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Mellette County, South Dakota

15 topographic sheets cover 7 settlements here, and 2 properties are on the National Register of Historic Places.

Research this county

From the record

2 National Register listings published here.

Sources: the National Register database, National Park Service

South Dakota within the United States
Mellette County within South Dakota

What the record shows

  • 38 topographic sheet readings cover the county's settlements.
  • 2 properties here are on the National Register of Historic Places: 2 structures.
  • The Geographic Names Information System records 7 populated places in this county; 7 are covered by at least one topographic sheet.

Places on the National Register

2

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
South Dakota Dept. of Transportation Bridge No. 48-244-204structure199393001305
Stamford Bridgestructure199393001304

Wildfire, 1992 to 2020

458 fires

Every wildfire the federal occurrence database records inside this county: 458 of them, burning about 26,192 acres. 119 started naturally and 22 were recorded as arson. Each settlement page carries the fires within five miles of it.

Reported cause Fires
Natural119
Misuse of fire by a minor76
Equipment and vehicle use67
Missing data/not specified/undetermined66
Debris and open burning66
Arson/incendiarism22
Fireworks17
Power generation/transmission/distribution11
Other causes4
Recreation and ceremony4
Railroad operations and maintenance3
Smoking3

The five largest, by the area the report gives. None of them was recorded as arson.

DateCause SizeReported by Name on the report
25 February 2012Debris and open burning4,723 acresRosebud AgencyTOWER
4 August 2006Natural2,584 acresRosebud AgencyRATTLE SNAKE BUTTE
25 August 2003Natural2,214 acresRosebud AgencyHOG
29 July 2002Equipment and vehicle use2,000 acresVivian Volunteer Fire DepartmentBAD NATION
1 November 1999Power generation/transmission/distribution1,782 acresRosebud AgencyFORTUNE
7 November 1999Missing data/not specified/undetermined1,500 acresLong Valley Volunteer Fire DepartmentANDERSON
7 November 1999Equipment and vehicle use1,327 acresRosebud AgencyPHIPPS
16 October 2014Natural1,236 acresRosebud AgencyOKREEK

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

Storms, 1966 to 2025

60 of 303 shown

The NOAA Storm Events Database holds 303 reports for this county, causing no deaths, 1 injury and about $917,500 in recorded property damage. Each settlement page carries the reports that name it.

