Union County, South Dakota

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

County Seat: Elk Point
Year Organized: 1862
Square Miles: 460

Court House:

209 East Main St., Suite 250
County Courthouse
Elk Point, SD 57025-0000

Etymology - Origin of County Name

Union was named because of pro-Union sentiment during the American Civil War.

Demographics:

County QuickFacts: Census Bureau Quick Facts

County History

Union County, created in 1862, organized in 1862, was originally named Cole for Austin Cole, a member of the first Territorial Legislature. Two years later, in 1864, the boundaries were rearranged and the name was changed to Union because of sentiment for the Union side of the Civil War. The county seat is located at Elk Point.

Geography

According to the U.S. Census Bureau, the county has a total area of 467 square miles (1,210 km²), of which, 460 square miles (1,192 km²) of it is land and 7 square miles (17 km²) of it (1.43%) is water.

Neighboring Counties:

Lincoln County, South Dakota - north
Sioux County, Iowa - northeast
Plymouth County, Iowa - east
Woodbury County, Iowa - southeast
Dakota County, Nebraska - south
Dixon County, Nebraska - southwest
Clay County, South Dakota - west

Cities and Towns:

- Alcester	city	Incorporated Area
- Beresford	city	Incorporated Area
- Big Sioux	township
- Big Springs	township
- Brule	township
- Civil Bend	township
- Elk Point (County Seat)	city	Incorporated Area
- Emmet	township
- Jefferson	city	Incorporated Area
- North Sioux City	city	Incorporated Area
- Prairie	township
- Richland	township
- Sioux Valley	township
- Spink	township
- Virginia	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."