Groton, South Dakota
11 topographic sheets cover this place, the earliest surveyed in 1895 and the latest in 1985. It stands in Groton City. It lies in ZIP code area 57445. The Survey maps it on the Groton quadrangle. 1,380 people lived here at the 2020 count. It stands 1,302 feet above sea level.
On record in Groton
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 4 records
McKenzie-Cassels Houselisted 1986
Trinity Episcopal Churchlisted 1983- First Presbyterian Church of Grotonlisted 2019
- Anna Herron Farmlisted 1995
Population over time
2 figuresGroton fell from 1,458 to 1,380 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 | 1,458 | |
| 2020 | 1,380 | -78 (-5%) |
Topographic sheets covering this place
5 surveys from 11 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.
- 1895 USGS Aberdeen quadrangle1:125000, 4 printings
- 1954 USGS Aberdeen quadrangle1:250000, 2 printings
- 1954 USGS Groton quadrangle1:24000, 2 printings
- 1956 USGS Aberdeen quadrangle1:250000
- 1985 USGS Aberdeen quadrangle1:100000, 2 printings
Fires near this place
19 since 2000Regional context, not property-specific evidence. The federal wildfire occurrence database lists 19 fires within 5 miles of Groton between 2000 and 2017, burning about 177 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/undetermined | 12 |
| Debris and open burning | 4 |
| Railroad operations and maintenance | 2 |
| Equipment and vehicle use | 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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 27 September 2012 | Missing data/not specified/undetermined | 45 acres | South Dakota Wildland Fire Suppression | BELDEN |
| 14 September 2000 | Debris and open burning | 20 acres | Groton Volunteer Fire Department | GROTON CITY |
| 18 August 2011 | Missing data/not specified/undetermined | 1.0 acres | South Dakota Wildland Fire Suppression | OVERPASS |
| 30 June 2000 | Railroad operations and maintenance | 2.0 acres | Groton Volunteer Fire Department | BURLINGTON NORTHERN RR |
| 7 May 2013 | Missing data/not specified/undetermined | 15 acres | Day County | RAAP |
| 4 May 2015 | Missing data/not specified/undetermined | 2.0 acres | South Dakota Wildland Fire Suppression | FLIEHS FIRE |
| 3 May 2015 | Missing data/not specified/undetermined | 50 acres | South Dakota Wildland Fire Suppression | ZOELLNER FIRE |
| 18 May 2012 | Missing data/not specified/undetermined | under an acre | South Dakota Wildland Fire Suppression | UNKNOW |
Settlements close enough to share some of these fires:
Storms near this place
54 since 1993Regional context, not property-specific evidence. The National Weather Service names Groton in 54 storm reports between 1993 and 2025: 29 thunderstorm wind, 19 hail, 4 tornado, 1 wildfire. 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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| August 1993 | Hail | Groton | $50 | A severe thunderstorm hit Groton with hail, damaging lightning, and 3.43 inches of rain which flooded some basements. At a high school, lightning split a 30-foot chimney which fell through a large skylight and sections of the roof. This resulted in extensive water damage to ceiling tiles in classrooms, due to the heavy rains. |
| August 2025 | Thunderstorm Wind | Groton | - | A trained spotter reported that hay bales had rolled across highway 12 due to thunderstorm winds. |
| August 2025 | Thunderstorm Wind | Groton | - | Public reported tree damage by estimated thunderstorm winds around 60 mph. |
| June 2020 | Thunderstorm Wind | Groton | - | Estimated eighty mph winds caused several power poles to lean over or break off south of Groton. There were also several downed trees. |
| June 2020 | Thunderstorm Wind | Groton | - | Estimated seventy-five mph winds downed several trees in Groton along with damaging an apartment building. |
| June 2020 | Thunderstorm Wind | Groton | - | Seventy mph winds were estimated. |
| June 2017 | Tornado (EF0) | Groton | - | A tornado touched down briefly south of Groton. No damage occurred. |
| June 2017 | Thunderstorm Wind | Groton | - | The sheet metal was blown off a roof at a business south of Groton by estimated seventy mph winds. |
| August 2016 | Thunderstorm Wind | Groton | - | Sixty-five mph winds downed many tree branches along with some trees in Groton. |
| August 2016 | Thunderstorm Wind | Groton | - | Building removed from foundation and moved to the east. |
| July 2016 | Thunderstorm Wind | Groton | - | Sixty mph winds tossed around three square water tanks with one tank tossed a hundred feet. A small piece of sheet metal was also blown off the roof of a building along with some minor tree damage. |
| July 2016 | Thunderstorm Wind | Groton | - | Sixty mph winds downed several tree branches along a tree row with a few branches thrown east across the road into a corn field. The corn stocks were leaning 45 degrees to the east. |
