Belle Fourche, South Dakota

Belle Fourche, South Dakota
City
Business District of Belle Fourche
Location in Butte County (top) and South Dakota (bottom)
Belle Fourche, South Dakota Location in the United States
Coordinates: 44°40′3″N 103°51′1″W / 44.66750°N 103.85028°W / 44.66750; -103.85028Coordinates: 44°40′3″N 103°51′1″W / 44.66750°N 103.85028°W / 44.66750; -103.85028
Country	United States
State	South Dakota
County	Butte
Incorporated	1903[1]
Government
• Mayor	Gloria Landphere
Area[2]
• Total	8.60 sq mi (22.27 km2)
• Land	8.53 sq mi (22.09 km2)
• Water	0.07 sq mi (0.18 km2)
Elevation	3,022 ft (921 m)
Population (2010)[3]
• Total	5,594
• Estimate (2013)[4]	5,725
• Density	655.8/sq mi (253.2/km2)
Time zone	MST (UTC-7)
• Summer (DST)	MDT (UTC-6)
ZIP Code	57717
Area code(s)	605
FIPS code	46-04380[5]
GNIS feature ID	1265119[6]
Website	bellefourche.org

Belle Fourche (/bɛlˈfuːʃ/; bel-FOOSH)^[7] is a city in and the county seat of Butte County, South Dakota, United States.^[8] The population was 5,594 at the 2010 census.

The city is near the geographic center of the 50 U.S. states.

History

Belle Fourche (French for "beautiful fork")^[9] was named by French explorers coming from New France, referring to the confluence of what is now known as the Belle Fourche and Redwater Rivers and the Hay Creek. Beaver trappers worked these rivers until the mid-19th century, and Belle Fourche became a well known fur trading rendezvous point. During and after the gold rush of 1876, farmers and ranchers alike settled in the fertile valleys, growing food for the miners and their work animals. At the same time, the open plains for hundred of miles in all directions were being filled by huge herds of Texas and Kansas cattle. Towns sprang up to serve the ever-changing needs of the farmers and ranchers. In 1884, the Marquis de Mores, a French nobleman and contemporary of Theodore Roosevelt, established a stagecoach line between Medora, North Dakota, and Deadwood, South Dakota. The Belle Fourche way station included a stage barn and a saloon.

Commemorating the geographic center of the fifty states

Knowing the cattle barons and the railroad would need a point at which to load the herds of cattle onto freight cars for shipment to the packing plants in the Midwest, Seth Bullock provided a solution and became the parent, in effect, of Belle Fourche, the city. After serving in the Montana legislature in 1871–1873 (and being instrumental in the establishment of a National Park at Yellowstone), he had come to the Black Hills to cash in on selling supplies to the Deadwood miners, arriving August 2, 1876, the day Wild Bill Hickok was murdered.

During the next 14 years, Bullock acquired land as homesteaders along the Belle Fourche River "proved up" and sold out. When the railroad came to the Hills and refused to pay the prices demanded by the nearby township of Minnesela, he was ready. Seth offered the railroad free right-of-way and offered to build the terminal if the railroad would locate it at a point on his land, near where the present Belle Fourche Livestock Exchange exists. In 1890, the first train load of cattle headed east. By 1895, Belle Fourche was shipping 2,500 carloads of cattle per month in the peak season, making it the world's largest livestock-shipping point. This was the start of the agriculture center of the Tri-State area for which Belle Fourche would become known.

After winning a competition with Minnesela over the railroad which now goes through Belle Fourche, Bullock's town went on to win the county seat in the election of 1894. Still, cowboys rode into Minnesela and stole the county books.

Belle Fourche today serves a large trade area of ranches and farms. The wool, cattle, and bentonite industries have been important to the growth of Belle Fourche. The city serves as gateway to the northern Black Hills.^[10]

Geography

According to the United States Census Bureau, the city has a total area of 8.60 square miles (22.27 km²), of which, 8.53 square miles (22.09 km²) is land and 0.07 square miles (0.18 km²) is water.^[2]

Geographic center of U.S.

In 1959, the U.S. Coast and Geodetic Survey officially designated a point 20 miles north of Belle Fourche as the geographic center of the United States. It is the center of the nation because the admission of Alaska and Hawaii to the United States moved the location of the official center of the nation. The geographic center of the 48 contiguous U.S. states is Lebanon, Kansas.

Climate

Demographics

2010 census

As of the census^[3] of 2010, there were 5,594 people, 2,322 households, and 1,461 families residing in the city. The population density was 655.8 inhabitants per square mile (253.2/km²). There were 2,511 housing units at an average density of 294.4 per square mile (113.7/km²). The racial makeup of the city was 93.6% White, 0.2% African American, 2.1% Native American, 0.3% Asian, 0.1% Pacific Islander, 1.3% from other races, and 2.6% from two or more races. Hispanic or Latino of any race were 4.1% of the population.

There were 2,322 households of which 32.8% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 46.0% were married couples living together, 12.0% had a female householder with no husband present, 5.0% had a male householder with no wife present, and 37.1% were non-families. 32.6% of all households were made up of individuals and 13% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 2.36 and the average family size was 2.96.

