Spearfish (Lakota: Hočhápȟe) is a city in Lawrence County, South Dakota, United States. The population was 12,193 at the 2020 census, and was estimated to be 13,803 in 2024, Spearfish grew as a supplier of foodstuffs to the mining camps in the hills. Even today, a significant amount of truck farming and market gardening still occurs in the vicinity.
In 1887, the accepted history of gold mining in the Black Hills was thrown into question by the discovery of what has become known as the Thoen Stone. Discovered by Louis Thoen on Lookout Mountain, the stone purports to be the last testament of Ezra Kind who, along with six others, entered the Black Hills in 1833, "got all the gold we could carry" in June 1834, and were subsequently "killed by Indians beyond the high hill." There is corroborating historical evidence for the Ezra Kind party.
In the 20th century, the history of Spearfish was tied to mining and tourism. Architect Frank Lloyd Wright, who visited Spearfish Canyon in 1935, later called the area "unique and unparalleled elsewhere in our country," and wondered, "How is it that I've heard so little of this miracle and we, toward the Atlantic, have heard so much of the Grand Canyon when this is even more miraculous?"
The Homestake Sawmill (previously part of Pope and Talbot, now owned by Neimen Forest Products) was built to supply timbers for the Homestake Mine in Lead (closed January 2002). In 1938, Joseph Meier brought the Luenen Passion Play to settle permanently in Spearfish and become the Black Hills Passion Play, drawing thousands of visitors every year during the summer months. After Meier's death in 2007, the amphitheater and surrounding it were put up for sale.
Geography
According to the United States Census Bureau, the city has a total area of , of which is land and (0.03%) is water.Crow Peak (elevation 5760 ft) which sits approximately halfway between Spearfish and the Wyoming state line in the west , and Spearfish Peak (elevation 5798 ft), which is the most prominent peak when facing south from town.
Spearfish Creek is a fast-moving creek that emerges from Spearfish Canyon at Spearfish. It runs roughly south to north through the center of town (parallel to Canyon Street), year round. The creek freezes from the bottom up instead of icing over. This unusual phenomenon occurs due to the very fast rate at which the creek flows. This speed prevents ice from forming except along the bottom of the creek bed where friction and turbulence allow the water to slow down long enough to freeze. Since the creek continues to flow atop this ice, the water level of the creek gradually rises as more ice accumulates on the bottom, in some cases causing flooding on the north side of town where the channel is not as deep.
Climate
Given its location at the base of the Black Hills and its proximity to the High Plains, the climate in Spearfish is highly variable at any time of the year, a phenomenon especially apparent in the winter months. According to the Köppen climate classification, Spearfish has humid continental climate (Dfb). Snow depth is limited: even in winter half of all days have no snow on the ground, although on average of snow falls.
World record temperature change
Spearfish holds the world record for the fastest recorded temperature change. On January 22, 1943, at about 7:30 a.m. MST, the temperature in Spearfish was . The Chinook wind picked up speed rapidly, and two minutes later (7:32 a.m.) the temperature was . The rise in two minutes set a world record that still holds. By 9:00 a.m., the temperature had risen to . Suddenly, the Chinook died down and the temperature tumbled back to . The drop took only 27 minutes. The sudden change in temperatures caused glass windows to crack and windshields to instantly frost over.