Hutchinson County is a county in the U.S. state of South Dakota. As of the 2020 census, the population was 7,427. Its county seat is Olivet. The county was created in 1862 and organized in 1871; it was named for John Hutchinson, first territorial secretary.

History

Hutchinson County was created by act of the territorial legislature on May 8, 1862. Its boundaries included portions of present-day Davison and Hanson Counties, and part of what is presently Hutchinson County was within the boundaries of Jayne County. Maxwell City was established as the county seat, and it remained there until October 1873 when it was moved to Olivet following an election. On 13 January 1871, the territorial legislature established the present county boundaries and completed its governing organization. In two actions in January 1873, the legislature divided Hutchinson County into two counties - the northern half was named Armstrong County, with Milltown as the seat. However, in 1879, Armstrong County was dissolved and its area re-annexed into Hutchinson County.

Geography

The James River flows south-southeasterly through the central part of Hutchinson County. The county's terrain consists of rolling hills, with the area largely devoted to agriculture. The terrain slopes to the river valley from both sides, with the county's highest point at its southwest corner: 1,880' (573m) ASL.

Hutchinson County has a total area of 814 square miles (2,110 km), of which 813 square miles (2,110 km) is land and 1.5 square miles (3.9 km) (0.2%) is water.

Major highways

Adjacent counties

Protected areas

• Mogck Slough State Public Shooting Area
• Weigher Slough State Public Shooting Area

Lakes

Source:

Demographics

Historical population

Census	Pop.	Note	%±
1870	37		—
1880	5,573		14,962.2%
1890	10,469		87.9%
1900	11,897		13.6%
1910	12,319		3.5%
1920	13,475		9.4%
1930	13,904		3.2%
1940	12,668		−8.9%
1950	11,423		−9.8%
1960	11,085		−3.0%
1970	10,379		−6.4%
1980	9,350		−9.9%
1990	8,262		−11.6%
2000	8,075		−2.3%
2010	7,343		−9.1%
2020	7,427		1.1%
2023 (est.)	7,394		−0.4%
U.S. Decennial Census 1790-1960 1900-1990 1990-2000 2010-2020

2020 census

As of the 2020 census, there were 7,427 people, 2,797 households, and 1,802 families residing in the county. The population density was 9.1 inhabitants per square mile (3.5/km). There were 3,212 housing units.

2010 census

As of the 2010 census, there were 7,343 people, 2,930 households, and 1,871 families in the county. The population density was 9.0 inhabitants per square mile (3.5/km). There were 3,351 housing units at an average density of 4.1 units per square mile (1.6 units/km). The racial makeup of the county was 97.4% white, 0.7% American Indian, 0.4% black or African American, 0.2% Asian, 0.5% from other races, and 0.9% from two or more races. Those of Hispanic or Latino origin made up 1.6% of the population. In terms of ancestry, 67.7% were German, 8.7% were Russian, 7.4% were Norwegian, 6.9% were Irish, and 3.6% were American.

Of the 2,930 households, 24.6% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 55.6% were married couples living together, 5.0% had a female householder with no husband present, 36.1% were non-families, and 33.4% of all households were made up of individuals. The average household size was 2.22 and the average family size was 2.82. The median age was 46.8 years.

The median income for a household in the county was $39,310 and the median income for a family was $52,390. Males had a median income of $35,180 versus $25,417 for females. The per capita income for the county was $21,944. About 6.4% of families and 10.4% of the population were below the poverty line, including 11.5% of those under age 18 and 14.5% of those age 65 or over.

Mennonites and Hutterites

Hutchinson County is the most heavily Mennonite-populated county of South Dakota. German-speaking Mennonites from Russia settled in the county beginning in 1874 until the early 1880s. South Dakota has the nation's largest population of Hutterites, a communal Anabaptist group that emigrated also from Russia during the same period as the Mennonites, with whom they share the Anabaptist faith. Hutterites live in communities each of about 150 people. Wolf Creek Colony is in Hutchinson County, where the Wolf meets the James River. This colony is west of Freeman and north of Olivet and Menno. Other Hutterite communities in the county are Maxwell Colony, New Elm Spring Colony, Old Elm Spring Colony, and Tschetter Colony.

Communities

Cities

• Freeman
• Parkston

Towns

Census-designated places

• Kaylor
• Maxwell Colony
• Milltown
• New Elm Spring Colony
• Old Elm Spring Colony
• Tschetter Colony
• Wolf Creek Colony

Unincorporated communities

• Clayton
• Lake Tripp
• Wolf Creek

Townships

Politics

Like most of South Dakota, Hutchinson County is overwhelmingly Republican. Only one Democratic presidential candidate – Franklin D. Roosevelt in his 1932 landslide – has ever carried the county. Surprisingly, in the 1928 and 1972 Republican landslides Hutchinson County actually voted more Democratic than the nation at-large due to German Lutheran anti-Prohibition voting for Al Smith in the first case and a strong “favorite son” vote for George McGovern in the latter. Apart from these two hugely anomalous cases, only four Democrats have ever topped forty percent of the county's vote, and only four statewide Republican nominees failed to win a majority.

United States presidential election results for Hutchinson County, South Dakota

Year	Republican		Democratic		Third party
	No.	%	No.	%	No.	%
2020	2,944	78.15%	762	20.23%	61	1.62%
2016	2,517	74.80%	692	20.56%	156	4.64%
2012	2,451	71.56%	923	26.95%	51	1.49%
2008	2,285	63.33%	1,242	34.42%	81	2.25%
2004	2,899	69.91%	1,177	28.38%	71	1.71%
2000	2,497	68.88%	1,052	29.02%	76	2.10%
1996	2,177	55.66%	1,285	32.86%	449	11.48%
1992	2,002	48.17%	1,211	29.14%	943	22.69%
1988	2,700	62.56%	1,594	36.93%	22	0.51%
1984	3,372	72.92%	1,237	26.75%	15	0.32%
1980	3,789	73.15%	1,145	22.10%	246	4.75%
1976	2,822	57.52%	2,062	42.03%	22	0.45%
1972	3,092	57.82%	2,248	42.03%	8	0.15%
1968	3,544	69.07%	1,412	27.52%	175	3.41%
1964	2,884	56.85%	2,189	43.15%	0	0.00%
1960	3,948	71.72%	1,557	28.28%	0	0.00%
1956	3,870	73.16%	1,420	26.84%	0	0.00%
1952	4,322	83.16%	875	16.84%	0	0.00%
1948	2,906	70.01%	1,209	29.13%	36	0.87%
1944	3,799	84.46%	699	15.54%	0	0.00%
1940	5,051	82.08%	1,103	17.92%	0	0.00%
1936	2,804	48.34%	2,500	43.10%	497	8.57%
1932	1,504	28.97%	3,630	69.92%	58	1.12%
1928	2,145	52.61%	1,898	46.55%	34	0.83%
1924	893	24.65%	180	4.97%	2,550	70.38%
1920	1,873	51.15%	243	6.64%	1,546	42.22%
1916	1,636	73.20%	519	23.22%	80	3.58%
1912	0	0.00%	647	30.25%	1,492	69.75%
1908	1,507	69.03%	619	28.36%	57	2.61%
1904	1,752	80.33%	365	16.74%	64	2.93%
1900	1,528	73.46%	534	25.67%	18	0.87%
1896	1,413	74.96%	458	24.30%	14	0.74%
1892	1,034	64.42%	254	15.83%	317	19.75%

See also

• National Register of Historic Places listings in Hutchinson County, South Dakota