Lawrence County, South Dakota

Infobox U.S. County
county = Lawrence County
state = South Dakota


founded year =
founded date =
seat wl = Deadwood
largest city wl =
area_total_sq_mi = 800
area_total_km2 = 2073
area_land_sq_mi = 800
area_land_km2 = 2072
area_water_sq_mi = <1
area_water_km2 = 1
area percentage = 0.03%
census yr = 2000
pop = 21802
density_sq_mi =13
density_km2 = 5
time zone = Mountain
UTC offset = -7
DST offset = -6
footnotes =
web =
named for = John H. Lawrence

Lawrence County is a county located in the U.S. state of South Dakota. As of 2000, the population was 21,802. Its county seat is Deadwood.GR|6

Lawrence County is the only county in the Spearfish Micropolitan Statistical Area.

Geography

According to the U.S. Census Bureau, the county has a total area of 800 square miles (2,073 km²), of which, 800 square miles (2,072 km²) of it is land and 0 square miles (1 km²) of it (0.03%) is water.

Townships

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

John Lawrence

The county was named for "Colonel" John Lawrence who came to the county as first treasurer in 1877. Lawrence had previous served in the Dakota Territorial Legislature, as a Seargent-at-Arms for the United States House of Representatives, and a US Marshall 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.

Major Highways

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

Demographics

USCensusPop
1900 = 17897
1910 = 19694
1920 = 13029
1930 = 13920
1940 = 19093
1950 = 16648
1960 = 17075
1970 = 17453
1980 = 18339
1990 = 20655
2000 = 21802
estyear = 2007
estimate = 23347

As of the censusGR|2 of 2000, there were 21,802 people, 8,881 households, and 5,559 families residing in the county. The population density was 27 people per square mile (11/km²). There were 10,427 housing units at an average density of 13 per square mile (5/km²). The racial makeup of the county was 95.79% White, 0.23% Black or African American, 2.18% Native American, 0.33% Asian, 0.05% Pacific Islander, 0.33% from other races, and 1.08% from two or more races. 1.82% of the population were Hispanic or Latino of any race. 36.0% were of German, 12.0% Norwegian, 9.0% English and 7.5% Irish ancestry according to Census 2000.

There were 8,881 households out of which 28.80% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 51.00% were married couples living together, 8.50% had a female householder with no husband present, and 37.40% were non-families. 29.60% of all households were made up of individuals and 11.50% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 2.33 and the average family size was 2.89.

In the county, the population was spread out with 23.10% under the age of 18, 13.70% from 18 to 24, 25.40% from 25 to 44, 23.10% from 45 to 64, and 14.60% who were 65 years of age or older. The median age was 37 years. For every 100 females there were 96.80 males. For every 100 females age 18 and over, there were 93.30 males.

The median income for a household in the county was $31,755, and the median income for a family was $40,501. Males had a median income of $30,098 versus $19,679 for females. The per capita income for the county was $17,195. About 9.50% of families and 14.80% of the population were below the poverty line, including 15.70% of those under age 18 and 9.10% of those age 65 or over.

Cities and towns

*Central City
*Deadwood
*Lead
*North Spearfish
*Spearfish
*Saint Onge
*Whitewood

References

Further reading

*Caddey, S.W. et al. (1991). "The Homestake Gold Mine, an Early Proterozoic iron-formation-hosted gold deposit, Lawrence County, South Dakota" [U.S. Geological Survey Bulletin 1857-J] . Washington, D.C.: U.S. Department of the Interior, U.S. Geological Survey.

External links

* [http://www.lawrence.sd.us/ Lawrence County, SD government website]
* [http://www.northernblackhillsweeklygroup.com/lawrence_county Lawrence County Journal - local newspaper]
* [http://www.blackhillsportal.com/ Black Hills Community Portal] Black Hills Area Guide & Community Portal