Mellette County, South Dakota

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Mellette County, South Dakota
Map
Location in the state of South Dakota
South Dakota's location in the U.S.
Statistics
Founded	information needed
Seat	White River
Area - Total - Land - Water	1,310 sq mi (3,392 km²) 1,306 sq mi (3,384 km²) 3 sq mi (8 km²), 0.25%
Population - (2000) - Density	2,083 1/sq mi (0/km²)
Time zone	Central: UTC-6/-5
Named for: Arthur C. Mellette

Mellette County is a county located in the U.S. state of South Dakota. As of 2000, the population is 2,083. Its county seat is White River.^[1] The county was named after Arthur C. Mellette (June 25, 1842 – May 25, 1896) who was the last Governor of the Dakota Territory and was the first Governor of the state of South Dakota.

1 Geography
2 Demographics
3 Cities and towns
4 References

[edit] Geography

According to the U.S. Census Bureau, the county has a total area of 1,310 square miles (3,392 km²), of which, 1,306 square miles (3,384 km²) of it is land and 3 square miles (8 km²) of it (0.25%) is water.

[edit] Townships

The county is divided into sixteen townships: Bad Nation, Blackpipe, Butte, Cody, Fairview, Mosher, New Surprise Valley, Norris, Prospect, Red Fish, Ring Thunder, Riverside, Rocky Ford, Rosebud, Running Bird, and Surprise Valley; and two areas of unorganized territory: Cedarbutte and Central Mellette.

[edit] Major highways

[edit] Adjacent counties

[edit] Demographics

Historical populations
Census	Pop.	%±
1910	1,700	—
1920	3,850	126.5%
1930	5,293	37.5%
1940	4,107	-22.4%
1950	3,046	-25.8%
1960	2,664	-12.5%
1970	2,420	-9.2%
1980	2,249	-7.1%
1990	2,137	-5.0%
2000	2,083	-2.5%
Est. 2007	2,019	-3.1%

As of the census^[2] of 2000, there were 2,083 people, 694 households, and 498 families residing in the county. The population density was 2 people per square mile (1/km²). There were 824 housing units at an average density of 1 per square mile (0/km²). The racial makeup of the county was 44.74% White, 52.42% Native American, 0.10% Asian, 0.24% from other races, and 2.50% from two or more races. 1.68% of the population were Hispanic or Latino of any race.

There were 694 households out of which 38.90% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 46.80% were married couples living together, 16.70% had a female householder with no husband present, and 28.10% were non-families. 24.20% of all households were made up of individuals and 10.50% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 2.94 and the average family size was 3.49.

In the county, the population was spread out with 35.30% under the age of 18, 7.50% from 18 to 24, 24.60% from 25 to 44, 19.40% from 45 to 64, and 13.20% who were 65 years of age or older. The median age was 32 years. For every 100 females there were 101.30 males. For every 100 females age 18 and over, there were 100.60 males.

The median income for a household in the county was $23,219, and the median income for a family was $25,221. Males had a median income of $17,989 versus $17,989 for females. The per capita income for the county was $10,362. About 30.40% of families and 35.80% of the population were below the poverty line, including 45.70% of those under age 18 and 21.90% of those age 65 or over.