BlockBefore

Castlewood, South Dakota

8 topographic sheets cover this place, the earliest surveyed in 1953 and the latest in 1985. It stands in Castlewood City. It lies in ZIP code area 57223. The Survey maps it on the Castlewood quadrangle. 698 people lived here at the 2020 count. It stands 1,686 feet above sea level.

Castlewood within Hamlin County

On record in Castlewood

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 3 records

Population over time

2 figures

Castlewood grew from 627 to 698 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
2010627
2020698+71 (+11%)

Topographic sheets covering this place

4 surveys from 8 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

6 since 2007

Regional context, not property-specific evidence. The federal wildfire occurrence database lists 6 fires within 5 miles of Castlewood between 2007 and 2016, burning about 146 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
Equipment and vehicle use2
Debris and open burning2
Missing data/not specified/undetermined1
Smoking1

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 September 2009Debris and open burning130 acresSouth Dakota Wildland Fire Suppressionnot named
22 April 2008Smoking1.5 acresSouth Dakota Wildland Fire Suppressionnot named
2 April 2016Missing data/not specified/undetermined5.0 acresSouth Dakota Wildland Fire SuppressionRASMUSSEN
2 November 2007Debris and open burning4.0 acresSouth Dakota Wildland Fire Suppressionnot named
29 October 2011Equipment and vehicle use1.0 acresSouth Dakota Wildland Fire SuppressionGASRVER
13 October 2011Equipment and vehicle use5.0 acresSouth Dakota Wildland Fire SuppressionPETTERSON

Settlements close enough to share some of these fires:

Every fire recorded in Hamlin County

Mines and quarries near this place

5 within 5 miles

Regional context, not property-specific evidence. The federal mineral resources record lists 5 workings within 5 miles of Castlewood: 5 past producers. None of them 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
Gravel PitSand and Gravel, ConstructionPast Producer
Gravel PitSand and Gravel, ConstructionPast Producer
Gravel PitSand and Gravel, ConstructionPast Producer
Gravel PitSand and Gravel, ConstructionPast Producer
Gravel PitSand and Gravel, ConstructionPast Producer

