Bison, South Dakota
7 topographic sheets cover this place, the earliest surveyed in 1954 and the latest in 1998. It stands in Bison town. It lies in ZIP code area 57620. The Survey maps it on the Bison quadrangle. 302 people lived here at the 2020 count. It stands 2,782 feet above sea level.
Research this city
On record in Bison
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 2 records
- Anna Carr Homesteadlisted 1978
- Rockford No. 40 Schoollisted 1987
Population over time
2 figuresBison fell from 333 to 302 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.
| Year | People | Change |
|---|---|---|
| 2010 | 333 | |
| 2020 | 302 | -31 (-9%) |
Topographic sheets covering this place
5 surveys from 7 printed sheetsMatched 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.
- 1954 USGS Lemmon quadrangle1:250000, 2 printings
- 1957 USGS Lemmon quadrangle1:250000
- 1983 USGS Bison quadrangle1:24000
- 1984 USGS Lemmon quadrangle1:100000, 2 printings
- 1998 USGS Bison quadrangle1:24000
Fires near this place
4 since 2002Regional context, not property-specific evidence. The federal wildfire occurrence database lists 4 fires within 5 miles of Bison between 2002 and 2008, burning about 18 acres in total. 2 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 |
|---|---|
| Natural | 2 |
| Missing data/not specified/undetermined | 1 |
| Debris and open burning | 1 |
The most recent of them, most recent first, with the day each was reported and the service that recorded it.
| Date | Cause | Size | Reported by | Name on the report |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 9 August 2007 | Natural | under an acre | South Dakota Wildland Fire Suppression | not named |
| 1 August 2007 | Natural | under an acre | South Dakota Wildland Fire Suppression | not named |
| 6 July 2002 | Missing data/not specified/undetermined | 15 acres | Meadow Volunteer Fire Department | GEROLD MORRIS FIRE |
| 17 March 2008 | Debris and open burning | 2.0 acres | South Dakota Wildland Fire Suppression | not named |
Mines and quarries near this place
3 within 5 milesRegional context, not property-specific evidence. The federal mineral resources record lists 3 workings within 5 miles of Bison: 2 past producers, 1 producer. 1 still produces. What was taken out: Sand and Gravel, Construction. Distance is straight-line from the map coordinates, so a quarry counted here may appear on a neighbouring settlement's page as well.
| Where | Site | Commodity | Status | Recorded |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Flatmoe Pit | Sand and Gravel, Construction | Past Producer | ||
| Sdg - Cash Quad - Deposit 76 | Sand and Gravel, Construction | Producer | ||
| Seims Pit | Sand and Gravel, Construction | Past Producer |
Storms near this place
60 of 81 shownRegional context, not property-specific evidence. The National Weather Service names Bison in 81 storm reports between 1997 and 2025: 38 thunderstorm wind, 37 hail, 2 flash flood, 2 tornado. No death or injury is recorded in these reports. 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.
| When | Event | Place named | Harm | What the report says |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| July 2005 | Thunderstorm Wind | Bison | $500,000 | Many trees were downed, power poles blown over east of town, roofs damaged, and windows of houses and automobiles broken by wind driven hail. |
| July 2001 | Flash Flood | Bison | $200,000 | no account filed |
| July 2005 | Thunderstorm Wind | Bison | $20,000 | Machine shed destroyed by wind. |
| April 2005 | Dust Devil | Bison | $20,000 | no account filed |
| May 2013 | Hail | Bison | $10,000 | no account filed |
| June 1997 | Thunderstorm Wind | Bison | $5,000 | no account filed |
| June 2025 | Thunderstorm Wind | Bison | - | SD mesonet recorded wind gust. |
| July 2024 | Thunderstorm Wind | Bison | - | The spotter estimated wind gusts at near 70 mph. |
| June 2024 | Thunderstorm Wind | Bison | - | Wind gusts were estimated at near 70 mph. |
| June 2024 | Thunderstorm Wind | Bison | - | The spotter estimated wind gusts at around 60 mph. |
| July 2024 | Thunderstorm Wind | Bison | - | The spotter estimated wind gusts at around 60 mph. |
