Kingsbury County is a county in the U.S. state of South Dakota. As of the 2020 census, the population was 5,187. Its county seat is De Smet. The county was created in 1873, and was organized in 1880. It was named for brothers George W. and T. A. Kingsbury, descendants of the colonial English Kingsbury family in Boston, Massachusetts. They were prominently involved in the affairs of Dakota Territory and served as elected members of several Territorial Legislatures.

History

John C. Fremont surveyed the area in 1838, naming lakes Preston and Albert. The 1851 Treaty of Mendota with the Santee Sioux and the 1858 Yankton Treaty ceded the region for American settlement. American presence was minimal until the Dakota Boom, with the notable exception of Jacob Hanson's settlement at Lake Albert in 1873.

Geography

The terrain of Kingsbury County consists of low rolling hills. The central and east portions of the county hold numerous lakes and ponds. The land is largely devoted to agriculture. The terrain generally slopes to the southwest, and the highest point is near the midpoint of the east boundary line, at ASL. The county has a total area of , of which is land and (6.2%) is water.

Lakes

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2020 census

As of the 2020 census, there were 5,187 people, 2,191 households, and 1,398 families residing in the county; the population density was . There were 2,615 housing units.

Of the residents, 22.9% were under the age of 18 and 24.3% were 65 years of age or older; the median age was 44.8 years. For every 100 females there were 104.6 males, and for every 100 females age 18 and over there were 104.6 males.

There were 2,191 households, of which 24.1% had children under the age of 18 living with them and 19.6% had a female householder with no spouse or partner present. About 31.9% of all households were made up of individuals and 14.7% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older.

  • Arlington School District 38-1
  • De Smet School District 38-2
  • Hamlin School District 28-3
  • Howard School District 48-3
  • Iroquois School District 02-3
  • Lake Preston School District 38-3
  • Oldham-Ramona-Rutland School District 39-6
  • Willow Lake School District 12-3

The Oldham-Ramona School District 39-5, in the county,

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See also

  • National Register of Historic Places listings in Kingsbury County, South Dakota

References

  • Official website

Further reading

  • Johnson, Lyle R. "Decades of Drought: A Year by Year-by-Year Account of Weather-Related Changes in 1930s Kingsbury County," South Dakota History 43 (Fall 2013), 218–44.