Every working recorded in Hamlin County

Storms near this place

55 since 1995

Regional context, not property-specific evidence. The National Weather Service names Castlewood in 55 storm reports between 1995 and 2025: 32 hail, 8 thunderstorm wind, 7 flood, 4 flash flood. 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 2017HailCastlewood2 hurtno account filed
May 2022Tornado (EF2)Castlewood1 hurtSeveral eyewitnesses reported a small funnel/tornado descending, widening and developing very rapidly at the edge of Castlewood, SD. Damage was evident as soon as it reached the southern edge of town. A majority of the damage occurred between 3rd Avenue and 4th Avenue. On Market Street, a small funeral home visitation center was completely blown off its foundation. Debris from the funeral home was tossed to the north, including the air conditioning unit which was tossed into a yard one block to the north. A garage was destroyed and completely blown from its foundation on Allen Street. The next block to the north, a home lost a roof and sustained significant damage to external walls. Another garage on this street was completely blown off the foundation and destroyed. Similar damage was noted a block north on Main Street. Another home lost an entire roof and partial collapse of external walls. Yet another garage was destroyed as it slid off the foundation. The next block north, on Alice Street, significant roof damage was noted to several homes and another garage was completely shifted off of the foundation. One particular residence had a roof that appeared to be slightly rotated and was sagging. The Castlewood Elementary school, situated between Harry Street and Pear Street, sustained significant damage to the school and gymnasium roof. Damage was also sustained to sections of the brick external walls. The school bus shed was completely destroyed with loss of|the roof and external walls. North of the school, on Prairie Street, a residence sustained significant damage. At this property, a garage was completely destroyed, and a shed was tossed in the air landing upside down. The home itself lost the entire roof and the |south facing external walls collapsed. The tornado would continue to track north across an open field and across US Highway 22. Additional debris and tree damage was noted a mile north of US Highway 22 before the tornado lifted. Throughout the entire path of the tornado there were uprooted and snapped trees and significant siding and roof damage to homes.
October 1996Tornado (F1)Castlewood$50,000no account filed
July 2025FloodCastlewood-The Big Sioux River near Castlewood went into flood during the evening of July 27th, rising over three feet in four hours due to heavy rainfall from thunderstorms. The COOP observer in Castlewood recorded 5.61 inches of rain. The river crested at 11.44 feet, which is 2.44 feet above flood stage. The water inundated mainly farmland and pasture, and overtopped portions of 184th Street. The river remained in flood through the end of the month and into August.
August 2025FloodCastlewood-The Big Sioux River near Castlewood entered flood stage around mid-day on August 6th. The river would crest at 1030 pm on August 7th at 10.63 feet, or 1.63 feet above flood stage. The river stayed in flood through the morning of August 10th. Flooding was mainly confined to low-lying agricultural lands north of Castlewood, though a portion of 184th street flooded.
August 2025FloodCastlewood-The Big Sioux near Castlewood would go into flood on August 22nd during the morning hours, cresting at 11.42 or 2.42 feet above flood stage on the morning of August 24th. The river would remain in flood through the evening of August 27th.
July 2024Thunderstorm WindCastlewood-A member of the public reported tree branches down from thunderstorm winds estimated near 60 mph.
June 2017Thunderstorm WindCastlewood-Eighty mph winds downed multiple trees blocking the intersection of Highways 81 and 22.
June 2014Flash FloodCastlewood-Heavy rains of up to 4 inches caused the flooding of a few roads south of Castlewood.
June 2014Flash FloodCastlewood-Portions of county road 463 were underwater from flash flooding.
August 2012Thunderstorm WindCastlewood-Eighty mph winds downed between thirty and forty trees in Castlewood and Hayti. Many power outages were also reported.
August 2011Thunderstorm WindCastlewood-Sixty mph winds downed several branches along with a tree in Castlewood.
July 2005Thunderstorm WindCastlewood-Sixty mph winds downed many branches in Castlewood.
October 1997Thunderstorm WindCastlewood-Many trees were blown over and large hay bales weighing 1200 to 1500 pounds were pushed at least 50 yards.
June 2025Funnel CloudCastlewood-no account filed
June 2025Funnel CloudCastlewood-no account filed
June 2025HailCastlewood-no account filed
June 2025HailCastlewood-no account filed
July 2025HailCastlewood-no account filed
July 2025HailCastlewood-no account filed
July 2024HailCastlewood-no account filed
June 2024FloodCastlewood-no account filed
May 2023FloodCastlewood-no account filed
August 2021Thunderstorm WindCastlewood-no account filed
August 2015HailCastlewood-no account filed
July 2015HailCastlewood-no account filed
July 2011HailCastlewood-no account filed
July 2011HailCastlewood-no account filed
July 2011HailCastlewood-no account filed
July 2011HailCastlewood-no account filed
July 2011HailCastlewood-no account filed
March 2009FloodCastlewood-no account filed
June 2008Thunderstorm WindCastlewood-no account filed
April 2007HailCastlewood-no account filed
September 2007HailCastlewood-no account filed
March 2007FloodCastlewood-no account filed
May 2005HailCastlewood-no account filed
May 2005HailCastlewood-no account filed
May 2005HailCastlewood-no account filed
May 2005HailCastlewood-no account filed
May 2005HailCastlewood-no account filed
May 2005HailCastlewood-no account filed
March 2004HailCastlewood-no account filed
May 2004HailCastlewood-no account filed
July 2003HailCastlewood-no account filed
July 2003HailCastlewood-no account filed
August 2002Flash FloodCastlewood-no account filed
August 2002Flash FloodCastlewood-no account filed
August 2002HailCastlewood-no account filed
July 1999HailCastlewood-no account filed
June 1999HailCastlewood-no account filed
June 1998HailCastlewood-no account filed
June 1997HailCastlewood-no account filed
June 1997HailCastlewood-no account filed
June 1995HailCastlewood-no account filed

Every storm recorded in Hamlin 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
Kones Corner4.2 miles8
Claremont Colony4.2 miles9
Dempster7.5 miles9
Stone Bridge8.5 miles8
Poinsett Colony8.8 miles9
Thomas9.9 miles8
Hayti10.3 miles8
Alsville10.7 miles8

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 CastlewoodAn encyclopaedic summary. Its text is share-alike, so it is linked here rather than copied.
Wikidata item Q3239834The 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 1265146. 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.