| September 2023 | Thunderstorm Wind | Bison | - | The spotter estimated wind gusts at around 60 mph. |
| July 2022 | Thunderstorm Wind | Bison | - | The spotter estimated wind gusts at 60 mph. |
| June 2022 | Thunderstorm Wind | Bison | - | Tree branches to two inches in diameter were downed around town. |
| June 2022 | Thunderstorm Wind | Bison | - | Wind gusts were estimated at 60 mph. |
| June 2021 | Hail | Bison | - | There was damage to a rain gauge and downed branches from gusty winds. |
| June 2020 | Thunderstorm Wind | Bison | - | Trees were blown down on Bixby Road. |
| June 2020 | Thunderstorm Wind | Bison | - | Wind gusts were estimated at 60 mph. |
| June 2020 | Thunderstorm Wind | Bison | - | Wind gusts were estimated at 60 mph. |
| June 2018 | Thunderstorm Wind | Bison | - | Wind gusts were estimated at 60 mph. |
| June 2015 | Tornado (EF0) | Bison | - | A tornado touched down in open country east of Bison; it caused no damage. |
| September 2013 | Thunderstorm Wind | Bison | - | Wind gusts were estimated at 60 mph. |
| July 2011 | Thunderstorm Wind | Bison | - | A spotter reported wind gusts around 70 mph. |
| July 2011 | Thunderstorm Wind | Bison | - | Wind gusts were estimated at 60 mph. |
| July 2011 | Thunderstorm Wind | Bison | - | Wind gusts were estimated at 60 mph. |
| May 2011 | Flash Flood | Bison | - | Flash flooding was reported along Thunder Butte and Rabbit Creeks in eastern Perkins County. |
| May 2011 | Flood | Bison | - | Rain runoff caused flooding along Deep Creek and the Moreau River in southeastern Perkins County. |
| July 2010 | Thunderstorm Wind | Bison | - | Wind gusts were estimated at 60 mph. |
| June 2009 | Thunderstorm Wind | Bison | - | None. |
| June 2005 | Hail | Bison | - | Combination of large hail and wind broke windows on a house, barn, and automobile. |
| July 2024 | Hail | Bison | - | no account filed |
| July 2024 | Thunderstorm Wind | Bison | - | no account filed |
| July 2024 | Thunderstorm Wind | Bison | - | no account filed |
| September 2024 | Thunderstorm Wind | Bison | - | no account filed |
| July 2023 | Hail | Bison | - | no account filed |
| September 2023 | Thunderstorm Wind | Bison | - | no account filed |
| May 2022 | Hail | Bison | - | no account filed |
| May 2022 | Hail | Bison | - | no account filed |
| July 2022 | Hail | Bison | - | no account filed |
| July 2022 | Hail | Bison | - | no account filed |
| July 2022 | Hail | Bison | - | no account filed |
| June 2022 | Thunderstorm Wind | Bison | - | no account filed |
| June 2022 | Thunderstorm Wind | Bison | - | no account filed |
| June 2021 | Thunderstorm Wind | Bison | - | no account filed |
| July 2021 | Hail | Bison | - | no account filed |
| July 2020 | Hail | Bison | - | no account filed |
| August 2020 | Hail | Bison | - | no account filed |
| June 2020 | Hail | Bison | - | no account filed |
| June 2020 | Hail | Bison | - | no account filed |
| September 2019 | Hail | Bison | - | no account filed |
| May 2018 | Hail | Bison | - | no account filed |
| June 2018 | Thunderstorm Wind | Bison | - | no account filed |
| June 2018 | Thunderstorm Wind | Bison | - | no account filed |
| June 2018 | Hail | Bison | - | no account filed |
| July 2018 | Thunderstorm Wind | Bison | - | no account filed |
| May 2016 | Hail | Bison | - | no account filed |
| July 2016 | Hail | Bison | - | no account filed |
| July 2016 | Thunderstorm Wind | Bison | - | no account filed |
| July 2016 | Hail | Bison | - | no account filed |
| June 2013 | Thunderstorm Wind | Bison | - | no account filed |
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 | Place | Distance | Sheets |
|---|---|---|---|
| Chance | 12.2 miles | 7 | |
| Meadow | 13.0 miles | 6 | |
| Date | 15.7 miles | 7 | |
| Prairie City | 18.2 miles | 6 | |
| Strool | 18.3 miles | 6 | |
| Coal Springs | 19.5 miles | 7 | |
| Lodgepole | 22.3 miles | 7 | |
| Shadehill | 22.6 miles | 7 |
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 Bison | An encyclopaedic summary. Its text is share-alike, so it is linked here rather than copied. |
| Wikidata item Q937981 | The 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 1253935. 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.




