kids encyclopedia robot

Huron, South Dakota facts for kids

Kids Encyclopedia Facts
Quick facts for kids
Huron, South Dakota
City
World's Largest Pheasant in Huron
World's Largest Pheasant in Huron
Location in Beadle County and the state of South Dakota
Location in Beadle County and the state of South Dakota
Huron, South Dakota is located in the United States
Huron, South Dakota
Huron, South Dakota
Location in the United States
Country United States
State South Dakota
County Beadle
Incorporated 1883
Named for Huron Indians
Government
 • Type Commissioner Form
Area
 • Total 10.81 sq mi (27.99 km2)
 • Land 9.72 sq mi (25.17 km2)
 • Water 1.09 sq mi (2.82 km2)
Elevation
1,280 ft (390 m)
Population
 (2020)
 • Total 14,263
 • Density 1,467.54/sq mi (566.64/km2)
Time zone UTC−6 (CST)
 • Summer (DST) UTC−5 (CDT)
ZIP code
57350 and 57399
Area code(s) 605
FIPS code 46-31060
GNIS feature ID 1255722
Airport code HON
Website huronsd.com

Huron is a city in and the county seat of Beadle County, South Dakota, United States. The population was 14,263 at the 2020 census, and it is the 8th most populous city in South Dakota.

The first settlement at Huron was made in 1880. Huron is location of the South Dakota State Fair, and of a statue called the World's Largest Pheasant.

History

South Dakota capital rival 1889 maps
Huron (left) and Pierre (right) issued rival maps that claimed each as the best place voters should choose for the new state capital in 1890.

Huron was founded during railroad and land booms in the 1880s. The early history of the town is closely linked with the Chicago and Northwestern Railway. At the direction of Marvin Hughitt, general manager of the railroad, the west bank of the James River was selected as the railway's division headquarters. The company gained title to 880 acres (3.6 km2) of land at that location. Huron was named for the Huron Indians.

The original plat covered 11 blocks, and Huron's first settler was John Cain, a practical printer from Troy, New York. He learned in Chicago, from the railroad people, that they would have their chief town and operating headquarters at their James River crossing.

Beginning in 1880, Huron and Pierre vied to be selected as the state capital, until Pierre was chosen in 1904. Campbell Park and Winter Park in Huron were previously designated as properties for the capital grounds, and a city block of land between the parks with Victorian houses was originally slated for the capitol building.

  • Chronology:
    • 1879 – The town site was located
    • 1880 – Town site surveyed and platted
    • 1881 – First town government formed - a board of four trustees, a town clerk, a justice of the peace, one marshal and a surveyor
    • 1882 – Alderman system of government adopted
    • 1883 – Incorporated as the City of Huron - the city still operates under the original charter and seal
    • 1910 – Changed from alderman to city commission form of government
    • 1935 – City manager form of government adopted

Geography

According to the United States Census Bureau, the city has a total area of 10.57 square miles (27.38 km2), of which 9.48 square miles (24.55 km2) is land and 1.09 square miles (2.82 km2) is water.

Climate

Huron has a humid continental climate, with hot, humid summers, cold, dry winters, and wide temperature extremes; it is part of USDA hardiness zone 4b. The normal monthly mean temperature ranges from 16.0 °F (−8.9 °C) in January to 73.7 °F (23.2 °C) in July. On average, there are 1.7 days that reach 100 °F (38 °C) or higher, 21.9 days that reach 90 °F (32 °C) or higher, 66.7 days that do not climb above freezing, 27.7 days with a low of 0 °F (−18 °C) or below, and 3.1 days that do not rise above 0 °F (−18 °C) annually. The average window for freezing temperatures are September 30 through May 5, allowing a growing season of 147 days. Extreme temperatures officially range from −43 °F (−42 °C) on January 12, 1912, and January 8, 1887, up to 112 °F (44 °C) on July 10, 1966; the record cold daily maximum is −21 °F (−29 °C) on January 14, 1888, while, conversely, the record warm daily minimum is 82 °F (28 °C) on July 11, 1936.

Precipitation is greatest in May and June and averages 23.32 in (592 mm) annually, but has ranged from 9.72 in (247 mm) in 1952 to 30.89 in (785 mm) in 2010. Snowfall averages 44.4 in (113 cm) per season, and has historically ranged from 10.1 in (26 cm) in 1930–31 to 89.6 in (228 cm) in 2000–01; the average window for measurable (≥0.1 in or 0.25 cm) snowfall is November 3 through April 11, although snow in October occurs several times per decade and snow in May is a much rarer event.

