List of South Dakota county name etymologies
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This is a list of South Dakota county name etymologies:
Contents: Top - 0–9 A B C D E F G H I J K L M N O P Q R S T U V W X Y Z
[edit] Alphabetical, by first letter
[edit] A
- Aurora County: Aurora is named for Aurora, Greco-Roman goddess of the dawn.
[edit] B
- Beadle County: Beadle is named for military officer and local leader William Henry Harrison Beadle.
- Bennett County: Bennett is named for either John E. Bennett, a judge of the state supreme court, or local politician Granville C. Bennett.
- Bon Homme County: Bon Homme is named after Bon Homme Island in the Missouri River. Bon homme is French for good man.
- Brookings County: Brookings is named for Brookings, South Dakota, the county seat.
- Brown County: Brown is named for territorial legislator Alfred Brown.
- Brule County: Brule may be named for the Brule Sioux Native American people.
- Buffalo County: Buffalo is probably named for the buffalo (properly American Bison) that once roamed the Great Plains.
- Butte County: Butte is named for the local geographical features known as buttes.
[edit] C
- Campbell County: Campbell is named for Newton B. Campbell of Scotland, son of the famous Gen. Charles T. Campbell, "the man whom Lincoln made a brigadier general upon condition that he should die immediately."
- Charles Mix County: Charles Mix is named after Charles Mix, a commissioner of Indian affairs.
- Clark County: Clark is named after Clark House, a local inn that was the county's first headquarters.
- Clay County: Clay is probably named for Speaker of the U.S. House of Representatives Henry Clay.
- Codington County: Codington is named for a local circuit preacher named Reverend G.S. Codington.
- Corson County: Corson is named after Dighton Corson, a Justice of the South Dakota Supreme Court.
- Custer County: Custer is named after military officer George Armstrong Custer.
[edit] D
- Davison County: Davison is named for Henry C. Davison, an important local merchant.
- Day County: Day is named for Territorial legislator Merrit H. Day.
- Deuel County: Deuel is named for early settler Jacob S. Deuel.
- Dewey County: Dewey is named for William P. Dewey, the surveyor general of Dakota Territory from 1873 until 1877.
- Douglas County: Douglas is named for United States Senator Stephen A. Douglas.
[edit] E
- Edmunds County: Edmunds is named for Governor of Dakota Territory Newton Edmunds.
[edit] F
- Fall River County: Fall River is named for the Fall River.
- Faulk County: Faulk is named for Governor of Dakota Territory Andrew Jackson Faulk.
[edit] G
- Grant County: Grant is named for American Civil War general and U.S. President Ulysses S. Grant.
- Gregory County: Gregory is named for C.H. Gregory, an officer stationed at Fort Randall.
[edit] H
- Haakon County: Haakon is named for Haakon VII of Norway.
- Hamlin County: Hamlin is named for Hannibal Hamlin, Abraham Lincoln's first Vice President.
- Hand County: Hand is named for George H. Hand, U.S. Attorney for the District of Dakota Territory.
- Hanson County: Hanson was named for Joseph R. Hanson of Yankton
- Harding County: Harding is named for territorial legislator J. A. Harding.
- Hughes County: Hughes is named for territorial legislator Alexander Hughes.
- Hutchinson County: Hutchinson is named for territorial secretary John Hutchinson.
- Hyde County: Hyde is named for territorial legislator James Hyde.
[edit] J
- Jackson County: Jackson is named for territorial legislator J.R. Jackson.
- Jerauld County: Jerauld is named for territorial legislator H.A. Jerauld.
- Jones County: Jones is named for Jones County, Iowa.
[edit] K
- Kingsbury County: Kingsbury is named for territorial legislators and brothers George W. Kingsbury and T.A. Kingsbury.
[edit] L
- Lake County: Lake is named for the region's many lakes.
- Lawrence County: Lawrence is named for John Lawrence, the first treasurer of the county.
- Lincoln County: Lincoln was named after Abraham Lincoln.
- Lyman County: Lyman is named for territorial legislator W.P. Lyman.
[edit] M
- Marshall County: Marshall is named for prominent county resident Marshall Vincent.
- McCook County: McCook is named for military officer and Dakota Territory secretary Edwin McCook.
- McPherson County: McPherson is named for American Civil War military officer James B. McPherson.
- Meade County: Meade is named for American Civil War general George Meade.
- Mellette County: Mellette is named for Arthur C. Mellette, the first governor of South Dakota and the last governor of Dakota Territory.
- Miner County: Miner is named for territorial legislators Nelson Miner and Ephriam Miner.
- Minnehaha County: Minnehaha's name is taken from a Native American word meaning river waterfall.
- Moody County: Moody is named for territorial legislator and later U.S. Senator Gideon C. Moody.
[edit] P
- Pennington County: Pennington is named for Governor of Dakota Territory John L. Pennington.
- Perkins County: Perkins is named for South Dakota state legislator Henry E. Perkins.
- Potter County: Potter is named for territorial legislator Joel A. Potter.
[edit] R
- Roberts County: Roberts is named for territorial legislator S. G. Roberts.
[edit] S
- Sanborn County: Sanborn is named for Milwaukee Railroad superintendent George W. Sanborn.
- Shannon County: Shannon is named for Peter Shannon, a Chief Justice of the Territorial Supreme Court.
- Spink County: Spink is named for secretary of the Dakota Territory S.L. Spink.
- Stanley County: Stanley is named for military officer David S. Stanley, long-time commander at Fort Sully.
- Sully County: Sully is named for Fort Sully, which is named in turn for is founder, officer Alfred Sully.
[edit] T
- Todd County: Todd is named for John Blair Smith Todd, the first Congressional Delegate from Dakota Territory.
- Tripp County: Tripp is named for chief justice of the Dakota Territory Supreme Court Bartlett Tripp.
- Turner County: Turner is named for territorial legislator John W. Turner.
[edit] U
- Union County: Union was named because of pro-Union sentiment during the American Civil War.
[edit] W
- Walworth County: Walworth is named for Walworth County, Wisconsin.
[edit] Y
- Yankton County: Yankton is named for the Yankton Sioux Native American people.
[edit] Z
- Ziebach County: Ziebach is named for local leader Frank M. Ziebach.
[edit] Source
- County Associations of South Dakota
- South Dakota Glacial Lakes County Histories (Incomplete)
- History of South Dakota: Brief Sketches of the Counties
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