Huron is a city in and the county seat of Beadle County, South Dakota, United States. The population was 14,263 at the 2020 census, and was estimated at 14,515 in 2024, Huron is the site of the South Dakota State Fair and of a statue called the World's Largest Pheasant.
Huron was founded during railroad and land booms in the 1880s. The early history of the town is closely linked with the Chicago and Northwestern Railway. At the direction of Marvin Hughitt, general manager of the railroad, the west bank of the James River was selected as the railway's division headquarters. The company gained title to of land at that location. Huron was named for the Huron Indians.
The original plat covered 11 blocks, and Huron's first settler was John Cain, a practical printer from Troy, New York. He learned in Chicago, from the railroad people, that they would have their chief town and operating headquarters at their James River crossing.
Beginning in 1880, Huron and Pierre vied to be selected as the state capital, until Pierre was chosen in 1904. Campbell Park and Winter Park in Huron were previously designated as properties for the capital grounds, and a city block of land between the parks with Victorian houses was originally slated for the capitol building.
- Chronology:
- 1879 – The town site was located
- 1880 – Town site surveyed and platted
- 1881 – First town government formed - a board of four trustees, a town clerk, a justice of the peace, one marshal and a surveyor
- 1882 – Alderman system of government adopted
- 1883 – Incorporated as the City of Huron - the city still operates under the original charter and seal
- 1910 – Changed from alderman to city commission form of government
- 1935 – City manager form of government adopted
Geography
According to the United States Census Bureau, the city has a total area of , of which is land and (9.95%) is water. The normal monthly mean temperature ranges from in January to in July.
|Jan record high F = 65
|Feb record high F = 71
|Mar record high F = 89
|Apr record high F = 97
|May record high F = 106
|Jun record high F = 109
|Jul record high F = 112
|Aug record high F = 110
|Sep record high F = 106
|Oct record high F = 102
|Nov record high F = 86
|Dec record high F = 71
|year record high F = 112
|Jan high F = 25.8
|Feb high F = 30.8
|Mar high F = 43.7
|Apr high F = 57.9
|May high F = 70.0
|Jun high F = 80.0
|Jul high F = 85.7
|Aug high F = 83.4
|Sep high F = 75.7
|Oct high F = 60.2
|Nov high F = 43.9
|Dec high F = 30.2
|year high F = 57.3
|Jan mean F = 16.0
|Feb mean F = 20.5
|Mar mean F = 32.9
|Apr mean F = 45.7
|May mean F = 57.9
|Jun mean F = 68.3
|Jul mean F = 73.7
|Aug mean F = 71.3
|Sep mean F = 62.6
|Oct mean F = 47.9
|Nov mean F = 33.1
|Dec mean F = 20.6
|year mean F = 45.9
|Jan low F = 6.2
|Feb low F = 10.2
|Mar low F = 22.1
|Apr low F = 33.6
|May low F = 45.9
|Jun low F = 56.7
|Jul low F = 61.6
|Aug low F = 59.2
|Sep low F = 49.5
|Oct low F = 35.5
|Nov low F = 22.2
|Dec low F = 11.0
|year low F = 34.5
|Jan record low F = −43
|Feb record low F = −41
|Mar record low F = −25
|Apr record low F = −2
|May record low F = 16
|Jun record low F = 31
|Jul record low F = 37
|Aug record low F = 33
|Sep record low F = 18
|Oct record low F = −6
|Nov record low F = −28
|Dec record low F = −34
|year record low F = −43
|precipitation colour = green
|Jan precipitation inch = 0.58
|Feb precipitation inch = 0.75
|Mar precipitation inch = 1.15
|Apr precipitation inch = 2.52
|May precipitation inch = 3.15
|Jun precipitation inch = 3.89
|Jul precipitation inch = 2.83
|Aug precipitation inch = 2.59
|Sep precipitation inch = 2.43
|Oct precipitation inch = 1.95
|Nov precipitation inch = 0.82
|Dec precipitation inch = 0.66
|year precipitation inch = 23.32
|Jan snow inch = 7.8
|Feb snow inch = 8.9
|Mar snow inch = 6.6
|Apr snow inch = 5.5
|May snow inch = 0.0
|Jun snow inch = 0.0
|Jul snow inch = 0.0
|Aug snow inch = 0.0
|Sep snow inch = 0.0
|Oct snow inch = 1.4
|Nov snow inch = 5.8
|Dec snow inch = 8.4
|year snow inch = 44.4
|unit precipitation days = 0.01 in
|Jan precipitation days = 6.3
|Feb precipitation days = 7.0
|Mar precipitation days = 7.0
|Apr precipitation days = 9.0
|May precipitation days = 11.2
|Jun precipitation days = 11.6
|Jul precipitation days = 8.8
|Aug precipitation days = 8.0
|Sep precipitation days = 6.8
|Oct precipitation days = 7.4
|Nov precipitation days = 5.4
|Dec precipitation days = 6.4
|year precipitation days = 94.9
|unit snow days = 0.1 in
|Jan snow days = 6.1
|Feb snow days = 6.4
|Mar snow days = 4.1
|Apr snow days = 2.2
|May snow days = 0.0
|Jun snow days = 0.0
|Jul snow days = 0.0
|Aug snow days = 0.0
|Sep snow days = 0.0
|Oct snow days = 0.9
|Nov snow days = 3.3
|Dec snow days = 6.0
|year snow days = 29.0
|Jan humidity = 71.2
|Feb humidity = 73.7
|Mar humidity = 73.3
|Apr humidity = 66.3
|May humidity = 66.3
|Jun humidity = 68.3
|Jul humidity = 65.8
|Aug humidity = 66.6
|Sep humidity = 67.7
|Oct humidity = 66.8
|Nov humidity = 72.8
|Dec humidity = 74.0
|year humidity = 69.4
|Jan sun = 179.7
|Feb sun = 182.8
|Mar sun = 229.9
|Apr sun = 251.7
|May sun = 307.0
|Jun sun = 332.8
|Jul sun = 362.4
|Aug sun = 329.3
|Sep sun = 258.9
|Oct sun = 215.9
|Nov sun = 152.1
|Dec sun = 144.1
|year sun = 2946.6
|Jan percentsun = 62
|Feb percentsun = 62
|Mar percentsun = 62
|Apr percentsun = 62
|May percentsun = 67
|Jun percentsun = 72
|Jul percentsun = 77
|Aug percentsun = 76
|Sep percentsun = 69
|Oct percentsun = 63
|Nov percentsun = 53
|Dec percentsun = 52
|year percentsun = 66
|source 1 = NOAA (relative humidity and sun 1961–1990)