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Alexandria, South Dakota

12 topographic sheets cover this place, the earliest surveyed in 1899 and the latest in 1985. It stands in Wayne Township. It lies in ZIP code area 57311. The Survey maps it on the Alexandria quadrangle. 649 people lived here at the 2020 count. It stands 1,352 feet above sea level.

Research this city

Alexandria within Hanson County

On record in Alexandria

Buildings and businesses the archive holds for this place. Each opens its own page, with the source record it came from.

On the National Register 1 record

Population over time

2 figures

Alexandria grew from 615 to 649 between 2010 and 2020. These are the recorded population figures Wikidata holds for this place, reached through the Geographic Names Information System number this page is keyed on rather than by name, so they belong to this place and not to another of the same name. Most are census counts, but not all are: an early figure may be a founding or settlement estimate, and an estimate published within five years of a census is left out. The change column is computed, and is left blank where more than 20 years separate a figure from the one before it, because a gap that long is not a change between two counts.

YearPeople Change
2010615
2020649+34 (+6%)

Topographic sheets covering this place

5 surveys from 12 printed sheets

Matched by testing this settlement's coordinate against the published boundary of every sheet in the United States Geological Survey's historical collection. Each opens the scanned sheet at the Survey.

Fires near this place

9 since 2003

Regional context, not property-specific evidence. The federal wildfire occurrence database lists 9 fires within 5 miles of Alexandria between 2003 and 2020, burning about 135 acres in total. None started naturally. None was recorded as arson. Distance is straight-line from the map coordinates, so a fire counted here may appear on a neighbouring settlement's page as well.

Reported cause Fires
Missing data/not specified/undetermined7
Equipment and vehicle use2

The most recent of them, most recent first, with the day each was reported and the service that recorded it.

DateCause SizeReported by Name on the report
29 August 2020Equipment and vehicle use4.0 acresSouth Dakota Wildland Fire SuppressionCRP 02
21 May 2014Missing data/not specified/undetermined2.0 acresSouth Dakota Wildland Fire SuppressionHURON
29 April 2013Missing data/not specified/undetermined10 acresHanson CountyWILLIAM GRASS FIRE
26 April 2014Missing data/not specified/undetermined1.0 acresSouth Dakota Wildland Fire SuppressionKEN ZEB
23 March 2003Missing data/not specified/undetermined80 acresSouth Dakota Wildland Fire SuppressionALBERTZ'S BLAZE
23 March 2003Missing data/not specified/undetermined30 acresSouth Dakota Wildland Fire Suppressionnot named
22 March 2013Missing data/not specified/undetermined1.0 acresHanson CountyKUNKEL BAIL FIRE
12 October 2020Missing data/not specified/undetermined6.0 acresSouth Dakota Wildland Fire SuppressionGRANITE SPRINGS

Settlements close enough to share some of these fires:

Every fire recorded in Hanson County

Mines and quarries near this place

7 within 5 miles

Regional context, not property-specific evidence. The federal mineral resources record lists 7 workings within 5 miles of Alexandria: 4 past producers, 3 producers. 3 still produce. What was taken out: Sand and Gravel, Construction, Stone, Crushed/Broken. Distance is straight-line from the map coordinates, so a quarry counted here may appear on a neighbouring settlement's page as well.

Where SiteCommodity StatusRecorded
Spencer Quarries,IncStone, Crushed/BrokenProducer
Gravel PitSand and Gravel, ConstructionPast Producer
Gravel PitSand and Gravel, ConstructionPast Producer
Gravel PitSand and Gravel, ConstructionProducer
Gravel PitSand and Gravel, ConstructionPast Producer
Gravel PitSand and Gravel, ConstructionPast Producer
Gravel PitSand and Gravel, ConstructionProducer

Every working recorded in Hanson County

Storms near this place

51 since 1997

Regional context, not property-specific evidence. The National Weather Service names Alexandria in 51 storm reports between 1997 and 2025: 22 thunderstorm wind, 22 hail, 3 flood, 2 tornado. The reports record 3 injuries. Each account below is quoted exactly as the forecast office filed it, from the NOAA Storm Events Database, and each date opens the federal record of that event.

