Hand County, South Dakota

Hand County History, Geography, Demographics, Cities and Towns, and Education

County Seat: Miller
Year Organized: 1873
Square Miles: 1,437

Court House:

415 West First Avenue
County Courthouse
Miller, SD 57362-1346

Etymology - Origin of County Name

Hand is named for George H. Hand, U.S. Attorney for the District of Dakota Territory.

Demographics:

County QuickFacts: Census Bureau Quick Facts

County History

Hand County was created in 1873 and organized in 1882. It was named for George H. Hand, U.S. Attorney for the Dakota Territory. The first county commission meeting was held September 1, 1882. The town of Miller was named County seat, but not without a battle with St. Lawrence.

Geography

According to the U.S. Census Bureau, the county has a total area of 1,440 square miles (3,730 km²), of which, 1,437 square miles (3,721 km²) of it is land and 4 square miles (9 km²) of it (0.25%) is water.

Neighboring Counties:

Faulk County, South Dakota - north
Spink County, South Dakota - northeast
Beadle County, South Dakota - east
Jerauld County, South Dakota - southeast
Buffalo County, South Dakota - southwest
Hyde County, South Dakota - west

Cities and Towns:

- Alden	township
- Alpha	township
- Bates	township
- Burdette	township
- Carlton	township
- Cedar	township
- Como	township
- Gilbert	township
- Glendale	township
- Grand	township
- Greenleaf	township
- Hiland	township
- Holden	township
- Hulbert	township
- Linn	township
- Logan	township
- Miller (County Seat)	city	Incorporated Area
- Mondamin	township
- Northwest Hand	UT
- Ohio	township
- Ontario	township
- Orient	town	Incorporated Area
- Park	township
- Pearl	township
- Plato	township
- Pleasant Valley	township
- Ree Heights	town	Incorporated Area
- Riverside	township
- Rockdale	township
- Rose Hill	township
- Spring Hill	township
- Spring Lake	township
- St. Lawrence	town	Incorporated Area
- Wheaton	township
- York	township

County Resources:

Enter County Resources and Information Here

County Resources

The history of our nation was a prolonged struggle to define the relative roles and powers of our governments: federal, state, and local. And the names given the counties, our most locally based jurisdictions, reflects the "characteristic features of this country!"

But age, size and colorful names of our counties isn't the only reason to explore counties' role in American history, or the history of county government itself. In fact, the story of county government reflects the larger meanings of American history.

Today's counties are the most flexible, locally responsive and creative governments in the US. They are the most diverse, varying in size, population, geography, and governmental structure. In their politics and policies, they express a 1990's political slogan "Think globally, act locally."