Corson County, South Dakota

Corson County Education, Geography, and History

Corson County is a county located in the state of South Dakota. Based on the 2010 census, the population was 4,050. Its county seat is McIntosh. The county was named for Dighton Corson, a native of Maine, who came to the Black Hills in 1876, and in 1877 began practicing law at Deadwood.

The county is encompassed within the Standing Rock Indian Reservation, which extends into North Dakota. The Lakota people reside primarily in the South Dakota part of the reservation; the Yanktonai and Dakota live in that part in North Dakota. The Grand River, a tributary of the Missouri River, runs through the reservation.

Etymology - Origin of Corson County Name

Corson is named after Dighton Corson, a Justice of the South Dakota Supreme Court.

Demographics:

County QuickFacts: CensusBureau Quick Facts

Corson County History

Corson County was created by an act of the legislature passed and approved March 2, 1909. Prior to that, the area was part of three separate and distinct counties: Schnasse, Dewey and Boreman. The county was named in honor of Dighton Corson, a Justice of the South Dakota Supreme Court. It remained unorganized until July of 1909 when an election was called by Governor Vessey. The people voted on the location of the temporary courthouse with the contest being between McIntosh and Morristown. McIntosh won but was challenged again in 1910.

Geography: Land and Water

As reported by the Census Bureau, the county has a total area of 2,529 square miles (6,551 km²), of which, 2,473 square miles (6,405 km²) of it is land and 56 square miles (146 km²) of it (2.23%) is water. The entire county lies within the Standing Rock Indian Reservation.

Neighboring Counties

Bordering counties are as follows:

• Sioux County, North Dakota - north
• Campbell County, South Dakota - east
• Walworth County, South Dakota - southeast
• Dewey County, South Dakota - south
• Ziebach County, South Dakota - southwest
• Perkins County, South Dakota - west

Education

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