Jones County, South Dakota

Jones County Education, Geography, and History

Jones County is a county located in the state of South Dakota. Based on the 2010 census, the population was 1,006, making it the least populous county in South Dakota. Its county seat is Murdo. Created in 1916 and organized in 1917, it is the most recently established county in South Dakota

Etymology - Origin of Jones County Name

Jones is named for Jones County, Iowa.

Demographics:

County QuickFacts: CensusBureau Quick Facts

Jones County History

As an unorganized county, Jones County was called Pratt. Lyman County, which was unorganized and heavily in debt, persuaded Presho and Pratt Counties to join. Almost immediately the fight to separate began. In 1907 the legislature passed a law describing how the counties should separate. The vote failed. In 1910 they voted again and lost and in 1916 they voted once again and the proposition carried. Murdo is the county seat.

Geography: Land and Water

As reported by the Census Bureau, the county has a total area of 972 square miles (2,517 km²), of which, 971 square miles (2,514 km²) of it is land and 1 square miles (3 km²) of it (0.12%) is water.

Neighboring Counties

Bordering counties are as follows:

• Stanley County, South Dakota - north
• Lyman County, South Dakota - east
• Mellette County, South Dakota - south
• Jackson County, South Dakota - southwest
• Haakon County, South Dakota - northwest

Education

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