Climate data for Huron Regional Airport, South Dakota, 1991−2020 normals, extremes 1881−present
Month Jan Feb Mar Apr May Jun Jul Aug Sep Oct Nov Dec Year
Record high °F (°C) 65
(18)		 71
(22)		 89
(32)		 97
(36)		 106
(41)		 109
(43)		 112
(44)		 110
(43)		 106
(41)		 102
(39)		 86
(30)		 71
(22)		 112
(44)
Mean daily maximum °F (°C) 25.8
(−3.4)		 30.8
(−0.7)		 43.7
(6.5)		 57.9
(14.4)		 70.0
(21.1)		 80.0
(26.7)		 85.7
(29.8)		 83.4
(28.6)		 75.7
(24.3)		 60.2
(15.7)		 43.9
(6.6)		 30.2
(−1.0)		 57.3
(14.1)
Daily mean °F (°C) 16.0
(−8.9)		 20.5
(−6.4)		 32.9
(0.5)		 45.7
(7.6)		 57.9
(14.4)		 68.3
(20.2)		 73.7
(23.2)		 71.3
(21.8)		 62.6
(17.0)		 47.9
(8.8)		 33.1
(0.6)		 20.6
(−6.3)		 45.9
(7.7)
Mean daily minimum °F (°C) 6.2
(−14.3)		 10.2
(−12.1)		 22.1
(−5.5)		 33.6
(0.9)		 45.9
(7.7)		 56.7
(13.7)		 61.6
(16.4)		 59.2
(15.1)		 49.5
(9.7)		 35.5
(1.9)		 22.2
(−5.4)		 11.0
(−11.7)		 34.5
(1.4)
Record low °F (°C) −43
(−42)		 −41
(−41)		 −25
(−32)		 −2
(−19)		 16
(−9)		 31
(−1)		 37
(3)		 33
(1)		 18
(−8)		 −6
(−21)		 −28
(−33)		 −34
(−37)		 −43
(−42)
Average precipitation inches (mm) 0.58
(15)		 0.75
(19)		 1.15
(29)		 2.52
(64)		 3.15
(80)		 3.89
(99)		 2.83
(72)		 2.59
(66)		 2.43
(62)		 1.95
(50)		 0.82
(21)		 0.66
(17)		 23.32
(592)
Average snowfall inches (cm) 7.8
(20)		 8.9
(23)		 6.6
(17)		 5.5
(14)		 0.0
(0.0)		 0.0
(0.0)		 0.0
(0.0)		 0.0
(0.0)		 0.0
(0.0)		 1.4
(3.6)		 5.8
(15)		 8.4
(21)		 44.4
(113)
Average precipitation days (≥ 0.01 in) 6.3 7.0 7.0 9.0 11.2 11.6 8.8 8.0 6.8 7.4 5.4 6.4 94.9
Average snowy days (≥ 0.1 in) 6.1 6.4 4.1 2.2 0.0 0.0 0.0 0.0 0.0 0.9 3.3 6.0 29.0
Average relative humidity (%) 71.2 73.7 73.3 66.3 66.3 68.3 65.8 66.6 67.7 66.8 72.8 74.0 69.4
Mean monthly sunshine hours 179.7 182.8 229.9 251.7 307.0 332.8 362.4 329.3 258.9 215.9 152.1 144.1 2,946.6
Percent possible sunshine 62 62 62 62 67 72 77 76 69 63 53 52 66
Source: NOAA (relative humidity and sun 1961–1990)

Demographics

Historical population
Census Pop. %±
1880 164 —
1890 3,038 1,752.4%
1900 2,793 −8.1%
1910 5,791 107.3%
1920 8,302 43.4%
1930 10,946 31.8%
1940 10,843 −0.9%
1950 12,788 17.9%
1960 14,180 10.9%
1970 14,299 0.8%
1980 13,000 −9.1%
1990 12,448 −4.2%
2000 11,893 −4.5%
2010 12,592 5.9%
2020 14,263 13.3%
U.S. Decennial Census

2010 census

As of the census of 2010, there were 12,592 people, 5,418 households, and 3,179 families residing in the city. The population density was 1,328.3 inhabitants per square mile (512.9/km2). There were 6,023 housing units at an average density of 635.3 per square mile (245.3/km2). The racial makeup of the city was 86.9% White, 1.0% African American, 1.2% Native American, 4.9% Asian, 0.1% Pacific Islander, 3.9% from other races, and 1.9% from two or more races. Hispanic or Latino of any race were 9.8% of the population.

There were 5,418 households, of which 28.7% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 44.4% were married couples living together, 9.8% had a female householder with no husband present, 4.4% had a male householder with no wife present, and 41.3% were non-families. 36.1% of all households were made up of individuals, and 15% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 2.27 and the average family size was 2.94.

