McPherson County, South Dakota

McPherson County is a county in the U.S. state of South Dakota. As of the 2020 census, the population was 2,411. Its county seat is Leola.

History
The county was created in 1873 and organized in 1884. It is named for American Civil War General James B. McPherson.

Geography
McPherson County lies on the north line of South Dakota. The north boundary line of McPherson County abuts the south boundary line of the state of North Dakota. Its terrain consists of rolling hills, largely devoted to agriculture, and dotted with small lakes and ponds. The terrain generally slopes to the south and east. The county has a total area of 1152 sqmi, of which 1137 sqmi is land and 15 sqmi (1.3%) is water.

The Samuel H. Ordway Jr., Memorial Prairie, a 7800 acre grassland owned by The Nature Conservancy on the south side of South Dakota Highway 10 about 10 mi west of Leola, is home to a bison herd.

Major highways

 * [[Image:SD 10.svg|20px]] South Dakota Highway 10
 * [[Image:SD 45.svg|20px]] South Dakota Highway 45
 * [[Image:SD 47.svg|20px]] South Dakota Highway 47
 * [[Image:SD 247.svg|23px]] South Dakota Highway 247
 * [[Image:SD 239.svg|23px]] South Dakota Highway 239

Adjacent counties

 * McIntosh County, North Dakota - north
 * Dickey County, North Dakota - northeast
 * Brown County - east
 * Edmunds County - south
 * Walworth County - southwest
 * Campbell County - west

Protected areas

 * Elm Lake State Game Production Area
 * Moscow State Game Production Area
 * Morlock State Game Production Area
 * North Jackson State Game Production Area
 * Odessa State Game Production Area
 * Pfeiffle-Neuharth State Game Production Area
 * Rath State Game Production Area
 * Rosenthal State Game Production Area
 * Schock State Game Production Area
 * Schumacher State Game Production Area
 * Simpson State Game Production Area
 * School State Game Production Area
 * South Jackson State Game Production Area
 * Stout State Game Production Area
 * Wageman State Game Production Area
 * Wolff State Game Production Area

Lakes

 * Crompton Lake
 * Elm Lake (partial)
 * Eureka Lake
 * Feinstein Lake
 * Hausauer Lake
 * Heufel Lake
 * Klooz Lake
 * Long Lake

2020 census
As of the 2020 census, there were 2,411 people, 940 households, and 580 families residing in the county. The population density was 2.1 PD/sqmi. There were 1,258 housing units.

2010 census
As of the 2010 census, there were 2,459 people, 1,025 households, and 632 families in the county. The population density was 2.2 PD/sqmi. There were 1,418 housing units at an average density of 1.2 /mi2. The racial makeup of the county was 98.2% white, 0.2% Asian, 0.1% Pacific islander, 0.2% from other races, and 1.3% from two or more races. Those of Hispanic or Latino origin made up 1.0% of the population. In terms of ancestry, 74.5% were German, 17.7% were Russian, 7.3% were Norwegian, 6.7% were English, and 2.5% were American.

Of the 1,025 households, 19.5% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 54.1% were married couples living together, 4.3% had a female householder with no husband present, 38.3% were non-families, and 36.3% of all households were made up of individuals. The average household size was 2.06 and the average family size was 2.66. The median age was 50.8 years.

The median income for a household in the county was $31,923 and the median income for a family was $47,500. Males had a median income of $31,953 versus $27,941 for females. The per capita income for the county was $19,255. About 12.5% of families and 16.5% of the population were below the poverty line, including 21.3% of those under age 18 and 27.1% of those age 65 or over.

Cities

 * Eureka
 * Leola (county seat)

Towns

 * Hillsview
 * Long Lake
 * Wetonka

Census-designated places

 * Grassland Colony
 * Long Lake Colony
 * Spring Creek Colony

Unincorporated communities

 * Greenway
 * Long Lake Colony
 * Madra (partial)

Townships

 * Carl
 * Hoffman
 * Wachter
 * Wacker
 * Weber

Politics
Except during the 1924, 1928 and 1932 elections when anti-Prohibition sentiment by the county's German Lutheran populace turned the county against Calvin Coolidge and Herbert Hoover, McPherson County has been among the most overwhelmingly Republican in the country. Apart from these anomalous elections, the free silver-influenced 1896 election, and the 1936 Democratic landslide in the aftermath of Prohibition, the best performance by any Democrat has been Barack Obama’s 32 percent in 2008. In 1968 and 1980 McPherson was among the five most Republican counties in the country, and in 1964 it was rivalled only by neighbouring Campbell County and the famous Republican bastions of Hooker County, Nebraska and Jackson County, Kentucky as Barry Goldwater’s best county outside the former Confederacy.