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Mitchell, South Dakota
Corn Palace in Mitchell
Corn Palace in Mitchell
Location in Davison County and South Dakota
Mitchell, South Dakota is located in the United States
Mitchell, South Dakota
Mitchell, South Dakota
Location in the United States
Country United States
State South Dakota
County Davison
Incorporated 1883
Area
 • City 12.30 sq mi (31.85 km2)
 • Land 11.24 sq mi (29.10 km2)
 • Water 1.06 sq mi (2.75 km2)
Elevation
1,312 ft (400 m)
Population
 (2020)
 • City 15,660
 • Density 1,395.30/sq mi (538.72/km2)
 • Metro
23,127
Time zone UTC−6 (Central (CST))
 • Summer (DST) UTC−5 (CDT)
ZIP code
57301
Area code(s) 605
FIPS code 46-43100
GNIS feature ID 1256500
Website City of Mitchell

Mitchell is a city in and the county seat of Davison County, South Dakota, United States. The population was 15,660 at the 2020 census making it the sixth most populous city in South Dakota.

Mitchell is the principal city of the Mitchell Micropolitan Statistical Area, which includes all of Davison and Hanson counties.

History

The first settlement at Mitchell was made in 1879. Mitchell was incorporated in 1883. It was named for Milwaukee banker Alexander Mitchell, President of the Chicago, Milwaukee, and St. Paul Railroad (Milwaukee Road).

Geography

Mitchell is located at 43°42′50″N 98°1′35″W / 43.71389°N 98.02639°W / 43.71389; -98.02639 (43.713896, -98.026282), on the James River.

According to the United States Census Bureau, the city has a total area of 12.14 square miles (31.44 km2), of which, 11.14 square miles (28.85 km2) is land and 1.00 square mile (2.59 km2) is water.

Mitchell has been assigned the ZIP code 57301 and the FIPS place code 43100.

Climate

Mitchell has a humid continental climate, like much of the Midwestern United States, with cold, harsh, sometimes snowy winters, and hot, sometimes humid summers. Average daytime summer temperatures range from 86 °F (30 °C) during the day, and 62 °F (16 °C) during the night, and winter daytime temperatures average 26 °F (-3 °C) during the day, and 4 °F ( -15 °C) during the night. Most of the precipitation falls during the summer months, the wettest month being June, with an average of 3.52 inches (89.4 mm) of rain, and the driest month is January, with only 0.47 inches (11.9 mm) of rain. Mitchell is located in Tornado Alley, so thunderstorms, often spawning tornadoes, can be expected.

Climate data for Mitchell, South Dakota
Month Jan Feb Mar Apr May Jun Jul Aug Sep Oct Nov Dec Year
Record high °F (°C) 67
(19)
73
(23)
95
(35)
97
(36)
108
(42)
111
(44)
116
(47)
115
(46)
106
(41)
96
(36)
91
(33)
70
(21)
116
(47)
Average high °F (°C) 26
(−3)
33
(1)
44
(7)
59
(15)
71
(22)
81
(27)
86
(30)
85
(29)
76
(24)
62
(17)
43
(6)
30
(−1)
58
(15)
Average low °F (°C) 4
(−16)
11
(−12)
22
(−6)
35
(2)
47
(8)
57
(14)
62
(17)
59
(15)
48
(9)
36
(2)
22
(−6)
10
(−12)
34
(1)
Record low °F (°C) −50
(−46)
−49
(−45)
−23
(−31)
1
(−17)
18
(−8)
31
(−1)
34
(1)
34
(1)
11
(−12)
−8
(−22)
−22
(−30)
−34
(−37)
−50
(−46)
Average precipitation inches (mm) 0.47
(11.9)
0.67
(17.0)
1.66
(42.1)
2.71
(68.8)
3.33
(84.5)
3.52
(89.4)
2.6
(67)
2.32
(58.9)
2.27
(57.6)
1.54
(39.1)
1.20
(30.4)
0.53
(13.4)
22.82
(580.1)
Source: http://www.weather.com/weather/wxclimatology/monthly/graph/USSD0226

Demographics

Historical population
Census Pop.
1880 320
1890 2,217 592.8%
1900 4,055 82.9%
1910 6,515 60.7%
1920 8,478 30.1%
1930 10,942 29.1%
1940 10,633 −2.8%
1950 12,123 14.0%
1960 12,555 3.6%
1970 13,425 6.9%
1980 13,916 3.7%
1990 13,798 −0.8%
2000 14,558 5.5%
2010 15,254 4.8%
2020 15,660 2.7%
U.S. Decennial Census

