Custer County, South Dakota

Custer County Education, Geography, and History

Custer County is a county located in the state of South Dakota. Based on the 2010 census, the population was 8,216. Its county seat is Custer. The county was created in 1875 and organized in 1877.

Custer County is included in the Rapid City, SD Metropolitan Statistical Area.

Etymology - Origin of Custer County Name

Custer is named after military officer George Armstrong Custer.

Demographics:

County QuickFacts: CensusBureau Quick Facts

Custer County History

Custer County was organized in April, 1877 and named in honor of General George A. Custer. Custer City was originally the county seat but it was later moved to Hayward City where the county commissioners first held their meetings. However, Hayward City was found to be beyond the limits of Custer County and the county seat was permanently fixed at Custer City (now Custer) October 10, 1879.

Geography: Land and Water

As reported by the Census Bureau, the county has a total area of 1,559 square miles (4,038 km²), of which, 1,558 square miles (4,034 km²) of it is land and 1 square miles (4 km²) of it (0.09%) is water. Wind Cave National Park is located within the county, as is Jewel Cave National Monument. South Dakota's own Custer State Park is also located in the county.

Neighboring Counties

Bordering counties are as follows:

• Pennington County, South Dakota - north
• Shannon County, South Dakota - southeast
• Fall River County, South Dakota - south
• Niobrara County, Wyoming - southwest
• Weston County, Wyoming - west

Education

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