Kind of event Reports
Hail162
Thunderstorm Wind113
Tornado12
Flood9
Flash Flood5
Heavy Rain1
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
July 2012Thunderstorm WindWood1 hurt, $60,000Strong winds destroyed two trailer houses, damaged the school roof, and knocked down several power poles. A woman in one of the mobile homes was severely injured.
May 1974Tornado (F1)not stated$250,000no account filed
August 2000Thunderstorm WindWhite River$200,000High winds of unknown strength destroyed a new hog barn, moved two more off thier foundations and tore siding off another barn. The building that was destroyed was vacant, and no hogs were injured or killed.
June 2008FloodMosher$100,000Flooding was observed along the White River, Little White River, Cottonwood Creek, and their tributaries across northern Mellette County.
July 2007Thunderstorm WindWhite River$75,000Roofs were torn off two houses and a trailer house was rolled three times. No injuries were reported.
July 2013HailNorris$50,000no account filed
August 2011HailCedar Butte$40,000Large hail caused significant damage to the roof and windows of a house and vehicles.
July 2009HailCedar Butte$40,000Deputies and spotters reported quarter to baseball sized hail from Corn Creek at the junction of Highways 44 and 63 to Cedar Butte, which damaged automobiles.
September 1986Tornado (F0)not stated$25,000no account filed
July 1973Tornado (F1)not stated$25,000no account filed
June 2024Flash FloodMosher$10,000Runoff from heavy rain caused a couple of rural roads to be inundated with water and debris. Farmland was also flooding due to the intensity of the rain.
July 2009Thunderstorm WindNorris$5,000Large cottonwood trees were blown down.
August 2009HailWhite River$5,000A house roof was damaged by large hail.
June 2007Thunderstorm WindWhite River$5,000Strong winds downed numerous trees in White River, including one 20 inches in diameter.
May 2006HailCedar Butte$5,000Combination of large hail and gusty winds broke house windows.
July 2000HailWood$5,000A few homes had damage to gutters and siding. A patio door was shattered.
May 1994HailMosherand$5,000Pea- to marble-size hail accumulated up to 12 inches on farmland and roads. Some cars slid off roads into ditches, and there was damage to alfalfa, wheat, and other crops.
June 1994Thunderstorm WindWhite River$5,000An uprooted tree damaged two vehicles.
June 1994Thunderstorm WindWhite River$5,000A tree was blown over during the evening hours, damaging a nearby car.
August 2010Thunderstorm WindWood$1,000Large tree limbs were blown down.
July 1999Thunderstorm WindCedar Butte$1,000Several large trees were snapped in half.
June 1998HailNorris$500Broken windows and some crop damage.
June 2025Thunderstorm WindWhite River-SD mesonet recorded wind gust.
June 2025Thunderstorm WindNorris-Estimated wind gust report.
July 2025HailWhite River-Public submitted report.
July 2025Thunderstorm WindNorris-Storm spotter estimated wind gust report.
July 2025HailCedar Butte-Estimated hail size report.
July 2025Thunderstorm WindWhite River-SD Mesonet recorded wind gust.
August 2025Thunderstorm WindCedar Butte-SD Mesonet recorded wind gust.
August 2025Thunderstorm WindWhite River-SD Mesonet recorded wind gust.
August 2025Thunderstorm WindWhite River-SD Mesonet recorded wind gust.
June 2024Thunderstorm WindNorris-The spotter estimated wind gusts at near 60 mph.
July 2024Thunderstorm WindWhite River-A camper was blown over by the wind.
April 2024Thunderstorm WindWhite River-Wind gusts were estimated at 60 mph.
April 2024Thunderstorm WindCedar Butte-A spotter estimated wind gusts at around 60 mph.
July 2023Thunderstorm WindWood-Wind gusts were reported near 60 mph.
August 2022Thunderstorm WindWhite River-Small hail also fell with the storm.
August 2022Flash FloodCedar Butte-Runoff from heavy rain quickly flooded fields and washed gravel off rural roads. The Little White River around the confluence with Cut Meat Creek and Oak Creek rose several feet in an hour.
June 2022HailWood-The ground was covered with hail to quarter size.
June 2022Thunderstorm WindNorris-Wind gusts were estimated at 60 mph.
June 2022Thunderstorm WindNorris-The spotter estimated wind gusts at 60 mph.
June 2021Thunderstorm WindNorris-Wind gusts were estimated at near 70 mph.
July 2021Thunderstorm WindNorris-The spotter estimated wind gusts at 60 mph.
August 2021Thunderstorm WindMosher-Wind gusts were estimated at 60 mph.
August 2021Thunderstorm WindWhite River-Wind gusts were estimated at 60 mph.
July 2020Thunderstorm WindWhite River-Wind gusts were estimated at 60 mph.
August 2020HailNorris-Very large hail broke the windshield of a law enforcement vehicle.
June 2020Thunderstorm WindNorris-Wind gusts were estimated at 70 mph.
June 2020Thunderstorm WindWood-Wind gusts were estimated at 60 mph.
June 2020Thunderstorm WindWhite River-Wind gusts were estimated at 60 mph.
March 2019FloodWhite River-Ice jams, combined with runoff from melting snow, caused moderate flooding along the White River. On March 22, the rising river forced the closure of US Highway 83. About a three-quarter mile stretch of Highway 83 was inundated when water backed up behind an ice jam downstream. On March 23, a record flow of 21,700 cfs was recorded at the site. This location has a period of record about 20 years.
May 2019FloodWhite River-Minor flooding of agricultural land occurred along the White River around the US Highway 83 bridge north of the town of White River. The river crested at 14.82 feet just over flood stage (14 feet) on May 25, with a peak flow around 17,700 cfs.
May 2019FloodWhite River-Minor flooding of agricultural land occurred along the White River around the US Highway 83 bridge north of the town of White River. The river crested just over flood stage (14 feet) at 14.92 feet on May 28, with a peak flow around 18,100 cfs.
August 2019HailWood-Hail damaged vehicles.
August 2019Thunderstorm WindWood-Strong winds downed some trees.
August 2019Thunderstorm WindWood-Wind gusts were estimated at 60 mph.
August 2018Thunderstorm WindCedar Butte-Wind gusts were estimated at 60 mph.
August 2018Thunderstorm WindCedar Butte-Wind gusts were estimated at 60 mph.
August 2018Thunderstorm WindWood-Wind gusts were estimated at 60 mph.
June 2018Thunderstorm WindCedar Butte-The spotter estimated wind gusts near 70 mph.

Mines and quarries

21 recorded

The Survey's mineral resources record lists 21 workings inside this county. 4 still produce and 17 are closed or unrecorded. Each settlement page carries the workings within five miles of it.

Commodity Workings
Sand and Gravel, Construction21

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

Where SiteCommodity StatusRecorded
Fox Gravel PitSand and Gravel, ConstructionPast Producer
Gravel PitSand and Gravel, ConstructionPast Producer
Harrison Gravel Pit No 2Sand and Gravel, ConstructionPast Producer
Pit No 1Sand and Gravel, ConstructionPast Producer
Pit No 3Sand and Gravel, ConstructionPast Producer
Pit No 4Sand and Gravel, ConstructionPast Producer
Pit No 5Sand and Gravel, ConstructionPast Producer
Pit No 6Sand and Gravel, ConstructionPast Producer
Pit No 7Sand and Gravel, ConstructionPast Producer
Pit No 8Sand and Gravel, ConstructionPast Producer
Pit No 9Sand and Gravel, ConstructionPast Producer
Rosebud Sioux Gravel Pit 513 1/2Sand and Gravel, ConstructionProducer
Rosebud Sioux Gravel Pit 818 1/2Sand and Gravel, ConstructionProducer
Rosebud Sioux Gravel Pit A-1660Sand and Gravel, ConstructionProducer
Rosebud Sioux Gravel Pit Ref 1370Sand and Gravel, ConstructionProducer
Rosebud Sioux Pit 6004Sand and Gravel, ConstructionPast Producer
Rosebud Sioux Pit 703 1/5Sand and Gravel, ConstructionPast Producer
Rosebud Sioux Pit 765Sand and Gravel, ConstructionPast Producer
Rosebud Sioux Pit Ref 1720Sand and Gravel, ConstructionPast Producer
Rosebud Sioux Pit Ref 2070Sand and Gravel, ConstructionPast Producer
Rosebud Sioux Pit T-9124Sand and Gravel, ConstructionPast Producer

Every populated place in the county

7

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.

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.