|1908|Republican|1,507|619|57|South Dakota}}
{{PresRow|1904|Republican|1,752|365|64|South Dakota}}
{{PresRow|1900|Republican|1,528|534|18|South Dakota}}
{{PresRow|1896|Republican|1,413|458|14|South Dakota}}
{{PresFoot|1892|Republican|1,034|254|317|South Dakota}}

==See also==
* [[National Register of Historic Places listings in Hutchinson County, South Dakota]]

==Notes==
{{reflist|group="note"}}

==References==
{{reflist}}

{{Geographic Location
|Centre    = Hutchinson County, South Dakota
|North     = [[Hanson County, South Dakota|Hanson County]]
|Northeast = [[McCook County, South Dakota|McCook County]]
|East      = [[Turner County, South Dakota|Turner County]]
|Southeast = [[Yankton County, South Dakota|Yankton County]]
|South     = [[Bon Homme County, South Dakota|Bon Homme County]]
|Southwest = [[Charles Mix County, South Dakota|Charles Mix County]]
|West      = [[Douglas County, South Dakota|Douglas County]]
|Northwest = [[Davison County, South Dakota|Davison County]]
}}

{{Hutchinson County, South Dakota}}
{{South Dakota}}
{{Authority control}}
{{coord|43.34|-97.75|display=title|type:adm2nd_region:US-SD_source:UScensus1990}}

[[Category:Hutchinson County, South Dakota| ]]
[[Category:1871 establishments in Dakota Territory]]
[[Category:States and territories established in 1871]]