The median age in the city was 39.8 years. 24.1% of residents were under the age of 18; 8.7% were between the ages of 18 and 24; 22.8% were from 25 to 44; 26.4% were from 45 to 64; and 17.8% were 65 years of age or older. The gender makeup of the city was 49.4% male and 50.6% female.

Arts and culture

The community operates a fine arts center and community theater.

In 2005, The Huron Event Center was opened, connecting an arena, hotel, and convention center.

The South Dakota State Fair is at the South Dakota State Fair Speedway.

Parks and recreation

The city operates a waterpark called Splash Central, featuring an Olympic-sized pool, slides, and children's area.

Education

The Huron School District, which covers Huron, has three public elementary schools, one middle school, and one high school. Huron High School's mascot is the "Tigers". 2022-2023 enrollment is approximately 2900 students.

It was the home of Si Tanka University (formerly Huron College) from 1983 to 2005.

Huron is also home to a Catholic elementary school called Holy Trinity School, and a private non-denomination K-12 School, James Valley Christian School.

Media

Newspaper

The Huron Daily Plainsman is the newspaper.

Television

KTTW operates a satellite station, operated by Tri-State Christian Television.

Radio

Radio stations include:

Infrastructure

Transportation

U.S. Route 14 is an east–west route passing through the northern part of the city. It intersects with north–south South Dakota Highway 37 in the city. This was the historical designation of the north–south U.S. Route 281, which was later moved to a more direct route that passes about ten miles west of Huron.

The Rapid City, Pierre and Eastern Railroad runs east–west, with maintenance facilities and a working roundhouse in the city.

The Huron Regional Airport is city-owned. It had scheduled passenger flights operated by a commuter air carrier, Great Lakes Airlines, with Beechcraft 1900D commuter turboprop aircraft service to Denver. The airport does not currently see scheduled service.

People's Transit provides demand-response transit in and around Huron, and also provides a connection to Jefferson Lines intercity buses at Mitchell.

Notable people

  • Adolphus W. Burtt, South Dakota Attorney General.
  • Amit Kapur, former Chief operating officer of MySpace.
  • Earl Caddock, professional wrestler.
  • J. L. Carr, English novelist, taught at the public school in Huron in 1938–1939 and 1956–1957.
  • Roxanne Conlin, Iowan politician, ran for senator in 2010.
  • Patrick Davis, Republican political consultant and former director of the National Republican Senatorial Committee.
  • John K. Fairbank, historian of China, was born in Huron in 1907.
  • Archibald K. Gardner, former federal judge.
  • Bob Glanzer, former member of the South Dakota House of Representatives.
  • Jennifer Jean Hart, one of the perpetrators of the Hart family murders.
  • Candace Hilligoss, actress.
  • Muriel Humphrey, U.S. Senator from Minnesota in 1978 and wife of Hubert Humphrey.
  • Raymond A. Johnson, aviation pioneer.
  • Craig Kennedy, member of the South Dakota Senate.
  • Cheryl Ladd, actress and singer.
  • Vernon C. Miller, Beadle County Sheriff turned Prohibition criminal.
  • Arthur L. Padrutt, Wisconsin politician.
  • John M. Patton, member of the Minnesota Senate and funeral director.
  • Gladys Pyle, first woman elected to the U.S. Senate without having previously been appointed.
  • John L. Pyle, former Attorney General of South Dakota.
  • Mamie Shields Pyle, women's suffrage advocate.
  • Mike Rounds, South Dakota governor and U.S. senator.
  • Chic Sale, actor and vaudevillian, born in Huron.
  • Ron Tschetter, Director of the Peace Corps.
  • Fred M. Wilcox, former South Dakota state senator.
  • Josh Haeder, 33rd State Treasurer of South Dakota.

Furthur reading

  • J.L. Carr (1957) The Old Timers. A social history of the way of life of the home-steading pioneers in the prairie states during the first few years of settlement, as shown by a typical community, the 'old-timers' of Beadle County in South Dakota. Huron, South Dakota: privately printed.
  • Mildred McEwen Jones (1961) Early Beadle County 1879 to 1900. Huron, South Dakota: privately printed.
  • Littlefield, Jennifer and Louis Van Poll. Huron (Images of America). Arcadia Publishing, 2024

See also

Kids robot.svg In Spanish: Huron (Dakota del Sur) para niños

kids search engine
All content from Kiddle encyclopedia articles (including the article images and facts) can be freely used under Attribution-ShareAlike license, unless stated otherwise. Cite this article:
Huron, South Dakota Facts for Kids. Kiddle Encyclopedia.