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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

Bison within Perkins County

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

Population over time

2 figures

Bison 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.

YearPeople Change
2010333
2020302-31 (-9%)

Topographic sheets covering this place

5 surveys from 7 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

4 since 2002

Regional 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
Natural2
Missing data/not specified/undetermined1
Debris and open burning1

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
9 August 2007Naturalunder an acreSouth Dakota Wildland Fire Suppressionnot named
1 August 2007Naturalunder an acreSouth Dakota Wildland Fire Suppressionnot named
6 July 2002Missing data/not specified/undetermined15 acresMeadow Volunteer Fire DepartmentGEROLD MORRIS FIRE
17 March 2008Debris and open burning2.0 acresSouth Dakota Wildland Fire Suppressionnot named

Every fire recorded in Perkins County

Mines and quarries near this place

3 within 5 miles

Regional 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 SiteCommodity StatusRecorded
Flatmoe PitSand and Gravel, ConstructionPast Producer
Sdg - Cash Quad - Deposit 76Sand and Gravel, ConstructionProducer
Seims PitSand and Gravel, ConstructionPast Producer

Every working recorded in Perkins County

Storms near this place

60 of 81 shown

Regional 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.

WhenEvent Place namedHarm What the report says
July 2005Thunderstorm WindBison$500,000Many trees were downed, power poles blown over east of town, roofs damaged, and windows of houses and automobiles broken by wind driven hail.
July 2001Flash FloodBison$200,000no account filed
July 2005Thunderstorm WindBison$20,000Machine shed destroyed by wind.
April 2005Dust DevilBison$20,000no account filed
May 2013HailBison$10,000no account filed
June 1997Thunderstorm WindBison$5,000no account filed
June 2025Thunderstorm WindBison-SD mesonet recorded wind gust.
July 2024Thunderstorm WindBison-The spotter estimated wind gusts at near 70 mph.
June 2024Thunderstorm WindBison-Wind gusts were estimated at near 70 mph.
June 2024Thunderstorm WindBison-The spotter estimated wind gusts at around 60 mph.
July 2024Thunderstorm WindBison-The spotter estimated wind gusts at around 60 mph.
September 2023Thunderstorm WindBison-The spotter estimated wind gusts at around 60 mph.
July 2022Thunderstorm WindBison-The spotter estimated wind gusts at 60 mph.
June 2022Thunderstorm WindBison-Tree branches to two inches in diameter were downed around town.
June 2022Thunderstorm WindBison-Wind gusts were estimated at 60 mph.
June 2021HailBison-There was damage to a rain gauge and downed branches from gusty winds.
June 2020Thunderstorm WindBison-Trees were blown down on Bixby Road.
June 2020Thunderstorm WindBison-Wind gusts were estimated at 60 mph.
June 2020Thunderstorm WindBison-Wind gusts were estimated at 60 mph.
June 2018Thunderstorm WindBison-Wind gusts were estimated at 60 mph.
June 2015Tornado (EF0)Bison-A tornado touched down in open country east of Bison; it caused no damage.
September 2013Thunderstorm WindBison-Wind gusts were estimated at 60 mph.
July 2011Thunderstorm WindBison-A spotter reported wind gusts around 70 mph.
July 2011Thunderstorm WindBison-Wind gusts were estimated at 60 mph.
July 2011Thunderstorm WindBison-Wind gusts were estimated at 60 mph.
May 2011Flash FloodBison-Flash flooding was reported along Thunder Butte and Rabbit Creeks in eastern Perkins County.
May 2011FloodBison-Rain runoff caused flooding along Deep Creek and the Moreau River in southeastern Perkins County.
July 2010Thunderstorm WindBison-Wind gusts were estimated at 60 mph.
June 2009Thunderstorm WindBison-None.
June 2005HailBison-Combination of large hail and wind broke windows on a house, barn, and automobile.
July 2024HailBison-no account filed
July 2024Thunderstorm WindBison-no account filed
July 2024Thunderstorm WindBison-no account filed
September 2024Thunderstorm WindBison-no account filed
July 2023HailBison-no account filed
September 2023Thunderstorm WindBison-no account filed
May 2022HailBison-no account filed
May 2022HailBison-no account filed
July 2022HailBison-no account filed
July 2022HailBison-no account filed
July 2022HailBison-no account filed
June 2022Thunderstorm WindBison-no account filed
June 2022Thunderstorm WindBison-no account filed
June 2021Thunderstorm WindBison-no account filed
July 2021HailBison-no account filed
July 2020HailBison-no account filed
August 2020HailBison-no account filed
June 2020HailBison-no account filed
June 2020HailBison-no account filed
September 2019HailBison-no account filed
May 2018HailBison-no account filed
June 2018Thunderstorm WindBison-no account filed
June 2018Thunderstorm WindBison-no account filed
June 2018HailBison-no account filed
July 2018Thunderstorm WindBison-no account filed
May 2016HailBison-no account filed
July 2016HailBison-no account filed
July 2016Thunderstorm WindBison-no account filed
July 2016HailBison-no account filed
June 2013Thunderstorm WindBison-no account filed

Every storm recorded in Perkins 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
Chance12.2 miles7
Meadow13.0 miles6
Date15.7 miles7
Prairie City18.2 miles6
Strool18.3 miles6
Coal Springs19.5 miles7
Lodgepole22.3 miles7
Shadehill22.6 miles7

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 BisonAn encyclopaedic summary. Its text is share-alike, so it is linked here rather than copied.
Wikidata item Q937981The 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.