BlockFrom the record
3 National Register listings published here.
Sources: the National Register database, National Park Service
Buffalo County, South Dakota
21 topographic sheets cover 5 settlements here, and 3 properties are on the National Register of Historic Places.
Research this county
What the record shows
- 41 topographic sheet readings cover the county's settlements.
- 3 properties here are on the National Register of Historic Places: 3 buildings.
- The Geographic Names Information System records 5 populated places in this county; 5 are covered by at least one topographic sheet.
Places on the National Register
3Every property in this county listed on the National Register of Historic Places, with the year it was listed and the federal nomination document.
| Photograph | Property | Type | Listed | Reference |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Bank of Buffalo County | building | 1999 | 99000206 | |
| Duncan Church | building | 1999 | 99000207 | |
| Long View Stock Farm | building | 2018 | 100002808 |
Wildfire, 1992 to 2020
1,258 firesEvery wildfire the federal occurrence database records inside this county: 1,258 of them, burning about 14,327 acres. 120 started naturally and 33 were recorded as arson. Each settlement page carries the fires within five miles of it.
| Reported cause | Fires |
|---|---|
| Debris and open burning | 358 |
| Misuse of fire by a minor | 298 |
| Fireworks | 167 |
| Equipment and vehicle use | 126 |
| Natural | 120 |
| Smoking | 60 |
| Missing data/not specified/undetermined | 51 |
| Arson/incendiarism | 33 |
| Other causes | 18 |
| Recreation and ceremony | 16 |
| Power generation/transmission/distribution | 11 |
The five largest, by the area the report gives. None of them was recorded as arson.
| Date | Cause | Size | Reported by | Name on the report |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 6 March 2000 | Other causes | 5,000 acres | Miller Volunteer Fire Department | KOCH |
| 30 August 2012 | Missing data/not specified/undetermined | 1,600 acres | South Dakota Wildland Fire Suppression | 221ST |
| 29 August 2005 | Natural | 1,453 acres | Crow Creek Agency | CHAOS |
| 15 July 2006 | Natural | 600 acres | Crow Creek Agency | PICK-UP |
| 17 April 2008 | Debris and open burning | 545 acres | South Dakota Wildland Fire Suppression | not named |
| 15 July 2006 | Equipment and vehicle use | 500 acres | South Dakota Wildland Fire Suppression | not named |
| 29 April 2008 | Debris and open burning | 320 acres | South Dakota Wildland Fire Suppression | not named |
| 18 September 1998 | Debris and open burning | 255 acres | Crow Creek Agency | FORT DUMP |
Every settlement page carries the fires within five miles of it - see the settlement index below.
Storms, 1955 to 2025
60 of 180 shownThe NOAA Storm Events Database holds 180 reports for this county, causing 1 death, 10 injuries and about $25,201,250 in recorded property damage. Each settlement page carries the reports that name it.
| Kind of event | Reports |
|---|---|
| Hail | 82 |
| Thunderstorm Wind | 66 |
| Tornado | 15 |
| Flood | 8 |
| Flash Flood | 7 |
| Funnel Cloud | 2 |
The most serious of them, by death, then injury, then recorded damage. The accounts are quoted exactly as the forecast office filed them.
