Hyde County, South Dakota

Hyde County is a county in the U.S. state of South Dakota. As of the 2020 census, the population was 1,262, making it the second-least populous county in South Dakota. Its county seat is Highmore. The county was founded in 1873, as a county of the Dakota Territory, and organized in 1883. It was named for James Hyde, a member of legislature in the 1870s.

History
Hyde County was created by the territorial legislature on January 8, 1873, with area partitioned from Buffalo County. It was not organized by that action. Its boundaries were altered by changes in October 1879 and February 1883. On November 5, 1883, the county organization was filled and the county was placed in independent operation.

The current Hyde County courthouse was constructed in 1911 (it is currently listed on the National Register of Historic Places). The county organization included a jail until 1974, when the jail was abandoned and jail-related services were contracted to surrounding counties.

Geography
The county terrain consists of semi-arid rolling hills, partly devoted to agriculture. The Missouri River flows southeastward at its SW corner, and delineates a portion of the county's south boundary line.

The terrain slopes toward the county's SW corner. Its highest point is on the lower part of its eastern boundary line, at 2,080 ft ASL.

Hyde County has a total area of 866 sqmi, of which 861 sqmi is land and 5.6 sqmi (0.6%) is water.

Major highways

 * [[Image:US 14.svg|20px]] U.S. Highway 14
 * [[Image:SD 26.svg|20px]] South Dakota Highway 26
 * [[Image:SD 34.svg|20px]] South Dakota Highway 34
 * [[Image:SD 47.svg|20px]] South Dakota Highway 47

Adjacent counties

 * Faulk County - north
 * Hand County - east
 * Buffalo County - south
 * Lyman County - southwest
 * Hughes County - southwest
 * Sully County - west
 * Potter County - northwest

Protected areas

 * Chapelle State Game Production Area
 * Highmore State Game Production Area
 * Rezac Lake State Game Production Area
 * Rice Lake State Game Production Area

Lakes

 * Baloun Lake
 * Chapelle Lake
 * Lake Boehm
 * Rezac Lake
 * Rice Lake
 * Thomas Lake

2020 census
As of the 2020 census, there were 1,262 people, 522 households, and 355 families residing in the county. The population density was 1.5 PD/sqmi. There were 626 housing units.

2010 census
As of the 2010 census, there were 1,420 people, 600 households, and 385 families in the county. The population density was 1.7 PD/sqmi. There were 708 housing units at an average density of 0.8 /mi2. The racial makeup of the county was 89.1% white, 8.5% American Indian, 0.2% Asian, 0.1% Pacific islander, 0.1% black or African American, 0.2% from other races, and 1.9% from two or more races. Those of Hispanic or Latino origin made up 1.1% of the population. In terms of ancestry,

Of the 600 households, 26.2% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 53.7% were married couples living together, 5.5% had a female householder with no husband present, 35.8% were non-families, and 33.0% of all households were made up of individuals. The average household size was 2.30 and the average family size was 2.92. The median age was 46.4 years.

The median income for a household in the county was $41,196 and the median income for a family was $61,161. Males had a median income of $36,053 versus $28,456 for females. The per capita income for the county was $22,995. About 8.3% of families and 11.2% of the population were below the poverty line, including 11.6% of those under age 18 and 14.1% of those age 65 or over.

City

 * Highmore (county seat)

Census-designated place

 * Stephan

Townships

 * Banner
 * Bramhall
 * Douglas
 * Eden
 * Franklin
 * Holabird
 * Highmore
 * Illinois
 * Lincoln
 * Loomis
 * Spring Lake
 * Union
 * Valley
 * William Hamilton

Unorganized territories

 * Central Hyde
 * Crow Creek
 * North Hyde

Politics
Hyde County voters have been reliably Republican ever since South Dakota's statehood. In only two national elections – the Democratic landslides of Franklin D. Roosevelt in 1932 and Lyndon B. Johnson in 1964 – has the county ever voted for a Democratic presidential candidate – although in the Republican landslides of 1956 (due to a major drought and resultant agricultural problems) and 1972 (due to a strong “favorite son” vote for George McGovern) the county actually voted about 4 points more Democratic than the nation at-large.