BlockBefore

Cottonwood, South Dakota

6 topographic sheets cover this place, the earliest surveyed in 1955 and the latest in 1980. It stands in the Northwest Jackson unorganized territory. It lies in ZIP code area 57775. The Survey maps it on the Cottonwood quadrangle. 12 people lived here at the 2020 count. It stands 2,421 feet above sea level.

Cottonwood within Jackson County

Population over time

2 figures

Cottonwood grew from 9 to 12 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
20109
202012+3 (+33%)

Topographic sheets covering this place

4 surveys from 6 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

11 since 1999

Regional context, not property-specific evidence. The federal wildfire occurrence database lists 11 fires within 5 miles of Cottonwood between 1999 and 2020, burning about 409 acres in total. 6 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
Natural6
Equipment and vehicle use4
Railroad operations and maintenance1

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 2020Railroad operations and maintenanceunder an acreSouth Dakota Wildland Fire SuppressionMM132
31 August 2002Natural116 acresNebraska National ForestBAD RIVER
23 August 1999Equipment and vehicle useunder an acreMilesville Volunteer Fire DepartmentDAVID BERRY
15 August 2006Natural50 acresSouth Dakota Wildland Fire Suppressionnot named
14 August 2006Natural113 acresSouth Dakota Wildland Fire Suppressionnot named
14 August 2006Natural67 acresSouth Dakota Wildland Fire Suppressionnot named
8 July 2018Equipment and vehicle use20 acresSouth Dakota Wildland Fire SuppressionCOTTONWOOD
31 July 2000Equipment and vehicle use7.0 acresPhilip Volunteer Fire DepartmentCOTTONWOOD

Settlements close enough to share some of these fires:

Every fire recorded in Jackson County

Storms near this place

60 of 65 shown

Regional context, not property-specific evidence. The National Weather Service names Cottonwood in 65 storm reports between 1995 and 2025: 42 thunderstorm wind, 17 hail, 6 flood. 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
May 2019FloodCottonwood$200,000Significant flooding occurred along the White River south of Kadoka. A record gauge height of 17.57 feet was set (flood stage is 13 feet), with a peak flow of 17,800 cfs, which is the highest flow recorded since measurements began at this location in 1942. Widespread flooding of agricultural land occurred and several outbuildings were inundated. A county road and bridge about 10 miles downstream of the gauge were washed out and SD Highway 44 south of Interior was covered with water in three locations.
October 2011Thunderstorm WindCottonwood$20,000The roof was blown off a seed house and buildings and a tractor were damaged by strong wind gusts.
December 1995Thunderstorm WindCottonwood$5,000The thunderstorm that began in Pennington County moved east into northern Jackson County causing light structural damage in the Cottonwood area and blew over a tractor-semitrailer on Interstate 90 between Wall and Kodoka.
July 2009HailCottonwood$5,000no account filed
July 2001Thunderstorm WindCottonwood$2,000Windows were broken out of a home.
June 2025Thunderstorm WindCottonwood-SD mesonet recorded wind gust.
June 2025Thunderstorm WindCottonwood-SD mesonet recorded wind gust.
June 2025Thunderstorm WindCottonwood-SD mesonet recorded wind gust.
June 2025Thunderstorm WindCottonwood-SD mesonet recorded wind gust.
July 2025Thunderstorm WindCottonwood-SD Mesonet measured wind gust.
July 2025Thunderstorm WindCottonwood-SD Mesonet measured wind gust.
August 2025Thunderstorm WindCottonwood-SD Mesonet measure wind gust.
August 2025Thunderstorm WindCottonwood-SD Mesonet recorded wind gust.
July 2019FloodCottonwood-Runoff from heavy rain caused minor flooding of agricultural land along the South Fork of the Bad River. The river gauge crested about 1.5 feet over flood stage during the morning of July 6.
July 2017Thunderstorm WindCottonwood-Small tree branches were downed by the wind.
August 2016Thunderstorm WindCottonwood-Wind gusts were estimated around 60 mph.
May 2015FloodCottonwood-Minor flooding of agricultural land occurred along the South Fork of the Bad River and its tributaries.
May 2015FloodCottonwood-Minor flooding of agricultural land occurred along the south fork of the Bad River and its tributaries.
June 2014Thunderstorm WindCottonwood-Wind gusts were estimated at 60 mph.
June 2014FloodCottonwood-Water Creek, a tributary of the South Fork of the Bad River, flooded Cottonwood Road. The South Fork of the Bad River crested at flood stage (12.0 feet) four miles east of Cottonwood, causing minor flooding of pastures.
May 2011FloodCottonwood-The South Fork of the Bad River and Cottonwood Creek flooded due to runoff from heavy rain.
April 2010Thunderstorm WindCottonwood-Thunderstorm winds toppled several calf shelters.
July 2001Thunderstorm WindCottonwood-Several tree limbs were broken off.
June 2000HailCottonwood-4 windows broken in a house.
July 2000Thunderstorm WindCottonwood-Numerous trees had large branches broken.
August 2025Thunderstorm WindCottonwood-no account filed
May 2024Thunderstorm WindCottonwood-no account filed
May 2024Thunderstorm WindCottonwood-no account filed
May 2024Thunderstorm WindCottonwood-no account filed
July 2024Thunderstorm WindCottonwood-no account filed
July 2024Thunderstorm WindCottonwood-no account filed
July 2024Thunderstorm WindCottonwood-no account filed
June 2024Thunderstorm WindCottonwood-no account filed
April 2024Thunderstorm WindCottonwood-no account filed
September 2024Thunderstorm WindCottonwood-no account filed
July 2023Thunderstorm WindCottonwood-no account filed
April 2022HailCottonwood-no account filed
July 2022Thunderstorm WindCottonwood-no account filed
July 2022Thunderstorm WindCottonwood-no account filed
June 2022Thunderstorm WindCottonwood-no account filed
June 2022Thunderstorm WindCottonwood-no account filed
June 2022Thunderstorm WindCottonwood-no account filed
June 2022Thunderstorm WindCottonwood-no account filed
June 2021Thunderstorm WindCottonwood-no account filed
May 2020HailCottonwood-no account filed
June 2020Thunderstorm WindCottonwood-no account filed
May 2018Thunderstorm WindCottonwood-no account filed
June 2017Thunderstorm WindCottonwood-no account filed
June 2015HailCottonwood-no account filed
June 2015Thunderstorm WindCottonwood-no account filed
April 2015HailCottonwood-no account filed
May 2013HailCottonwood-no account filed
August 2012HailCottonwood-no account filed
July 2009HailCottonwood-no account filed
July 2009HailCottonwood-no account filed
June 2008HailCottonwood-no account filed
June 2008Thunderstorm WindCottonwood-no account filed
May 2007HailCottonwood-no account filed
August 2006Thunderstorm WindCottonwood-no account filed
June 2005HailCottonwood-no account filed

Every storm recorded in Jackson 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
Cactus Flat9.1 miles6
Philip Junction13.0 miles6
Sevenmile Corner15.8 miles6
Weta16.6 miles6
Interior17.1 miles6
Kadoka Junction22.3 miles6
Kadoka22.9 miles6
Potato Creek30.2 miles6

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 CottonwoodAn encyclopaedic summary. Its text is share-alike, so it is linked here rather than copied.
Wikidata item Q2693133The 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 1261490. 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.

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.