Jerauld County, South Dakota

23 topographic sheets cover 5 settlements here, and 13 properties are on the National Register of Historic Places.

Research this county

From the record

13 National Register listings published here.

Sources: the county history on the Internet Archive · the National Register database, National Park Service

South Dakota within the United States

Jerauld County within South Dakota

What the record shows

43 topographic sheet readings cover the county's settlements.
13 properties here are on the National Register of Historic Places: 13 buildings.
3 of the 13 listings were added during the 1970s.
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

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

Property	Type	Listed	Reference
Alpena Bathhouse and Swimming Pool	building	2000	00000727
Harmony Friends Church	building	2015	15000565
Hawkeye Valley Mill	building	2013	12001216
Jerauld County Courthouse	building	1993	92001860
Methodist Episcopal Church of Wessington Springs	building	1999	99001582
Municipal Field House	building	2000	00000600
L.P. Nielson Barn	building	2004	04001363
Shakespeare Garden and Shay House	building	1979	79003681
Robert S. Vessey House	building	1978	78002560
Wessington Springs Carnegie Library	building	1999	99000677
Wessington Springs Opera House	building	1976	76001738
H.P. Will House	building	2003	02001763
Zion Emmanuel Lutheran Church	building	2023	100009483

Wildfire, 2000 to 2020

111 fires

Every wildfire the federal occurrence database records inside this county: 111 of them, burning about 2,953 acres. 16 started naturally and none was recorded as arson. Each settlement page carries the fires within five miles of it.

Reported cause	Fires
Missing data/not specified/undetermined	43
Equipment and vehicle use	28
Debris and open burning	17
Natural	16
Misuse of fire by a minor	4
Railroad operations and maintenance	1
Power generation/transmission/distribution	1
Smoking	1

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
25 July 2000	Debris and open burning	400 acres	Wessington Springs Volunteer Fire Department	REESE
6 August 2002	Equipment and vehicle use	250 acres	Wessington Springs Volunteer Fire Department	HAINY GRASS
4 March 2000	Debris and open burning	200 acres	Wessington Springs Volunteer Fire Department	KROHMER
22 April 2002	Debris and open burning	200 acres	Wessington Springs Volunteer Fire Department	SCHMKE
8 January 2012	Missing data/not specified/undetermined	180 acres	South Dakota Wildland Fire Suppression	WIEEZORIK
8 January 2012	Missing data/not specified/undetermined	160 acres	South Dakota Wildland Fire Suppression	WESS SPRINGS
18 July 2002	Equipment and vehicle use	120 acres	Wessington Springs Volunteer Fire Department	LANDMARK TOWER
6 July 2002	Equipment and vehicle use	100 acres	Wessington Springs Volunteer Fire Department	FEISTNER

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

Storms, 1957 to 2025

60 of 221 shown

The NOAA Storm Events Database holds 221 reports for this county, causing no deaths, 3 injuries and about $7,602,000 in recorded property damage. Each settlement page carries the reports that name it.

Kind of event	Reports
Hail	121
Thunderstorm Wind	77
Tornado	14
Flood	4
Lightning	2
Flash Flood	2
Heavy Rain	1