2010 census

As of the census of 2010, there were 15,254 people, 6,696 households, and 3,641 families living in the city. The population density was 1,369.3 inhabitants per square mile (528.7/km2). There were 7,120 housing units at an average density of 639.1 per square mile (246.8/km2). The racial makeup of the city was 93.6% White, 0.5% African American, 3.0% Native American, 0.5% Asian, 0.1% Pacific Islander, 0.6% from other races, and 1.8% from two or more races. Hispanic or Latino of any race were 1.7% of the population.

There were 6,696 households, of which 26.4% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 41.1% were married couples living together, 9.5% had a female householder with no husband present, 3.7% had a male householder with no wife present, and 45.6% were non-families. 38.3% of all households were made up of individuals, and 15.7% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 2.16 and the average family size was 2.88.

The median age in the city was 36.8 years. 22.6% of residents were under the age of 18; 12.5% were between the ages of 18 and 24; 22.8% were from 25 to 44; 23.9% were from 45 to 64; and 18.2% were 65 years of age or older. The gender makeup of the city was 48.8% male and 51.2% female.

Attractions

Mitchell is home of the Corn Palace. The Corn Palace is decorated with several colors of dried corn and grains, creating murals. The theme of the external murals is changed yearly at fall harvest; internal murals are changed approximately every ten years. The building itself is used for several purposes including a basketball arena, the local high school prom, trade shows, staged entertainment, and the Shriner's Circus.

Mitchell corn palace
Street view of the Corn Palace

Mitchell is also the home of the Dakota Discovery Museum, whose mission is to present and preserve the history of the prairie and the people who settled it. The museum covers the time period from 1600, when the Native Americans were still largely undiscovered, to 1939, the end of the Great Depression. The museum holds one of the most complete and pristine collections of American Indian quill and bead-works. The Dakota Discovery Museum also features artists such as Harvey Dunn, James Earle Fraser, Charles Hargens and Oscar Howe. In the village area behind the main building are four authentic historical buildings, including an 1885 one-room school house and the fully furnished 1886 Victorian-Italianate home of the co-founder of the Corn Palace, Louis Beckwith. Two new features of the museum are Discovery Land, a hands-on activity area for children ages five to ten, and the Heritage Gardens Project, which brings indigenous plants to the gardens surrounding the museum and historical buildings.

The Mitchell Prehistoric Indian Village, an archaeological site where scientists are excavating a Native American village, is another attraction in the city. The site, near Lake Mitchell, is believed to have been occupied by ancestors of the present-day Mandan, who now reside in North Dakota. The excavation is unique in that it is enclosed by an Archeodome, a climate-controlled building built over the site, which allows scientists to continue their excavation work year-round.

The Mitchell area also boasts several state champion trees: Black Cherry, Black Locust, Siberian Elm, and Tulip Tree.

Sports

The South Dakota Gold was a professional basketball club that competed in the International Basketball Association in the 2000–01 season.

Education

The campus of Dakota Wesleyan University is located in southwest Mitchell.

Notable people

Clock at Rotary Park
The clock at Rotary Park, across the street from the Corn Palace
  • Ordell Braase, former NFL player and broadcaster
  • Israel Greene, adjutant of the Confederate Marine Corps
  • James S. Hyde, biophysicist
  • Dusty Johnson, US Congressman, former PUC Commissioner, and chief of staff to the Governor
  • John Bailey Jones, retired United States federal judge
  • Mike Miller, former NBA basketball player, was 2000-01 NBA Rookie of the Year, 2005–06 NBA Sixth Man of the Year Award winner and a two-time NBA champion.
  • George McGovern, former Representative and Senator from South Dakota and 1972 Democratic nominee for President, grew up in Mitchell, and lived there until his death in 2012.
  • Adam Morrison, basketball player, briefly lived in Mitchell as a young child while his father was coaching at Dakota Wesleyan.
  • Gary Owens, voice actor and Disc Jockey
  • David Rumelhart, Cognitive Psychologist who co-developed key neural network AI method Backpropagation with Geoffrey Hinton and Ronald J. Williams
  • Howard Rushmore, journalist and investigative reporter

Images for kids

See also

Kids robot.svg In Spanish: Mitchell (Dakota del Sur) para niños

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