Hand County, South Dakota facts for kids

Quick facts for kids Hand County
U.S. county
Hand County and its towns and villages in 1892
Location within the U.S. state of South Dakota
South Dakota's location within the U.S.
Country	United States
State	South Dakota
Founded	1873 (created) 1882 (redrawn) 1882 (organized)
Named for	George A. Hand
Seat	Miller
Largest city	Miller
Area
• Total	1,440 sq mi (3,700 km2)
• Land	1,437 sq mi (3,720 km2)
• Water	3.6 sq mi (9 km2)  0.2%
Population  (2020)
• Total	3,145
• Estimate  (2023)	3,107
• Density	2.184/sq mi (0.8433/km2)
Time zone	UTC−6 (Central)
• Summer (DST)	UTC−5 (CDT)
Congressional district	At-large

Hand County is a county located in the state of South Dakota in the United States. As of the 2020 census, about 3,145 people lived there. The main town and county seat of Hand County is Miller.

History of Hand County

Hand County was named after George A. Hand. He was the secretary for the Dakota Territory at the time. The county was first created in 1873 by the government of the Dakota Territory. Its exact borders were set in 1882, which is also when the county officially started to operate.

Geography and Nature

The land in Hand County has gentle, rolling hills. You can find small ponds and lakes scattered around. Most of the land is used for farming. The county's highest point is about 2,080 feet (634 meters) above sea level. This is located on the western edge of the county.

Hand County covers a total area of about 1,440 square miles (3,730 square kilometers). Most of this area, about 1,437 square miles (3,722 square kilometers), is land. Only a small part, about 3.6 square miles (9.3 square kilometers), is water.

Main Roads in Hand County

Neighboring Counties

Protected Natural Areas

Hand County has several areas set aside to protect wildlife and nature. These are called State Game Production Areas or State Recreation Areas. They are great places for outdoor activities.

• Collins State Game Production Area
• Dakota State Game Production Area
• East Pearl State Game Production Area
• Hawkins State Game Production Area
• Lake Jones State Game Production Area
• Lake Louise State Game Production Area
• Lake Louise State Recreation Area
• Lechtenberg State Game Production Area
• Reinhardt State Game Production Area
• Rosehill State Game Production Area
• Spring Lake State Game Production Area
• West Pearl State Game Production Area

Lakes in Hand County

Population and People

2020 Census Information

According to the 2020 census, Hand County had 3,145 people. There were 1,348 households, which are groups of people living together. There were also 891 families. The population density was about 2.2 people per square mile.

2010 Census Information

In the 2010 census, there were 3,431 people living in Hand County. Most people in the county were white (98.4%). A small number were Asian, American Indian, or Black. About 0.6% of the population identified as Hispanic or Latino.

Many people in Hand County have German (57.3%) or Irish (15.3%) backgrounds. Other common ancestries include Norwegian, English, and Dutch. The average age of people in the county was about 48.2 years old.

Towns and Communities

Hand County has several towns and communities where people live.

Cities in Hand County

Towns in Hand County

• Ree Heights
• St. Lawrence

Special Communities

• Millerdale Colony (This is a census-designated place, meaning it's a community identified by the census bureau)

Other Communities (Unincorporated)

These are smaller communities that are not officially organized as cities or towns.

• Polo
• Vayland

Townships in Hand County

Townships are smaller local government areas within the county.

Unorganized Territory

One part of Hand County is called "Northwest Hand." This area does not have its own local government like a township.

See also

In Spanish: Condado de Hand para niños