Lesterville, South Dakota

11 topographic sheets cover this place, the earliest surveyed in 1898 and the latest in 1985. It stands in the West Yankton unorganized territory. It lies in ZIP code area 57040. The Survey maps it on the Lesterville quadrangle. 115 people lived here at the 2020 count. It stands 1,388 feet above sea level.

Lesterville within Yankton County

On record in Lesterville

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

Kremer Houselisted 1980
Mathias Lasele Houselisted 1980
Ripple Houselisted 1980
Walloch Farmsteadlisted 1980

Population over time

2 figures

Lesterville fell from 127 to 115 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	127
2020	115	-12 (-9%)

Topographic sheets covering this place

5 surveys from 11 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.

1898 USGS Olivet quadrangle1:125000, 4 printings
1955 USGS Sioux Falls quadrangle1:250000, 3 printings
1958 USGS Sioux Falls quadrangle1:250000
1978 USGS Lesterville quadrangle1:24000
1985 USGS Freeman quadrangle1:100000, 2 printings

Fires near this place

39 since 2000

Regional context, not property-specific evidence. The federal wildfire occurrence database lists 39 fires within 5 miles of Lesterville between 2000 and 2019, burning about 513 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
Missing data/not specified/undetermined	23
Debris and open burning	10
Equipment and vehicle use	3
Recreation and ceremony	1
Fireworks	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
6 August 2012	Missing data/not specified/undetermined	2.0 acres	South Dakota Wildland Fire Suppression	KLOUCEK
3 August 2012	Missing data/not specified/undetermined	under an acre	South Dakota Wildland Fire Suppression	KUBAL FIRE
21 August 2012	Missing data/not specified/undetermined	35 acres	South Dakota Wildland Fire Suppression	GOEKEN FIRE
18 August 2019	Natural	under an acre	South Dakota Wildland Fire Suppression	2 MILE BALE FIRE
9 July 2012	Missing data/not specified/undetermined	under an acre	South Dakota Wildland Fire Suppression	FISCHER FIRE 1
6 July 2012	Missing data/not specified/undetermined	84 acres	South Dakota Wildland Fire Suppression	KEEPEN FIRE
5 July 2008	Fireworks	under an acre	South Dakota Wildland Fire Suppression	not named
3 July 2016	Recreation and ceremony	under an acre	South Dakota Wildland Fire Suppression	RING OF FIRE

Settlements close enough to share some of these fires:

Every fire recorded in Yankton 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 Lesterville: 4 past producers, 1 unknown. 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.

Site	Commodity	Status
George Vyborny Gravel Pit	Sand and Gravel, Construction	Past Producer
Gravel Pit	Sand and Gravel, Construction	Past Producer
Gravel Pit	Sand and Gravel, Construction	Past Producer
Gravel Pit	Sand and Gravel, Construction	Past Producer
Leonard Gravel Pit	Sand and Gravel, Construction	Unknown