| When | Event | Place named | Harm | What the report says |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| June 2015 | Thunderstorm Wind | Ft Thompson | 1 killed | One-hundred mph winds or higher damaged or destroyed several homes, flipped many campers, and downed power lines and trees. Several trees fell onto homes. One man died in a trailer home that was flipped. |
| June 1992 | Tornado (F3) | not stated | 8 hurt, $25,000,000 | no account filed |
| May 1965 | Tornado | not stated | 2 hurt | no account filed |
| June 2024 | Flash Flood | Gann Vly | $134,000 | Emergency management reported water over several roadways in portions of Buffalo county. |
| June 2010 | Flash Flood | Gann Vly | $25,000 | A two-hundred foot section of a road was washed out due to flash flooding. |
| July 1971 | Tornado (F0) | not stated | $25,000 | no account filed |
| April 2019 | Flood | Ft Thompson | $17,000 | no account filed |
| May 1982 | Tornado (F1) | not stated | $250 | no account filed |
| July 2025 | Thunderstorm Wind | Ft Thompson | - | The Hyde County emergency manager relayed that three power poles snapped due to high winds six miles north of Fort Thompson. The winds also rolled many hay bales from west to east across a field along Highway 34/47. |
| June 2023 | Thunderstorm Wind | Ft Thompson | - | A personal weather station recorded a wind gust of 66 mph. |
| June 2023 | Thunderstorm Wind | Ft Thompson | - | A South Dakota Department of Transportation weather station recorded a wind gust of 67 mph. |
| June 2023 | Thunderstorm Wind | Gann Vly | - | A South Dakota Department of Transportation weather station recorded a wind gust of 62 mph. |
| June 2023 | Thunderstorm Wind | Ft Thompson | - | A South Dakota Department of Transportation weather station recorded a wind gust of 73 mph. |
| June 2020 | Thunderstorm Wind | Shelby | - | Estimated seventy mph winds brought down several tree branches. |
| March 2019 | Flood | Ft Thompson | - | Some roads were flooded in the county. |
| June 2017 | Thunderstorm Wind | Gann Vly | - | Several bales of hay were blown over by estimated sixty mph winds. |
| July 2017 | Thunderstorm Wind | Gann Vly | - | Many trees were downed over a three quarter mile swath along with many large tree branches downed. |
| July 2016 | Thunderstorm Wind | Gann Vly | - | Sixty-five mph winds downed numerous tree branches in and around Gann Valley. |
| June 2015 | Thunderstorm Wind | Gann Vly | - | Seventy mph winds took the tops off of a couple trees along with downing many large tree branches. |
| June 2015 | Thunderstorm Wind | Gann Vly | - | One-hundred mph winds destroyed some grain bins, hay shed, two buildings, and took the roof off of a hanger. |
| June 2014 | Tornado (EF0) | Ft Thompson | - | A tornado developed in Buffalo county and grew in size to approximately a quarter mile wide as it tracked northeast in open country. The tornado tracked two miles before dissipating near the Hand county line. The tornado did hit a shelter belt causing tree damage with several softwood trees uprooted along with large branches broken. |
| June 2014 | Thunderstorm Wind | Gann Vly | - | Sixty mph winds were estimated by a trained spotter. |
| June 2014 | Tornado (EF0) | Gann Vly | - | A tornado touched down in open country east of Gann Valley with no damage reported. |
| June 2011 | Flash Flood | Ft Thompson | - | Very heavy rains of up to 7 inches brought flash flooding across Buffalo County. BIA Highway 4 was closed from Highway 50 to Fort Thompson. Several roads were washed out. Some evacuations took place. Several homes were also flooded near the casino. |
| June 2010 | Hail | Gann Vly | - | Golfball size hail caused significant damage to crops in the area. |
| July 2010 | Thunderstorm Wind | Ft Thompson | - | Seventy mph winds were estimated in Fort Thompson. |
| August 2010 | Thunderstorm Wind | Gann Vly | - | Sixty mph winds were estimated in Gann Valley. |
| May 2007 | Flash Flood | Ft Thompson | - | Very heavy rains of 3 to 6 inches occurred across much of Buffalo county causing flash flooding. Many roads and some homes were flooded with damage resulting. Buffalo county was a declared a disaster area by President Bush. Gann Valley received 6.33 inches of rain.|| |
