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Bennett County, South Dakota

12 topographic sheets cover 12 settlements here, and 1 property is on the National Register of Historic Places.

Research this county

From the record

1 National Register listing published here.

Sources: the National Register database, National Park Service

South Dakota within the United States
Bennett County within South Dakota

What the record shows

  • 63 topographic sheet readings cover the county's settlements.
  • 1 property here is on the National Register of Historic Places, listed as a building.
  • The Geographic Names Information System records 12 populated places in this county; 12 are covered by at least one topographic sheet.

Places on the National Register

1

Every property in this county listed on the National Register of Historic Places, with the year it was listed and the federal nomination document.

Photograph PropertyType ListedReference
Inland Theaterbuilding201313000570

Wildfire, 1992 to 2020

372 fires

Every wildfire the federal occurrence database records inside this county: 372 of them, burning about 51,691 acres. 97 started naturally and 6 were recorded as arson. Each settlement page carries the fires within five miles of it.

Reported cause Fires
Natural97
Missing data/not specified/undetermined71
Equipment and vehicle use54
Debris and open burning53
Misuse of fire by a minor35
Other causes19
Fireworks18
Smoking11
Arson/incendiarism6
Power generation/transmission/distribution5
Railroad operations and maintenance3

The five largest, by the area the report gives. One of them was set deliberately.

DateCause SizeReported by Name on the report
18 September 2000Natural9,600 acresMartin Volunteer Fire DepartmentWAKAPAMNI LAKE
13 August 2003Missing data/not specified/undetermined4,992 acresPine Ridge AgencyPAPA
17 April 2002Equipment and vehicle use3,708 acresPine Ridge AgencyPOTATO CR.
24 July 2000Natural2,550 acresPine Ridge AgencyTIMMERMAN
26 March 1999Arson/incendiarism2,475 acresPine Ridge AgencyBIG CROW
17 September 2000Natural2,000 acresPine Ridge AgencyHASNOHORSE
24 July 2000Natural2,000 acresPine Ridge AgencyJACKSON
1 September 2001Smoking1,920 acresPine Ridge AgencyDISTANT

Every settlement page carries the fires within five miles of it - see the settlement index below.

Storms, 1957 to 2025

60 of 413 shown

The NOAA Storm Events Database holds 413 reports for this county, causing no deaths, 4 injuries and about $3,802,090 in recorded property damage. Each settlement page carries the reports that name it.

Kind of event Reports
Hail221
Thunderstorm Wind144
Tornado31
Flood6
Flash Flood5
Wildfire3
Heavy Rain2
Funnel Cloud1

The most serious of them, by death, then injury, then recorded damage. The accounts are quoted exactly as the forecast office filed them.