Every working recorded in Yankton County

Storms near this place

60 of 70 shown

Regional context, not property-specific evidence. The National Weather Service names Lesterville in 70 storm reports between 1995 and 2025: 38 hail, 17 flood, 11 thunderstorm wind, 3 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
July 2009	Hail	Lesterville	$5,000,000	Large hail, accompanied in places by damaging winds, destroyed or severely damaged crops in an area up to 10 miles wide from northwestern to southeastern Yankton County. Estimates from the Farm Service Agency were at least 48 thousand acres of corn, soybean, and alfalfa crops that were affected, some of which were totally destroyed. The hail also broke windows in buildings and vehicles, severely dented and even punched holes in numerous vehicles, and damaged siding and roofs of buildings. Property damage was especially great in and near the cities of Yankton and Gayville. Most of about 200 skylights in a Wal-Mart store in Yankton were broken beyond repair. Some of the windows in vehicles were completely broken and removed by the hail.
July 1997	Thunderstorm Wind	Lesterville	$200,000	no account filed
May 2007	Tornado (EF2)	Lesterville	$100,000	A tornado destroyed 3 concrete silos, destroyed numerous outbuildings, heavily damaged a large shed, damaged a barn, caused tree damage, and caused other damage on a farm.
July 1998	Flash Flood	Lesterville	$50,000	no account filed
June 2010	Thunderstorm Wind	Lesterville	$25,000	Thunderstorm winds damaged grain bins, caused damage to several roofs, and caused tree damage, including several trees uprooted.
June 2006	Hail	Lesterville	$10,000	Large hail broke windows and severely damaged siding on at least two homes. The hail also severely damaged corn and soybean crops. The amount of crop damage could not be determined because the extent of crop recovery could not be known for a long time. However, some crops were severely enough damaged to require replanting.
June 2025	Hail	Lesterville	-	Quarter-size hail damaged crops.
August 2023	Hail	Lesterville	-	Crop damage is an estimate from insured losses. Information provided by the United States Department of Agriculture.
May 2022	Thunderstorm Wind	Lesterville	-	A building at the fertilizer plant in Lesterville was damaged.
May 2022	Thunderstorm Wind	Lesterville	-	Multiple single-family homes in Lesterville lost shingles. Large tree branches were also downed.
September 2016	Flash Flood	Lesterville	-	Heavy rain caused widespread street flooding in and near Lesterville.
May 2011	Flood	Lesterville	-	Moderate to major flooding of the James River, ongoing since the snowmelt season in March, continued through May but slowly subsided. Farmland and other lowlands near the river remained flooded. With the river subsiding slowly, no new flooding was reported, although some additional road damage became apparent as water slowly receded. The highest stage near the city of Yankton was 7.3 feet above flood stage at the start of the month.
August 2011	Flood	Lesterville	-	Moderate to major flooding of the James River, ongoing since the snowmelt season in March, continued into early August, with the flooding slowly abating through the month, and ending by the end of the month. Flooding of farmland and other lowlands near the river slowly abated. The highest stage near Yankton was 4.1 feet above flood stage on August 4th.
August 2011	Hail	Lesterville	-	Golf ball size hail caused an unknown amount of property and crop damage. The property damage consisted mainly of several dented vehicles.
July 2011	Flood	Lesterville	-	Moderate to major flooding of the James River, ongoing since the snowmelt season in March, continued through July. Farmland and other lowlands near the river remained flooded, with the water level varying slightly up and down due to sporadic heavy rainfall. The highest stage near Yankton was 4.6 feet above flood stage on July 7th, almost a foot higher than the peak stage of June, but still 2.7 feet below the peak level earlier in the Spring.
June 2011	Flood	Lesterville	-	Moderate to major flooding of the James River, ongoing since the snowmelt season in March, continued through June. Farmland and other lowlands near the river remained flooded, with the water level first falling slowly, then rising due to runoff from heavy rain. The highest stage near Yankton was 3.7 feet above flood stage at the end of the month, though this was still 3.6 feet below the peak stage in May.
April 2010	Flood	Lesterville	-	Flooding of the James River continued from March through all of April. The river fell slowly during the month, with no new flooding, but farmland and some roads remained flooded. The river fell from 5.7 feet above flood stage near Scotland at the start of April to 2.7 feet above flood stage at the end of the month.
March 2010	Flood	Lesterville	-	Melting of a heavy winter snowpack caused flooding of the James River which became major during the middle and late part of the month. Numerous fields and roads were flooded. The river crested at 6.6 feet above flood stage near Scotland on March 20th.
May 2010	Flood	Lesterville	-	Flooding of the James River continued from March and April through all of May. The river fell very slowly, with some farmland and roads remaining flooded.
June 2010	Flood	Lesterville	-	Moderate to major flooding of the James River was observed for most of the month. The river, which has been slowly falling before June, rose again due to heavy rain, and the number of fields and roads flooded increased again. The river crested at around 6.5 feet above flood stage near Scotland, which was just slightly below the March crest.