| July 2016 | Thunderstorm Wind | Groton | - | A large tree was broke off at the trunk along with another tree partially uprooted. Many other large branches were downed in the shelter belt with minor damage to the edge of the cornfield. |
| July 2015 | Thunderstorm Wind | Groton | - | Seventy mph winds downed a large pine tree with many other tree branches downed. |
| June 2014 | Thunderstorm Wind | Groton | - | Sixty mph winds were estimated in Groton. |
| July 2008 | Thunderstorm Wind | Groton | - | An anchored single wide manufactured home was blown completely off of its foundation and destroyed. Some of the debris was blown 60 feet into another home causing damage to it. |
| May 2007 | Thunderstorm Wind | Groton | - | Thunderstorm winds over 70 mph downed several evergreen trees at the cemetary and also downed a flag pole. |
| June 2005 | Tornado (F0) | Groton | - | A tornado touched down west of Groton and did some damage to three mobile homes. |
| June 2003 | Thunderstorm Wind | Groton | - | Sixty mph winds knocked down some large tree branches. |
| July 2002 | Thunderstorm Wind | Groton | - | Sixty mph winds blew off some large advertising signs at the ball field. |
| July 2002 | Thunderstorm Wind | Groton | - | Winds to 80 mph brought down many trees in the Groton cemetery. Some power poles along with many tree branches were also downed in Groton. |
| June 2000 | Thunderstorm Wind | Groton | - | Seventy mph winds blew the roof off of an outbuilding and caved one wall in. After the roof hit the ground, it was torn to pieces. The pieces were spread out across a field in a narrow straight path. A piece of the roof also injured a cow. |
| July 2000 | Thunderstorm Wind | Groton | - | Winds to 70 mph destroyed a cattle shelter and broke a window out of the house. |
| July 2000 | Thunderstorm Wind | Groton | - | High winds buckled the walls of a mobile home south of Groton. |
| June 1999 | Thunderstorm Wind | Groton | - | Winds gusting to 74 mph knocked down several trees and many tree branches throughout Groton. One tree took out a major transmission line and ripped the electrical service line off of a house. Power was out for parts of Groton for several hours. The high winds shattered the windows at a store on Main street and tore a standing board on a sign loose which damaged five new vehicles at a dealership in Groton. The high winds also destroyed a small service building and the surrounding fence at a main juncture of natural gas pipelines at Groton. |
| June 1998 | Tornado (F0) | Groton | - | A tornado touched down briefly southeast of Groton with no damage reported. Path length and width were estimated. |
| July 2024 | Hail | Groton | - | no account filed |
| April 2023 | Thunderstorm Wind | Groton | - | no account filed |
| September 2023 | Hail | Groton | - | no account filed |
| August 2022 | Hail | Groton | - | no account filed |
| May 2022 | Thunderstorm Wind | Groton | - | no account filed |
| July 2016 | Funnel Cloud | Groton | - | no account filed |
| July 2013 | Hail | Groton | - | no account filed |
| July 2013 | Hail | Groton | - | no account filed |
| July 2013 | Hail | Groton | - | no account filed |
| July 2010 | Hail | Groton | - | no account filed |
| May 2010 | Hail | Groton | - | no account filed |
| April 2009 | Hail | Groton | - | no account filed |
| June 2009 | Hail | Groton | - | no account filed |
| June 2009 | Hail | Groton | - | no account filed |
| June 2009 | Hail | Groton | - | no account filed |
| June 2009 | Hail | Groton | - | no account filed |
| June 2005 | Hail | Groton | - | no account filed |
| June 2005 | Hail | Groton | - | no account filed |
| June 2005 | Thunderstorm Wind | Groton | - | no account filed |
| July 2003 | Thunderstorm Wind | Groton | - | no account filed |
| July 2003 | Thunderstorm Wind | Groton | - | no account filed |
| August 2002 | Hail | Groton | - | no account filed |
| October 1999 | Wildfire | Groton | - | no account filed |
| July 1999 | Thunderstorm Wind | Groton | - | no account filed |
| June 1998 | Hail | Groton | - | no account filed |
| August 1997 | Thunderstorm Wind | Groton | - | no account filed |
| July 1996 | Hail | Groton | - | no account filed |
| July 1996 | Tornado (F0) | Groton | - | 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 |
|---|---|---|---|
| James | 6.2 miles | 11 | |
| Ferney | 8.1 miles | 10 | |
| Putney | 8.8 miles | 9 | |
| Tacoma Park | 10.3 miles | 9 | |
| Huffton | 11.7 miles | 9 | |
| Bath | 12.0 miles | 11 | |
| Plana | 12.2 miles | 10 | |
| Bath Corner | 12.3 miles | 11 |
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 Groton | An encyclopaedic summary. Its text is share-alike, so it is linked here rather than copied. |
| Wikidata item Q3245483 | 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 1255377. 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.




