Kennebec, South Dakota
8 topographic sheets cover this place, the earliest surveyed in 1955 and the latest in 1990. It stands in Kennebec town. It lies in ZIP code area 57544. The Survey maps it on the Kennebec quadrangle. 281 people lived here at the 2020 count. It stands 1,686 feet above sea level.
Population over time
2 figuresKennebec grew from 240 to 281 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 | 240 | |
| 2020 | 281 | +41 (+17%) |
Topographic sheets covering this place
5 surveys from 8 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.
- 1955 USGS Mitchell quadrangle1:250000, 2 printings
- 1959 USGS Mitchell quadrangle1:250000, 2 printings
- 1978 USGS Kennebec quadrangle1:24000
- 1986 USGS Chamberlain quadrangle1:100000, 2 printings
- 1990 USGS Mitchell quadrangle1:250000
Fires near this place
31 since 2001Regional context, not property-specific evidence. The federal wildfire occurrence database lists 31 fires within 5 miles of Kennebec between 2001 and 2020, burning about 723 acres in total. 1 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 use | 15 |
| Missing data/not specified/undetermined | 14 |
| Recreation and ceremony | 1 |
| Natural | 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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 7 September 2011 | Missing data/not specified/undetermined | under an acre | South Dakota Wildland Fire Suppression | STINGER FIRE |
| 27 September 2015 | Natural | 45 acres | South Dakota Wildland Fire Suppression | STUMPHOLE FIRE |
| 27 September 2011 | Missing data/not specified/undetermined | under an acre | South Dakota Wildland Fire Suppression | BRAKKE DAM FIRE |
| 24 September 2019 | Equipment and vehicle use | under an acre | South Dakota Wildland Fire Suppression | I 90 231 |
| 5 August 2005 | Missing data/not specified/undetermined | under an acre | South Dakota Wildland Fire Suppression | not named |
| 21 August 2005 | Recreation and ceremony | 5.0 acres | South Dakota Wildland Fire Suppression | not named |
| 19 August 2020 | Equipment and vehicle use | under an acre | South Dakota Wildland Fire Suppression | JOHNSON GRASS |
| 18 August 2011 | Missing data/not specified/undetermined | under an acre | South Dakota Wildland Fire Suppression | WYATT SCHELSKI FIRE |
Storms near this place
60 of 82 shownRegional context, not property-specific evidence. The National Weather Service names Kennebec in 82 storm reports between 1996 and 2025: 39 hail, 38 thunderstorm wind, 2 tornado, 1 flash 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.
| When | Event | Place named | Harm | What the report says |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| August 2025 | Hail | Kennebec | - | Hail measuring 1.25 inches in diameter was reported in the town of Kennebec. |
| June 2023 | Hail | Kennebec | - | Estimated quarter to half dollar sized hail damaged crops. The timing of the hail was estimated by radar. |
| June 2018 | Thunderstorm Wind | Kennebec | - | Estimated sixty mph winds ripped some of the vinyl siding off of a house. |
| July 2017 | Thunderstorm Wind | Kennebec | - | Seventy mph winds were estimated. |
| June 2015 | Thunderstorm Wind | Kennebec | - | Seventy mph winds were estimated. |
| June 2015 | Thunderstorm Wind | Kennebec | - | Eighty mph winds caused damage to shingles on the roof. |
| June 2015 | Thunderstorm Wind | Kennebec | - | Many large tree branches were downed by seventy mph winds. |
| July 2015 | Thunderstorm Wind | Kennebec | - | Sixty mph winds were estimated. |
| July 2012 | Thunderstorm Wind | Kennebec | - | Sixty mph winds were estimated by the public. |
| August 2011 | Thunderstorm Wind | Kennebec | - | Eighty mph winds took shingles off the house and also damaged the deck. A barn was also destroyed with a horse being injured. Many tree branches were also downed. |
| June 2011 | Thunderstorm Wind | Kennebec | - | Seventy mph winds tipped over a camper and downed many tree branches. |
| May 2010 | Thunderstorm Wind | Kennebec | - | Sixty mph winds were estimated north of Kennebec. |
| July 2010 | Thunderstorm Wind | Kennebec | - | Seventy mph winds tore a garage door loose, bent a flagpole over, and downed many large tree branches in Kennebec. The winds also caused some damage to homes, sheds, and grain bins in Kennebec. |