WhenEvent Place namedHarm What the report says
June 1997Thunderstorm WindAlexandria3 hurt, $1,200,000Thunderstorm winds caused widespread damage to homes, trailers, barns, other structures, trees, and vehicles at the Oak Lane Hutterite colony south of Alexandria. Three people were injured when their trailer home was flipped and damaged.
May 2007FloodAlexandria$100,000Heavy rainfall caused flooding of low areas including fields, homes, businesses, schools, roads, streams, and bridges. The flooding was a longer term event than flash flooding, which also had resulted. Long term major flooding of the James River also resulted. Some parks and other recreation areas were affected. A few roads and bridges were washed out by the high water. The flooding delayed planting of crops in some areas.
August 2009HailAlexandria$50,000Large hail broke windows in buildings and vehicles, and dented vehicles.
August 2004LightningAlexandria$50,000Lightning struck a house, starting a fire which destroyed the top floor of the house. The fire took three hours to extinguish.
June 1999Thunderstorm WindAlexandria$30,000no account filed
May 1998Tornado (F1)Alexandria$20,000no account filed
May 2007Tornado (EF1)Alexandria$10,000A tornado damaged barns and blew out windows.
August 2005HailAlexandria$5,000Large hail broke windows in vehicles and homes.
July 2025Thunderstorm WindAlexandria-Thunderstorm wind gusts were measured by a Road Weather Information System sensor near Alexandria.
July 2024Thunderstorm WindAlexandria-A thunderstorm wind gust up to 66 mph was measured by the South Dakota Road Weather Information System site near Alexandria.
July 2023Thunderstorm WindAlexandria-Thunderstorm wind gusts as high as 58 mph were measured by South Dakota Road Weather Information System site SD502 4 miles east-northeast of Alexandria.
May 2022Thunderstorm WindAlexandria-A thunderstorm wind gust of 81 mph was measured by South Dakota Road Weather Information System site SD502 4 miles east-northeast of Alexandria. Crop damage is an estimate from insured losses. Information provided by the United States Department of Agriculture.
September 2021Thunderstorm WindAlexandria-Thunderstorm wind gusts measured by South Dakota RWIS site SD502 4 miles east northeast of Alexandria.
June 2020Thunderstorm WindAlexandria-South Dakota RWIS station SD502 4 miles east northeast of Alexandria measured a wind gust of 66 mph.
August 2020Thunderstorm WindAlexandria-Thunderstorm wind gust to 65 mph measured by hand-held anemometer.
July 2020HailAlexandria-Ping-pong ball size hail fell at the Interstate 90 exit for Alexandria.
July 2019Thunderstorm WindAlexandria-Measured by RWIS station.
August 2015HailAlexandria-Large hail was accompanied by damaging winds.
August 2015Thunderstorm WindAlexandria-Thunderstorm winds caused tree damage, including 1.5 inch diameter branches blown down. The winds were accompanied by large hail.
August 2009Thunderstorm WindAlexandria-Thunderstorm winds caused tree damage, including branches up to 5 inches in diameter and a few trees up to 10 inches in diameter blown down.
June 2007FloodAlexandria-Long term minor to moderate flooding of the James River continued at the start of June. Additional moderate to heavy rainfall over the basin kept the river above flood stage through the month. The flooding was not nearly as great as during the previous month. While lowland flooding continued along the river, no additional damage was reported.
May 2007Flash FloodAlexandria-Heavy rain caused flooding of Lake Hanson and nearby low areas, causing an unknown amount of damage to several homes. A large part of an earthern dam broke, draining the lake and easing the flooding of lakeside property, but the recreation value of the lake was destroyed.
March 2007FloodAlexandria-Warm temperatures caused a rapid snowmelt which caused the James River to rise above flood stage for several days. The flooding was minor to moderate and no significant damage was reported.
August 2006Thunderstorm WindAlexandria-Thunderstorm winds caused tree damage, including small branches blown down.
July 2006Thunderstorm WindAlexandria-Thunderstorm winds damaged trees and power lines, resulting in power outages.
July 2004HailAlexandria-Large hail damaged vehicles. The amount of damage was not known.
August 2004HailAlexandria-Large hail dented vehicles.
August 2004Thunderstorm WindAlexandria-Thunderstorm winds caused tree damage, including several trees blown down.
July 2003Thunderstorm WindAlexandria-Thunderstorm winds caused tree damage, littering streets in Alexandria with branches and smaller debris.
July 2003HailAlexandria-Large hail caused an unknown amount of crop damage.
April 2025Thunderstorm WindAlexandria-no account filed
July 2020HailAlexandria-no account filed
June 2008HailAlexandria-no account filed
June 2008HailAlexandria-no account filed
May 2007HailAlexandria-no account filed
May 2007HailAlexandria-no account filed
May 2006Thunderstorm WindAlexandria-no account filed
June 2006HailAlexandria-no account filed
September 2006HailAlexandria-no account filed
May 2005HailAlexandria-no account filed
June 2005HailAlexandria-no account filed
May 2004HailAlexandria-no account filed
July 2004Thunderstorm WindAlexandria-no account filed
September 2004HailAlexandria-no account filed
July 2003HailAlexandria-no account filed
June 2002Thunderstorm WindAlexandria-no account filed
July 2002HailAlexandria-no account filed
August 2002Thunderstorm WindAlexandria-no account filed
August 2000Thunderstorm WindAlexandria-no account filed
August 2000HailAlexandria-no account filed
September 1999HailAlexandria-no account filed

Every storm recorded in Hanson County

Nearest settlements

The eight closest, with where each one stands in the county. Distances are straight-line, computed from the Geographic Names Information System coordinates.

Map PlaceDistance Sheets
Millbrook Colony5.0 miles12
Fulton5.4 miles12
Rockport Colony5.8 miles11
Farmer7.0 miles11
Bard (historical)7.1 miles12
Emery9.2 miles11
Riverside10.0 miles12
Oak Lane Colony10.1 miles11

Elsewhere

Matched on this settlement's Geographic Names Information System number rather than its name, so it cannot be a different place of the same name in another state.

Wikipedia article on AlexandriaAn encyclopaedic summary. Its text is share-alike, so it is linked here rather than copied.
Wikidata item Q2414602The structured record the population and elevation above come from. Public domain (CC0).

Provenance

This settlement is recorded in the Geographic Names Information System as feature 1253612. The sheet list is computed by point-in-boundary test against the United States Geological Survey's historical topographic inventory. Both are works of the United States government and carry no copyright under 17 U.S.C. 105.

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.