Turner County, South Dakota

Turner County Education, Geography, and History

Turner County is a county located in the state of South Dakota. Based on the 2010 census, the population was 8,347. Its county seat is Parker. The county was established in 1871 and named for Dakota Territory official John W. Turner.

Turner County is part of the Sioux Falls, SD Metropolitan Statistical Area.

Etymology - Origin of Turner County Name

Turner is named for territorial legislator John W. Turner.

Demographics:

County QuickFacts: CensusBureau Quick Facts

Turner County History

Turner County, created and organized in 1871, was named for John W. Tuner, a member of the Dakota Territory Legislature of 1865-66 and 1872, and Superintendent of Public Instruction in 1870-1871. Swan Lake City was named the county seat. With the arrival of the railroad, the question of removing the county seat from Swan Lake City started and what is known as the "county seat war" followed. After a long and bitter fight, the county seat was moved to Parker in 1885.

Geography: Land and Water

As reported by the Census Bureau, the county has a total area of 617 square miles (1,599 km²), of which, 617 square miles (1,598 km²) of it is land and 1 square miles (2 km²) of it (0.10%) is water.

Neighboring Counties

Bordering counties are as follows:

• Minnehaha County, South Dakota - northeast
• Lincoln County, South Dakota - east
• Clay County, South Dakota - southeast
• Yankton County, South Dakota - southwest
• Hutchinson County, South Dakota - west
• McCook County, South Dakota - northwest

Education

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