| August 2009 | Hail | Kennebec | - | Golfball size hail combined with strong winds broke many windows in the house and dented several vehicles. The house pet was also injured. |
| August 2007 | Funnel Cloud | Kennebec | - | A storm chaser spotted a well-defined funnel cloud from a supercell thunderstorm. |
| June 2003 | Tornado (F0) | Kennebec | - | A tornado touched down briefly north of Kennebec causing no damage. |
| June 2003 | Tornado (F0) | Kennebec | - | A tornado touched down briefly north of Kennebec causing no damage. |
| July 2002 | Thunderstorm Wind | Kennebec | - | Sixty mph winds dislodged a piece of tin from the roof of a barn, knocked a barn door off of its hinges, and downed some large tree branches. |
| May 1999 | Flash Flood | Kennebec | - | Heavy rains of 2 to 5 inches fell in Lyman county during the late evening hours which caused flash flooding on Medicine Creek. The KOA Campgrounds near Kennebec were flooded including the main facility. Several roads were also flooded and damaged along Medicine Creek. |
| July 2025 | Thunderstorm Wind | Kennebec | - | no account filed |
| June 2025 | Hail | Kennebec | - | no account filed |
| July 2025 | Thunderstorm Wind | Kennebec | - | no account filed |
| August 2025 | Thunderstorm Wind | Kennebec | - | no account filed |
| July 2024 | Thunderstorm Wind | Kennebec | - | no account filed |
| August 2023 | Thunderstorm Wind | Kennebec | - | no account filed |
| August 2023 | Thunderstorm Wind | Kennebec | - | no account filed |
| July 2023 | Hail | Kennebec | - | no account filed |
| June 2022 | Thunderstorm Wind | Kennebec | - | no account filed |
| June 2022 | Thunderstorm Wind | Kennebec | - | no account filed |
| July 2022 | Thunderstorm Wind | Kennebec | - | no account filed |
| May 2021 | Thunderstorm Wind | Kennebec | - | no account filed |
| July 2021 | Thunderstorm Wind | Kennebec | - | no account filed |
| August 2019 | Hail | Kennebec | - | no account filed |
| June 2018 | Hail | Kennebec | - | no account filed |
| June 2018 | Hail | Kennebec | - | no account filed |
| August 2018 | Hail | Kennebec | - | no account filed |
| September 2016 | Hail | Kennebec | - | no account filed |
| September 2015 | Hail | Kennebec | - | no account filed |
| August 2013 | Hail | Kennebec | - | no account filed |
| July 2012 | Hail | Kennebec | - | no account filed |
| July 2012 | Hail | Kennebec | - | no account filed |
| May 2012 | Hail | Kennebec | - | no account filed |
| May 2012 | Hail | Kennebec | - | no account filed |
| July 2011 | Hail | Kennebec | - | no account filed |
| September 2010 | Hail | Kennebec | - | no account filed |
| September 2010 | Hail | Kennebec | - | no account filed |
| May 2010 | Hail | Kennebec | - | no account filed |
| July 2010 | Hail | Kennebec | - | no account filed |
| August 2010 | Thunderstorm Wind | Kennebec | - | no account filed |
| August 2009 | Thunderstorm Wind | Kennebec | - | no account filed |
| August 2009 | Hail | Kennebec | - | no account filed |
| May 2008 | Hail | Kennebec | - | no account filed |
| June 2005 | Thunderstorm Wind | Kennebec | - | no account filed |
| September 2005 | Hail | Kennebec | - | no account filed |
| May 2004 | Thunderstorm Wind | Kennebec | - | no account filed |
| May 2004 | Hail | Kennebec | - | no account filed |
| July 2004 | Thunderstorm Wind | Kennebec | - | no account filed |
| August 2004 | Thunderstorm Wind | Kennebec | - | no account filed |
| July 2003 | Thunderstorm Wind | Kennebec | - | no account filed |
| June 2003 | Hail | Kennebec | - | 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 |
|---|---|---|---|
| Lyman | 6.7 miles | 8 | |
| Presho | 10.4 miles | 6 | |
| Reliance | 13.8 miles | 8 | |
| Council House | 18.8 miles | 8 | |
| Lower Brule | 19.2 miles | 8 | |
| Vivian | 22.9 miles | 6 | |
| Oacoma | 25.8 miles | 11 | |
| Iona | 34.0 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 Kennebec | An encyclopaedic summary. Its text is share-alike, so it is linked here rather than copied. |
| Wikidata item Q2408990 | 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 1265266. 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.




