Johnson Siding, South Dakota
Johnson Siding is named for a siding on the old Rapid City, Black Hills and Western Railroad (the Crouch Line) which ran up Rapid Creek between Rapid City and the Black Hills Highline at Mystic, which was originally constructed to serve the Johnson Sawmill, located a short distance upstream from the existing town.
Johnson Siding is located on South Dakota Highway 44 at the intersection of Norris Peak Road, a paved county road, which connects the Rapid Creek valley with the Box Elder Creek valley, and Nemo Road to the north.
Johnson Siding was the site of the political convention which first organized the South Dakota Libertarian Party in 1992, at which Costas "Gus" Hercules was nominated to the U.S. Senate. Johnson's Mill was also the head of the Hisega Flume, a wooden waterway constructed high on the south cliffs of the Rapid Creek canyon to supply a small hydroelectric plant at Big Bend near present-day Thunderhead Falls in the early 1900s, one of several National Engineering Landmarks in the Black Hills. This small Dakota Power plant delivered electricity to Rapid City until the community's needs out-grew the plant's capacity. It was shut down in the late 1930s. Dakota Power became a part of Black Hills Power and Light, eventually becoming Black Hills Corporation. A few remnants of the flume are still visible high on the south side of the canyon at the big curve of SD Highway 44 before one gets to Johnson Siding.
Climate
Johnson Siding has a dry-winter humid continental climate (Köppen Dwb).
Climate data for Johnson Siding, South Dakota, 1991–2020 normals: 4184ft (1275m) | |||||||||||||
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
Month | Jan | Feb | Mar | Apr | May | Jun | Jul | Aug | Sep | Oct | Nov | Dec | Year |
Record high °F (°C) | 70 (21) |
71 (22) |
78 (26) |
82 (28) |
92 (33) |
101 (38) |
106 (41) |
100 (38) |
96 (36) |
87 (31) |
78 (26) |
72 (22) |
106 (41) |
Mean maximum °F (°C) | 61.9 (16.6) |
60.7 (15.9) |
66.7 (19.3) |
75.6 (24.2) |
84.1 (28.9) |
91.9 (33.3) |
95.8 (35.4) |
94.4 (34.7) |
90.4 (32.4) |
81.6 (27.6) |
69.1 (20.6) |
59.8 (15.4) |
96.5 (35.8) |
Mean daily maximum °F (°C) | 39.2 (4.0) |
39.3 (4.1) |
47.9 (8.8) |
55.4 (13.0) |
64.2 (17.9) |
75.0 (23.9) |
82.8 (28.2) |
81.4 (27.4) |
73.4 (23.0) |
59.1 (15.1) |
47.6 (8.7) |
39.5 (4.2) |
58.7 (14.9) |
Daily mean °F (°C) | 25.7 (−3.5) |
26.5 (−3.1) |
34.4 (1.3) |
42.1 (5.6) |
51.4 (10.8) |
61.1 (16.2) |
68.3 (20.2) |
66.6 (19.2) |
58.3 (14.6) |
45.4 (7.4) |
34.4 (1.3) |
26.6 (−3.0) |
45.1 (7.3) |
Mean daily minimum °F (°C) | 12.2 (−11.0) |
13.6 (−10.2) |
20.9 (−6.2) |
28.8 (−1.8) |
38.5 (3.6) |
47.3 (8.5) |
53.8 (12.1) |
51.8 (11.0) |
43.3 (6.3) |
31.6 (−0.2) |
21.2 (−6.0) |
13.6 (−10.2) |
31.4 (−0.3) |
Mean minimum °F (°C) | −10.5 (−23.6) |
−7.6 (−22.0) |
−2.2 (−19.0) |
11.5 (−11.4) |
24.2 (−4.3) |
35.5 (1.9) |
43.6 (6.4) |
42.0 (5.6) |
28.2 (−2.1) |
15.6 (−9.1) |
2.7 (−16.3) |
−8.1 (−22.3) |
−17.3 (−27.4) |
Record low °F (°C) | −23 (−31) |
−32 (−36) |
−19 (−28) |
−3 (−19) |
17 (−8) |
31 (−1) |
39 (4) |
35 (2) |
20 (−7) |
3 (−16) |
−9 (−23) |
−22 (−30) |
−32 (−36) |
Average precipitation inches (mm) | 0.39 (9.9) |
0.52 (13) |
0.91 (23) |
2.42 (61) |
4.21 (107) |
3.56 (90) |
3.48 (88) |
2.14 (54) |
1.37 (35) |
1.57 (40) |
0.56 (14) |
0.45 (11) |
21.58 (545.9) |
Average snowfall inches (cm) | 6.2 (16) |
6.8 (17) |
10.0 (25) |
10.6 (27) |
2.3 (5.8) |
0.2 (0.51) |
0.0 (0.0) |
0.0 (0.0) |
0.9 (2.3) |
4.3 (11) |
5.3 (13) |
6.0 (15) |
52.6 (132.61) |
Source 1: NOAA | |||||||||||||
Source 2: XMACIS (1995-2010 snowfall, records & monthly max/mins) |
Education
It is in Rapid City School District 51-4.
References
- ^ U.S. Geological Survey Geographic Names Information System: Johnson Siding, South Dakota
- ^ "U.S. Census Bureau: Johnson Siding CDP, South Dakota". www.census.gov. United States Census Bureau. Retrieved March 23, 2022.
- ^ "Johnson Siding, South Dakota 1991-2020 Monthly Normals". Retrieved December 18, 2023.
- ^ "xmACIS". National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration. Retrieved December 18, 2023.
- ^ "2020 CENSUS - SCHOOL DISTRICT REFERENCE MAP: Pennington County, SD" (PDF). U.S. Census Bureau. Retrieved September 27, 2024. - Text list
External links
- Google map of Johnson Siding
- "Johnson Siding, South Dakota". HomeTownLocator. HTL, Inc.