Lyman County, South Dakota

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

County Seat: Kennebec
Year Organized: 1873
Square Miles: 1,640

Court House:

P.O. Box 38
County Courthouse
Kennebec, SD 57544-0038

Etymology - Origin of County Name

Lyman is named for territorial legislator W.P. Lyman.

Demographics:

County QuickFacts: Census Bureau Quick Facts

County History

Lyman County was created by the Dakota Territorial Legislature in 1873 and organized in 1893. The county was named for Major W. P. Lyman, a member of the territorial legislature in 1873. Oacoma was the county's earliest town and first county seat. When Lyman and Jones County separated, Presho and Kennebec were the chief rivals of Oacoma for the honor of county seat. Following an election, the county seat was moved to Kennebec in 1923.

Geography

According to the U.S. Census Bureau, the county has a total area of 1,707 square miles (4,421 km²), of which, 1,640 square miles (4,247 km²) of it is land and 67 square miles (174 km²) of it (3.93%) is water.

Neighboring Counties:

Hughes County, South Dakota - north
Hyde County, South Dakota - northwest
Buffalo County, South Dakota - northwest
Brule County, South Dakota - east
Gregory County, South Dakota - south
Tripp County, South Dakota - south
Mellette County, South Dakota - southeast
Jones County, South Dakota - west
Stanley County, South Dakota - northwest

Cities and Towns:

- Black Dog	UT
- Butte	township
- Dorman	township
- Fairland	township
- Iona	township
- Kennebec (County Seat)	town	Incorporated Area
- Lafayette	UT
- Lower Brule	UT
- McClure	UT
- Northwest Lyman	UT
- Oacoma	town	Incorporated Area
- Pleasant	township
- Pratt	township
- Presho	city	Incorporated Area
- Reliance	town	Incorporated Area
- Rex	township
- Rose	township
- Rowe	township
- Sioux	township
- South Lyman	UT
- Vivian	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."