September 2010	Flood	Lesterville	-	Heavy rain caused minor flooding along the James River, with mainly unfarmed lowlands affected. The river crested at less than a foot above flood stage near Scotland on September 27th.
August 2010	Flood	Lesterville	-	Moderate to major flooding along the James River continued into the start of August. The river was at its highest levels during the first few days of the month, although it remained below its peak spring levels near Scotland. The river then fell slowly. Flooding of fields and some roads slowly abated.
July 2010	Flood	Lesterville	-	Moderate to major flooding along the James River continued, with numerous fields and some roads remaining covered. The river rose near the end of the month, when some of the heaviest rain fell, but remained below its peak March crest near Scotland.
July 2009	Hail	Lesterville	-	Large hail was accompanied by wind gusts as high as 70 mph.
June 2009	Flood	Lesterville	-	Minor to Moderate flooding along the James River decreased slowly during June. The highest stage near Scotland was 1.6 feet above flood stage at the start of the month, with the river falling below flood stage at that location on June 21st. The lingering flooding affected farmland and pastureland near the river, while flooding of low lying roads decreased.
July 2009	Flood	Lesterville	-	Minor to moderate flooding developed along the James River again as a result of heavy rains, after the river had fallen below flood stage in late June. The river again fellbelow flood stage near the end of the month. The flooding affected farmland and pastureland near the river, with renewed flooding of some low lying roads. The river crested at 1.9 feet above flood stage near Scotland on July 13th.
April 2009	Flood	Lesterville	-	Moderate to major flooding spread downstream along the James River in early April and continued through the end of the month. The river rose during all of April, reaching a level 3 feet above flood stage near Scotland at the end of the month. Increasing numbers of roads were closed, and pastureland and farmland along the river was flooded.
May 2009	Flood	Lesterville	-	Moderate to major flooding continued along the James River. The river crested early in the month at 4.0 feet above flood stage near Scotland. The river then began a very slow fall. Several roads remained closed, and pastureland and farmland along the river remained flooded.
July 2009	Thunderstorm Wind	Lesterville	-	Thunderstorm winds caused tree damage, including several trees blown down. The winds were accompanied by large hail.
June 2008	Flood	Lesterville	-	Heavy rain caused major flooding of the James River in the northern part of Yankton County, and minor to moderate flooding in the south. Extensive farmland flooding was observed, as well as flooding of some county roads.
May 2007	Flash Flood	Lesterville	-	Heavy rain caused flooding of numerous roads, including some main roads in Yankton. Low areas and basements were also flooded.
March 2007	Flood	Lesterville	-	Warm temperatures caused a rapid snowmelt which caused the James River to rise above flood stage for several days. The flooding was minor to moderate and no significant damage was reported.
July 2003	Thunderstorm Wind	Lesterville	-	Thunderstorm winds caused tree damage, including large branches blown down.
June 2003	Thunderstorm Wind	Lesterville	-	Thunderstorm winds caused tree damage, including numerous trees, some large, blown down. Minor damage to roofs also occurred. The winds caused damage to corn crops, but the amount of damage was not known.
August 2002	Hail	Lesterville	-	Large hail caused damage to vehicles. The amount of damage was not known.
June 2017	Hail	Lesterville	-	no account filed
August 2016	Hail	Lesterville	-	no account filed
June 2015	Hail	Lesterville	-	no account filed
July 2014	Hail	Lesterville	-	no account filed
September 2010	Hail	Lesterville	-	no account filed
July 2009	Hail	Lesterville	-	no account filed
July 2009	Hail	Lesterville	-	no account filed
August 2009	Hail	Lesterville	-	no account filed
May 2008	Hail	Lesterville	-	no account filed
September 2008	Hail	Lesterville	-	no account filed
July 2004	Hail	Lesterville	-	no account filed
July 2004	Hail	Lesterville	-	no account filed
July 2004	Hail	Lesterville	-	no account filed
July 2004	Hail	Lesterville	-	no account filed
July 2004	Hail	Lesterville	-	no account filed
June 2003	Hail	Lesterville	-	no account filed
June 2003	Hail	Lesterville	-	no account filed
October 2002	Hail	Lesterville	-	no account filed
October 2002	Hail	Lesterville	-	no account filed
August 2002	Hail	Lesterville	-	no account filed
August 2002	Hail	Lesterville	-	no account filed
July 2002	Thunderstorm Wind	Lesterville	-	no account filed
July 2002	Hail	Lesterville	-	no account filed
July 2002	Hail	Lesterville	-	no account filed
August 2002	Hail	Lesterville	-	no account filed

Every storm recorded in Yankton 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.

Place	Distance	Sheets
Utica	6.6 miles	9
Jamesville	7.4 miles	11
Jamesville Colony	7.4 miles	11
Lakeport	9.1 miles	9
Napa Junction	10.1 miles	9
Vedin Corner	10.8 miles	11
Midway	12.0 miles	12
Oak Hills Addition	12.4 miles	10

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 Lesterville	An encyclopaedic summary. Its text is share-alike, so it is linked here rather than copied.
Wikidata item Q2463345	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 1256099. 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.