| May 2007 | Flood | Ft Thompson | - | Widespread flooding from very heavy rains continued across much of Buffalo county throughout May 6th. Many roads and some homes were flooded with damage resulting. Buffalo county was a declared a disaster area by President Bush. |
| June 2007 | Flash Flood | Ft Thompson | - | Several roads were flooded in Fort Thompson. |
| August 2005 | Thunderstorm Wind | Gann Vly | - | Sixty mph winds downed many branches. |
| May 2004 | Thunderstorm Wind | Gann Vly | - | Large tree branches downed. |
| August 2004 | Thunderstorm Wind | Ft Thompson | - | High winds downed many trees and branches. |
| May 1999 | Thunderstorm Wind | Gann Vly | - | Winds gusting to 80 mph blew over and damaged several grain bins and snapped off several trees. |
| June 1999 | Thunderstorm Wind | Gann Vly | - | Winds gusting to 70 mph caused a lot of tree damage in GannValley. |
| July 1999 | Thunderstorm Wind | Ft Thompson | - | Winds to 80 mph blew the roof off of a garage and damaged a trailer. |
| June 1998 | Flash Flood | Gann Vly | - | Two to 3 inches of rain falling in a short time period caused flash flooding on the crow creek southwest through south of Gann Valley. As a result, some dams and roads were washed out. |
| June 1998 | Hail | Gann Vly | - | Hail from marble up to golfball size combined with strong winds to damage thousands of acres of winter and spring wheat along with oats and corn southwest through south of Gann Valley. At a farmhouse southwest of Gann Valley, fifteen windows were knocked out by golfball size hail. |
| July 1998 | Thunderstorm Wind | Gann Vly | - | Winds gusting to near 75 mph blew a car off the road on the Highway 34 northwest of Gann Valley. |
| July 2025 | Thunderstorm Wind | Ft Thompson | - | no account filed |
| June 2025 | Thunderstorm Wind | Gann Vly | - | no account filed |
| June 2025 | Thunderstorm Wind | Ft Thompson | - | no account filed |
| July 2025 | Funnel Cloud | Shelby | - | no account filed |
| July 2025 | Hail | Shelby | - | no account filed |
| July 2025 | Thunderstorm Wind | Gann Vly | - | no account filed |
| August 2025 | Thunderstorm Wind | Gann Vly | - | no account filed |
| June 2024 | Thunderstorm Wind | Gann Vly | - | no account filed |
| July 2024 | Thunderstorm Wind | Ft Thompson | - | no account filed |
| July 2024 | Thunderstorm Wind | Gann Vly | - | no account filed |
| August 2024 | Thunderstorm Wind | Ft Thompson | - | no account filed |
| July 2023 | Thunderstorm Wind | Gann Vly | - | no account filed |
| July 2023 | Thunderstorm Wind | Ft Thompson | - | no account filed |
| April 2022 | Hail | Gann Vly | - | no account filed |
| July 2022 | Thunderstorm Wind | Ft Thompson | - | no account filed |
| July 2022 | Thunderstorm Wind | Ft Thompson | - | no account filed |
| July 2022 | Thunderstorm Wind | Ft Thompson | - | no account filed |
| July 2021 | Thunderstorm Wind | Gann Vly | - | no account filed |
| July 2020 | Thunderstorm Wind | Gann Vly | - | no account filed |
| July 2020 | Thunderstorm Wind | Gann Vly | - | no account filed |
| July 2020 | Thunderstorm Wind | Gann Vly | - | no account filed |
Mines and quarries
9 recordedThe Survey's mineral resources record lists 9 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, Construction | 8 |
| Manganese | 1 |
The least common of them first, because a county's hundredth gravel pit says nothing its first ten did not.
| Where | Site | Commodity | Status | Recorded |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Pittsburgh Pacific Gravel Pit | Manganese | Past Producer | ||
| Bedashosha Pit | Sand and Gravel, Construction | Past Producer | ||
| Gravel Pit | Sand and Gravel, Construction | Past Producer | ||
| Gravel Pit | Sand and Gravel, Construction | Past Producer | ||
| Gravel Pit | Sand and Gravel, Construction | Past Producer | ||
| Gravel Pit | Sand and Gravel, Construction | Past Producer | ||
| Gravel Pit | Sand and Gravel, Construction | Past Producer | ||
| Gravel Pit | Sand and Gravel, Construction | Past Producer | ||
| Stewart Ranch Pit | Sand and Gravel, Construction | Past Producer |
Every populated place in the county
5Named 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.
-
Fort Thompson
Crow Creek unorganized territory · 57339 · On Soldier Creek · Big Bend Dam quadrangle
7 sheets, 1953 to 1985
-
Lees Corner
Crow Creek unorganized territory · 57325 · Big Bend Dam SE quadrangle
7 sheets, 1953 to 1985
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.