WhenEvent Place namedHarm What the report says
March 1982Tornado (F2)not stated1 hurt, $250,000no account filed
May 2013Tornado (EF1)Allen1 hurt, $100,000A tornado touched down on the west side of Allen Road south of Allen and rolled a mobile home down a hill. It tore off the roof and collapsed several walls of a small stick built house on the east side of the road before dissipating.
May 2013Thunderstorm WindAllen1 hurt, $25,000Straight-line wind damage was observed along BIA Road 22 southeast of Allen. The winds tore part of the roof off a small building and ripped shingles and metal roofing off two houses. A mobile home was rolled and completely smashed. A large cottonwood tree was snapped.
August 1989Thunderstorm Windnot stated1 hurtno account filed
May 2019FloodAllen$750,000Three roads were completely washed out and several other roads throughout the county were damaged.
August 2011HailMartin$700,000Large hail damaged buildings and vehicles in Martin.
March 2019FloodSwett$500,000Runoff from melting snow caused major flooding, which washed out numerous roads and flooded a few structures. The Little White River compromised roads in four locations. One section of road was washed completely away for a quarter of a mile, while another spot was washed out nine feet deep and 15 feet wide. The Little White River near Martin recorded its second highest flow, while near Vetal it tied its record crest at 12.53 feet and 3540 cfs.
May 2005HailMartin$250,000no account filed
April 1984Tornado (F1)not stated$250,000no account filed
June 1963Tornado (F3)not stated$250,000no account filed
August 2011HailAllen$200,000no account filed
July 2019FloodAllen$80,000Runoff from heavy rain caused flooding on the Little White River three miles south-southeast of Swett. Water inundated 296th Street and washed out a culvert, causing the road to collapse.
July 2003Tornado (F2)Tuthill$75,000no account filed
July 2010HailVetal$50,000The combination of large hail and gusty winds damaged property and flattened a variety of crops. Over 1000 acres of corn were stripped.
June 1994Hailnear Allen$50,000Windows on police vehicle were broken. The hail caused other window, fence, roof, and vehicle damage. There was also widespread damage to wheat and alfalfa crops and pastureland.
August 2011HailMartin$35,000no account filed
May 2010Thunderstorm WindSwett$30,000Thunderstorm wind gusts tore three grain bins off their foundations and blew them more than 250 yards. One landed in a tree, another on a road, and the third in a field. A telephone pole was blown over onto another grain bin, a feed wagon was tossed across the yard, and irrigation pipe was blown around.
June 2024HailMartin$25,000Baseball to softball sized hail caused significant damage to home and vehicle.
May 1977Tornadonot stated$25,000no account filed
June 2014HailAllen$20,000Baseball size hail broke windows and skylights, damaged vehicles, and killed lambs.
August 2011Thunderstorm WindTuthill$20,000Strong winds blew the roof off a barn and destroyed a grain bin.
July 2019FloodSwett$15,000Runoff from heavy rainfall washed out the culvert on the Little White River at 208th Avenue, south of Swett, and damaged other county roads.
August 2013HailTuthill$15,000no account filed
June 2024HailMartin$10,000Large hail damaged a vehicle, including a broken windshield.
May 2013Thunderstorm WindVetal$10,000The combination of hail and wind damaged vehicles.
August 2011Thunderstorm WindVetal$10,000The combination of wind and hail caused minor damage.
July 2010Thunderstorm WindVetal$10,000The combination of hail and wind damaged a home and automobiles.
July 2015HailMartin$10,000no account filed
June 2024Thunderstorm WindAllen$5,000Combination of hail and wind broke windows on mobile home.
June 2007HailMartin$5,000Large hail and strong winds broke most of the windows in a house.
May 2006Thunderstorm WindMartin$5,000Metal roofs blown off of small sheds.
June 2003Thunderstorm WindMartin$5,000Wind blew over a greenhouse.
July 1999Thunderstorm WindAllen$5,000A mobile home was blown over and damaged. No estimate of wind speed given.
July 2009Thunderstorm WindVetal$3,000Large trees were blown down and a barn was damaged by wind gusts estimated at 70 to 80 mph.
April 1966Tornado (F1)not stated$2,500no account filed
July 2015Flash FloodMartin$2,000Flash flooding washed out several fences and water covered a driveway about three miles east of Martin.
July 2010Thunderstorm WindHarrington$2,000Small trees and large branches were blown down.
July 2013HailVetal$2,000no account filed
August 1993HailNear Harrington$500A severe thunderstorm dumped marble- to golfball-size hail and heavy rains of 3.00 to 6.00 inches in eastern Bennett county near Harrington. A road was washed out east of Harrington and water came across the roads in numerous places.
May 1982Tornado (F0)not stated$30no account filed
August 1982Tornado (F0)not stated$30no account filed
June 1957Tornado (F0)not stated$30no account filed
April 2025Heavy RainSwett-A 24 hour rainfall.
June 2025HailSwett-Esimated.
June 2025Thunderstorm WindSwett-Public reported estimated wind gust report.
June 2025Thunderstorm WindMartin-Public reported an estimated wind gust.
June 2025Thunderstorm WindMartin Muni Arpt-Recorded wind gust.
June 2025Thunderstorm WindMartin Muni Arpt-SD mesonet recorded wind gust.
June 2025Thunderstorm WindHarrington-SD mesonet recorded wind gust.
July 2025Thunderstorm WindSwett-Storm spotter estimated reported wind gust.
July 2025Thunderstorm WindMartin Muni Arpt-Public report via phone call, estimated.
July 2025Thunderstorm WindMartin Muni Arpt-Storm spotter estimated wind gust report.
July 2025Thunderstorm WindVetal-Storm spotter estimated wind gust report.
July 2025Thunderstorm WindTuthill-Estimated wind gust report from chaser.
July 2025HailVetal-Spotter submitted report, confirmed.
August 2025Thunderstorm WindMartin Muni Arpt-SD Mesonet recorded wind gust.
August 2025Thunderstorm WindHarrington-SD Mesonet recorded wind gust.
October 2025Thunderstorm WindMartin Muni Arpt-SD Mesonet Site measured wind gust.
October 2025Thunderstorm WindHarrington-SD Mesonet Site measured wind gust.
August 2024Thunderstorm WindMartin-Wind driven hail broke windows at 3 houses near the junction of highways 18 and 73 in Martin.

Mines and quarries

3 recorded

The Survey's mineral resources record lists 3 workings inside this county. None of them still produces: all are closed or unrecorded. Each settlement page carries the workings within five miles of it.

Commodity Workings
Sand and Gravel, Construction3

The least common of them first, because a county's hundredth gravel pit says nothing its first ten did not.

Where SiteCommodity StatusRecorded
Gravel PitSand and Gravel, ConstructionPast Producer
Gravel PitSand and Gravel, ConstructionPast Producer
Wheeler Gravel PitSand and Gravel, ConstructionPast Producer

Every populated place in the county

12

Named settlements recorded in the Geographic Names Information System, each with the topographic sheets covering it. Villages, hamlets and abandoned places alike. Each is shown with the nearest named watercourse or landform and the survey quadrangle it falls on.

The vanished settlements of Bennett County: the places named above that are no longer on the map.

Provenance

  • Topographic sheets. USGS Historical Topographic Map Collection, county index, measured from the bulk metadata.
  • Fire insurance maps. Library of Congress Sanborn collection, faceted to this county.
  • Photographs. Each place queried individually against the Library of Congress Prints and Photographs search.
  • Wildfire. Short, Karen C. 2022. Spatial wildfire occurrence data for the United States, 1992-2020 [FPA_FOD_20221014]. 6th Edition. Fort Collins, CO: Forest Service Research Data Archive. https://doi.org/10.2737/RDS-2013-0009.6 Collected with United States Government funding and usable without additional permissions or fees.
  • Mines and quarries. USGS Mineral Resources Data System (MRDS) https://mrdata.usgs.gov/mrds/ A work of the United States government, no copyright under 17 U.S.C. 105.
  • Storms. NOAA National Centers for Environmental Information, Storm Events Database https://www.ncei.noaa.gov/stormevents/ A work of the United States government, no copyright under 17 U.S.C. 105. Narratives are quoted verbatim from the National Weather Service report and are not edited or summarised.