Lawrence County, South Dakota facts for kids

Quick facts for kids Lawrence County
U.S. county
Lawrence County Courthouse in Deadwood
Location within the U.S. state of South Dakota
South Dakota's location within the U.S.
Country	United States
State	South Dakota
Founded	January 11, 1875 (created) 1877 (organized)
Named for	John Lawrence
Seat	Deadwood
Largest city	Spearfish
Area
• Total	800 sq mi (2,000 km2)
• Land	800 sq mi (2,000 km2)
• Water	0.3 sq mi (0.8 km2)  0.03%
Population  (2020)
• Total	25,768
• Estimate  (2021)	26,165
• Density	32.2/sq mi (12.4/km2)
Time zone	UTC−7 (Mountain)
• Summer (DST)	UTC−6 (MDT)
Congressional district	At-large

US Highway 14a w

Lawrence County is a county in the U.S. state of South Dakota. As of the 2020 United States Census, the population was 25,768. Its county seat is Deadwood.

Lawrence County is coextensive with the Spearfish, SD Micropolitan Statistical Area, which is also included in the Rapid City-Spearfish, SD Combined Statistical Area.

History

Lawrence County was created January 11, 1875, and organized in 1877. The county was named for "Colonel" John Lawrence who came to the county as first treasurer in 1877. Lawrence had previously served in the Dakota Territorial Legislature, as a Sergeant at Arms for the United States House of Representatives, and a US Marshal for the Dakota territory. After retirement he continued to act as county road supervisor and as an election judge. The title "Colonel" was honorary, bestowed by the governor of the Dakota Territory.

Geography

According to the U.S. Census Bureau, the county has a total area of 800 square miles (2,100 km²), of which 800 square miles (2,100 km²) is land and 0.3 square miles (0.78 km²) (0.03%) is water.

Major highways

• Interstate 90
• U.S. Highway 14
• U.S. Highway 14A
• U.S. Highway 85
• U.S. Highway 385
• South Dakota Highway 34

Adjacent counties

• Butte County, South Dakota - north
• Meade County, South Dakota - east
• Pennington County, South Dakota - south
• Weston County, Wyoming - southwest
• Crook County, Wyoming - west

National protected area

• Black Hills National Forest (part)

Demographics

2010 census

As of the 2010 United States Census, there were 24,097 people, 10,536 households, and 6,181 families in the county. The population density was 30.1 inhabitants per square mile (11.6/km²). There were 12,756 housing units at an average density of 15.9 per square mile (6.1/km²). The racial makeup of the county was 94.4% white, 2.0% American Indian, 0.7% Asian, 0.4% black or African American, 0.5% from other races, and 2.0% from two or more races. Those of Hispanic or Latino origin made up 2.5% of the population. In terms of ancestry, 44.5% were German, 13.7% were Irish, 13.4% were English, 11.4% were Norwegian, and 4.4% were American.

Of the 10,536 households, 24.0% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 46.6% were married couples living together, 8.1% had a female householder with no husband present, 41.3% were non-families, and 33.2% of all households were made up of individuals. The average household size was 2.19 and the average family size was 2.77. The median age was 41.0 years.

The median income for a household in the county was $42,356 and the median income for a family was $60,209. Males had a median income of $38,933 versus $28,649 for females. The per capita income for the county was $25,465. About 8.4% of families and 15.3% of the population were below the poverty line, including 15.8% of those under age 18 and 8.1% of those age 65 or over.

Communities

Hay fields and scenery, North of Deadwood

Cities

• Central City
• Deadwood (county seat)
• Lead
• Spearfish
• Whitewood

Census-designated places

• North Spearfish
• Saint Onge

Unincorporated communities

Ghost towns

• Lincoln
• Terraville

Townships

The county is divided into one township: St. Onge; and two areas of unorganized territory: North Lawrence and South Lawrence.

See also

In Spanish: Condado de Lawrence (Dakota del Sur) para niños