The median age in the city was 36.1 years. 26.2% of residents were under the age of 18; 9.2% were between the ages of 18 and 24; 23.6% were from 25 to 44; 25.6% were from 45 to 64; and 15.6% were 65 years of age or older. The gender makeup of the city was 48.9% male and 51.1% female.

2000 census

Johnny Spauling Cabin in Belle Fourche

As of the census^[5] of 2000, there were 4,565 people, 1,854 households, and 1,186 families residing in the city. The population density was 1,446.9 people per square mile (557.8/km²). There were 2,122 housing units at an average density of 672.6 per square mile (259.3/km²). The racial makeup of the city was 95.03% White, 0.15% African American, 1.91% Native American, 0.33% Asian, 1.27% from other races, and 1.31% from two or more races. Hispanic or Latino of any race were 3.70% of the population.

There were 1,854 households out of which 32.4% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 50.2% were married couples living together, 10.9% had a female householder with no husband present, and 36.0% were non-families. 30.5% of all households were made up of individuals and 14.3% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 2.41 and the average family size was 3.04.

In the city the population was spread out with 27.2% under the age of 18, 8.2% from 18 to 24, 25.5% from 25 to 44, 21.8% from 45 to 64, and 17.3% who were 65 years of age or older. The median age was 38 years. For every 100 females there were 91.2 males. For every 100 females age 18 and over, there were 85.5 males.

As of 2000 the median income for a household in the city was $26,875, and the median income for a family was $35,506. Males had a median income of $26,763 versus $15,275 for females. The per capita income for the city was $14,051. About 9.0% of families and 12.6% of the population were below the poverty line, including 19.8% of those under age 18 and 7.7% of those age 65 or over.

Radio & TV stations

Popular culture

In the movie The Cowboys (1972) starring John Wayne, the final destination of the cattle drive was Belle Fourche.

Notable people

• Lloyd Eaton, former resident, football player, executive, and coach
• Jason Kubel, born in Belle Fourche, baseball player currently plays for the Minnesota Twins
• Lem Overpeck, born in Belle Fourche, 29th Lieutenant Governor of South Dakota
• Bill Pearson, born in Belle Fourche, comics artist
• Emily E. Sloan, former resident, rancher, lawyer, author
• John Strohmayer, born in Belle Fourche, former baseball pitcher for the Oakland Athletics, Montreal Expos, and New York Mets
• Francis Townsend, former resident, physician

See also

• Geographic centers of the United States

References

External links

• City of Belle Fourche
• Belle Fourche Chamber of Commerce
• Belle Fourche Post & Bee, local newspaper
• Belle Fourche School District
• "Tale of Two Towns"
• Belle Fourche
• In the Middle of Nowhere, a Nation’s Center, New York Times

Municipalities and communities of Butte County, South Dakota, United States County seat: Belle Fourche Cities Belle Fourche Newell Towns Fruitdale Nisland Townships Union Vale Unorganized territories East Butte West Butte CDP Vale Other unincorporated communities Arpan Castle Rock Hoover Jolly Dump Minnesela Ghost town Mason

State of South Dakota Pierre (capital) Topics Delegations Famous South Dakotans Geography Government History Timeline Transportation Symbols Universities Visitor attractions Society Culture Crime Demographics Economy Education Politics Regions Badlands Black Hills Coteau des Prairies Coteau du Missouri Dissected Till Plains Drift Prairie East River Pine Ridge Siouxland West River Larger cities pop. over 5,000 Aberdeen Belle Fourche Box Elder Brandon Brookings Harrisburg Huron Madison Mitchell Pierre Rapid City Sioux Falls Spearfish Sturgis Vermillion Watertown Yankton Smaller cities pop. 1,000 - 5,000 Baltic Beresford Britton Canton Chamberlain Clark Clear Lake Crooks Custer De Smet Deadwood Dell Rapids Eagle Butte Elk Point Flandreau Fort Pierre Freeman Garretson Gettysburg Gregory Groton Hartford Hot Springs Lead Lemmon Lennox Martin Milbank Miller Mission Mobridge North Sioux City Parker Parkston Platte Redfield Salem Sisseton Springfield Summerset Tea Tyndall Volga Wagner Webster Winner Largest CDPs pop. over 1,000 Blackhawk Colonial Pine Hills Dakota Dunes Fort Thompson North Eagle Butte North Spearfish Oglala Pine Ridge Porcupine Rapid Valley Rosebud Counties Aurora Beadle Bennett Bon Homme Brookings Brown Brule Buffalo Butte Campbell Charles Mix Clark Clay Codington Corson Custer Davison Day Deuel Dewey Douglas Edmunds Fall River Faulk Grant Gregory Haakon Hamlin Hand Hanson Harding Hughes Hutchinson Hyde Jackson Jerauld Jones Kingsbury Lake Lawrence Lincoln Lyman Marshall McCook McPherson Meade Mellette Miner Minnehaha Moody Oglala Lakota Pennington Perkins Potter Roberts Sanborn Spink Stanley Sully Todd Tripp Turner Union Walworth Yankton Ziebach