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 2014	Tornado (EF4)	Lane	2 hurt, $300,000	A tornado severely damaged two family farms, including destroying a farmhouse as the family took shelter in their basement. A couple in the house suffered minor injuries.The tornado also damaged trees, power poles, and power lines; and caused an unknown amount of crop damage. The tornado crossed briefly into Beadle County before lifting.
June 2014	Tornado (EF2)	Wessington Spgs	1 hurt, $5,200,000	A tornado damaged at least 43 homes in Wessington Springs, making at least 26 of them uninhabitable. The tornado also destroyed at least 3 businesses and damaged 9 others. The tornado also caused considerable damage to power lines, power poles, and trees, resulting in power outages to the entire town. Vehicles and signs were also damaged. The damage included an estimated 1.2 million dollars in damage to public infrastructure. There were no reported fatalities and one minor injury. The tornado also caused an unknown amount of damage to corn and soybean crops.
June 2003	Thunderstorm Wind	Wessington Spgs	$1,000,000	Thunderstorm winds damaged numerous structures. The roofs and siding of several homes were damaged, and the roof of a camping bath house was blown off. A picnic shelter and a baseball grandstand were destroyed, as were lumber yard structures. The brick wall of a high school was damaged. The storm overturned and heavily damaged a camper and a van. Several other vehicles were heavily damaged by tree or other debris, including at least two inside destroyed small garages. The walls of a church were damaged when moved slightly by the wind. There was widespread tree damage, including numerous trees blown down. Power lines were blown down, resulting in power outages. Several windows were broken.
March 2019	Flood	Crow Lake	$250,000	Flooding resulted in damage to public infrastructure including county and township roads and culverts.
July 2022	Thunderstorm Wind	Crow Lake	$100,000	Four large metal grain bins were destroyed by thunderstorm wind gusts, but each of the damaged bins were empty at the time.
July 2010	Flash Flood	Wessington Spgs	$100,000	Heavy rainfall, unofficially reported at up to 9.50 inches, caused widespread flooding of roads, fields, and basements. Several roads were washed out. Most houses in the town of Wessington Springs received water damage. several bridges were damaged.
July 1996	Hail	Wessington Spgs	$100,000	no account filed
July 1996	Thunderstorm Wind	Wessington Spgs	$100,000	no account filed
June 2014	Tornado (EF1)	Crow Lake	$50,000	A tornado severely damaged a farm building by causing the collapse of its roof. The tornado also caused tree damage, snapping several off at the trunk. An unknown amount of crop damage was also suspected.
June 2000	Thunderstorm Wind	Crow Lake	$50,000	Thunderstorm winds caused damage to trees and farm buildings.
July 2000	Thunderstorm Wind	Alpena	$50,000	Thunderstorm winds caused widespread tree damage, with numerous limbs and small trees down.
June 1994	Hail	Alpena	$50,000	The hail caused crop damaged and dented vehicles.
June 1998	Hail	Crow Lake	$50,000	no account filed
September 2005	Hail	Wessington Spgs	$30,000	Large hail broke windows in houses and vehicles, dented vehicles, damaged siding, and damaged crops for several miles. The amount of crop damage was not known.
June 2014	Tornado (EF2)	Crow Lake	$25,000	A tornado destroyed a farm building, damaged trees, and caused an unknown amount of crop damage.
June 1975	Tornado (F1)	not stated	$25,000	no account filed
June 2014	Tornado (EF2)	Crow Lake	$20,000	A tornado destroyed a farm building and caused tree damage, with trees splintered and debarked.
August 2002	Thunderstorm Wind	Wessington Spgs	$20,000	Thunderstorm winds blew over and damaged a large camper. The winds also caused tree damage, including at least two large trees blown down. Power lines were blown down, resulting in a power outage lasting three hours.
June 2014	Tornado (EF1)	Crow Lake	$15,000	A tornado severely damaged the roof of a farm building and caused tree damage.
May 2010	Thunderstorm Wind	Crow Lake	$10,000	Thunderstorm winds blew the roof off a hunting lodge.
August 2004	Thunderstorm Wind	Wessington Spgs	$10,000	Thunderstorm winds blew over and severely damaged a 22 foot parked trailer.
June 2003	Tornado (F1)	Lane	$10,000	A tornado destroyed trees and crops before crossing the county line from Jerauld into Sanborn County.
August 2000	Thunderstorm Wind	Alpena	$10,000	Thunderstorm winds caused tree damage and blew down power lines.
October 2021	Thunderstorm Wind	Alpena	$5,000	Thunderstorm winds damaged siding on a house. Property damage costs are a rough estimate.
August 2020	Thunderstorm Wind	Wessington Spgs	$5,000	Several large trees were uprooted or snapped, with other damage to a sunflower field. Property damage costs are rough estimates. Crop damage is an estimate from insured losses. Information provided by the United States Department of Agriculture.
September 2006	Hail	Wessington Spgs	$5,000	Large hail damaged siding on a home and dented vehicles.
May 2005	Thunderstorm Wind	Wessington Spgs	$5,000	Thunderstorm winds blew the roof off an open livestock shed, and damaged a wall and the doors of a storage shed.
June 2003	Thunderstorm Wind	Wessington Spgs	$5,000	Thunderstorm winds caused tree damage,, including several trees blown down, and destroyed calf shelters.
August 2020	Thunderstorm Wind	Wessington Spgs	$2,000	Branches were downed by thunderstorm winds and blown across the street. Property damage costs are rough estimates.
July 2025	Thunderstorm Wind	Lane	-	A camper was blown over by thunderstorm wind gusts with several trees knocked down onto powerlines.
July 2025	Thunderstorm Wind	Lane	-	An outbuilding and hoop barn were significantly damaged by thunderstorm winds.
July 2025	Thunderstorm Wind	Alpena	-	Winds blew out the doors and side from an attached garage and significantly damaged an outbuilding.
July 2025	Thunderstorm Wind	Lane	-	An extended period of damaging thunderstorm winds was measured by a Road Weather Information System sensor near Lane. The first severe wind gust of 62 mph occurred at 1344 CST, with a peak wind of 81 mph at 1348 CST.
August 2025	Hail	Wessington Spgs	-	While most hailstones were smaller, a few were up to golf ball size.
August 2025	Thunderstorm Wind	Crow Lake	-	The second floor of a hunting lodge was blown apart from thunderstorm winds.
August 2025	Thunderstorm Wind	Lane	-	Thunderstorm wind gusts were measured by a Road Weather Information System sensor 1 mile west of Lane.
August 2025	Thunderstorm Wind	Lane	-	An extended period of thunderstorm severe wind gusts was measured by a Road Weather Information System sensor 1 mile west of Lane.
June 2025	Thunderstorm Wind	Wessington Spgs	-	Winds were measured by a personal weather station.
July 2024	Thunderstorm Wind	Lane	-	Thunderstorm wind gusts peaked at 62 mph at 202 am CST at the South Dakota Road Weather Information System site near Lane.
July 2023	Thunderstorm Wind	Wessington Spgs	-	Thunderstorm wind gusts as high as 62 mph were measured on a personal weather station 13 miles west-northwest of Wessington Springs.
July 2022	Thunderstorm Wind	Crow Lake	-	Several small tree limbs were downed by thunderstorm winds.
June 2022	Thunderstorm Wind	Lane	-	A thunderstorm wind gust of 64 mph was measured by South Dakota Road Weather Information System site SD603 1 mile west of Lane.
June 2022	Thunderstorm Wind	Lane	-	A thunderstorm wind gust of 75 mph was measured by South Dakota Road Weather Information System site SD603 1 mile west of Lane.
July 2022	Hail	Crow Lake	-	Crop damage is an estimate from insured losses. Information provided by the United States Department of Agriculture.
August 2022	Thunderstorm Wind	Lane	-	A thunderstorm wind gust of 79 mph was measured by South Dakota Road Weather Information System site SD603 1 mile west of Lane. Crop damage is an estimate from insured losses. Information provided by the United States Department of Agriculture.
April 2022	Hail	Crow Lake	-	Large hail varied in size up to 2.25 inches in diameter.
May 2022	Thunderstorm Wind	Lane	-	A thunderstorm wind gust of 75 mph was measured by South Dakota Road Weather Information System site SD603 1 mile west of Lane.
July 2022	Thunderstorm Wind	Wessington Spgs	-	A thunderstorm wind gust of 64 mph was measured by Automated Weather Observing System site K4X4 2 miles east-southeast of Wessington Springs.
May 2022	Thunderstorm Wind	Lane	-	A thunderstorm wind gust of 58 mph was measured by the South Dakota Road Weather Information System site SD603 1 mile west of Lane.
July 2022	Thunderstorm Wind	Lane	-	An extended period of thunderstorm wind gusts of 58 mph or greater was measured by South Dakota Road Weather Information System site SD603 1 mile west of Lane. A peak wind gust of 70 mph occurred at 1330CST.
July 2022	Thunderstorm Wind	Wessington Spgs	-	An extended period of thunderstorm wind gusts reached or exceeded 58 mph through 1324CST, measured by personal weather station KSDWESSI10 13 miles west-northwest of Wessington Springs. Peak wind gusts of 66 mph occurred at 1219CST and 1259CST.
August 2022	Thunderstorm Wind	Lane	-	Ceiling panels were ripped off a porch by thunderstorm winds.
August 2022	Thunderstorm Wind	Alpena	-	A 12-inch diameter tree toppled across the road by thunderstorm winds.
October 2021	Thunderstorm Wind	Alpena	-	Wind gusts estimated from damage to small tree limbs.
October 2021	Hail	Crow Lake	-	A few tree branches up to 2 inches in diameter were also downed by winds estimated at less than 50 mph.
October 2021	Hail	Crow Lake	-	Crop damage is an estimate from insured losses. Information provided by the United States Department of Agriculture.
August 2020	Hail	Lane	-	Hail was mostly quarter sized, with a few as large as a ping-pong ball. No strong winds occurred with the hail.
June 2019	Flood	Crow Lake	-	During crop planting season, prolonged flooding led to the loss of or inability to plant crops across the area. Crop loss estimates provided by the United States Department of Agriculture.
September 2019	Flood	Crow Lake	-	Flooding resulted in crop losses across the area. Crop loss estimates provided by the United States Department of Agriculture.
July 2019	Thunderstorm Wind	Crow Lake	-	Winds uprooted big trees and downed large branches. Corn and wheat flattened.

Mines and quarries

17 recorded

The Survey's mineral resources record lists 17 workings inside this county. 1 still produces and 16 are closed or unrecorded. Each settlement page carries the workings within five miles of it.

Commodity	Workings
Sand and Gravel, Construction	17

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

Site	Commodity	Status
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
Gravel Pit	Sand and Gravel, Construction	Past Producer
Gravel Pit	Sand and Gravel, Construction	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
Gravel Pit	Sand and Gravel, Construction	Past Producer
Gravel Pit	Sand and Gravel, Construction	Past Producer
Gravel Pit	Sand and Gravel, Construction	Past Producer

The county's history books

149,399 words

One book written about this county, cut here where the book itself is cut, at its printed chapters: 1 chapter in all. Every chapter is public domain, machine-read from the scan and reproduced complete. A chapter already given under one of the county's towns is not repeated in this list.

A History of Jerauld County, South Dakota : from the Earliest Settlement to January 1st, 1909 (1909)

Chapter	Length
The whole text	149,399 words in 10 parts

Every populated place in the county

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.

Alpena

Alpena town · 57312 · Alpena quadrangle

9 sheets, 1898 to 1985
Crow Lake

Crow Lake township · 57382 · On East Fork Smith Creek · Crow Lake quadrangle

11 sheets, 1942 to 1990
Lane

Lane town · 57358 · Lane quadrangle

9 sheets, 1898 to 1985
Spring Valley Colony

Crow township · 57382 · Gannvalley quadrangle

7 sheets, 1953 to 1985
Wessington Springs

Wessington Springs city · 57382 · Near Wessington Hills · Wessington Springs 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.