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Spearfish, South Dakota

20 topographic sheets cover this place, the earliest surveyed in 1894 and the latest in 1961. It stands in the North Lawrence unorganized territory. It lies in ZIP code area 57783. It lies near Hungry Hollow Gulch. The Survey maps it on the Spearfish quadrangle. 12,193 people lived here at the 2020 count. It stands 3,648 feet above sea level.

Spearfish within Lawrence County

On record in Spearfish

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 12 of 37 shown

Every listing in Lawrence County

Population over time

2 figures

Spearfish grew from 10,494 to 12,193 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
201010,494
202012,193+1,699 (+16%)

Topographic sheets covering this place

8 surveys from 20 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

125 since 1994

Regional context, not property-specific evidence. The federal wildfire occurrence database lists 125 fires within 5 miles of Spearfish between 1994 and 2020, burning about 2,404 acres in total. 36 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
Natural36
Recreation and ceremony26
Debris and open burning22
Missing data/not specified/undetermined19
Equipment and vehicle use11
Power generation/transmission/distribution7
Smoking1
Misuse of fire by a minor1
Fireworks1
Other causes1

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
9 September 2019Missing data/not specified/undeterminedunder an acreSouth Dakota Wildland Fire SuppressionBADGER
7 September 2003Naturalunder an acreSouth Dakota Wildland Fire Suppressionnot named
6 September 2009Missing data/not specified/undetermined1.5 acresBlack Hills National ForestRIM ROCK
6 September 2003Other causesunder an acreSouth Dakota Wildland Fire Suppressionnot named
4 September 1994Recreation and ceremonyunder an acreBlack Hills National ForestEIGHT BALL
22 September 2008Missing data/not specified/undetermined1.0 acresSouth Dakota Wildland Fire Suppressionnot named
17 September 2002Naturalunder an acreSouth Dakota Wildland Fire SuppressionHOOF
16 September 2005Power generation/transmission/distributionunder an acreSouth Dakota Wildland Fire Suppressionnot named

Settlements close enough to share some of these fires:

Every fire recorded in Lawrence County

Mines and quarries near this place

8 within 5 miles

Regional context, not property-specific evidence. The federal mineral resources record lists 8 workings within 5 miles of Spearfish: 5 past producers, 3 producers. 3 still produce. What was taken out: Sand and Gravel, Construction, Stone, Crushed/Broken, Limestone, General, Calcium. 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
Lewis Lime PlantCalciumPast Producer
Lewis Lime QuarryLimestone, GeneralPast Producer1900
Nat'L Alabaster Co. MineGypsum-AnhydritePast Producer
Spearfish Sandstone QuarryStone, Crushed/BrokenPast ProducerSandstone
Spearfish Sandstone QuarryFlagstonePast Producer
Strawberry Hill MineTalc-SoapstoneProducer
Hansen Pit No 1Sand and Gravel, ConstructionProducer
Meink PitSand and Gravel, ConstructionProducer

Every working recorded in Lawrence County

Storms near this place

60 of 195 shown

Regional context, not property-specific evidence. The National Weather Service names Spearfish in 195 storm reports between 1993 and 2025: 135 hail, 43 thunderstorm wind, 5 flood, 4 lightning. The reports record 1 death and 7 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
July 2015LightningSpearfish1 killed, 1 hurtno account filed
August 2000Thunderstorm WindSpearfish6 hurt, $9,500,000no account filed
July 2011HailSpearfish$2,000,000Large hail damaged vehicles and buildings in Spearfish.
June 2003HailSpearfish$1,000,000Some hail damage to homes and automobiles in Spearfish.
June 2013HailSpearfish$500,000Hail damage occurred in Spearfish, including broken skylights in a large discount store.
August 2008HailSpearfish$100,000Golf ball sized hail was 12 inches deep on road and accumulated two feet deep in ditches. The combination of hail and strong winds broke windows and siding on a house.
June 2013FloodSpearfish$50,000Redwater River, Spearfish Creek, False Bottom Creek, and other streams in the Spearfish area experienced flooding. Minor flooding occurred in the Spearfish City Park. Red Hill Road at Crow Creek, Sanford Road into Beulah, and Homestake Road at the Bear Creek Bridge were flooded and several culverts were damaged.
August 2008HailSpearfish$50,000Wind gusts were measured at 54 mph.
June 2013HailSpearfish$30,000no account filed
June 2013Thunderstorm WindSpearfish$20,000Large pine trees, spruce trees, and power poles were broken along the eastern rim of Spearfish Canyon. The worst damage occurred from Bridal Veil Falls to Victoria Lane.
April 2002Thunderstorm WindSpearfish$5,000A local radio station reported several reports of tree limbs down and shingles blown off roofs in town. One window was broken by flying debris.
May 2007HailSpearfish$2,000Hail damaged vehicles and trash cans.
June 2013HailSpearfish$2,000no account filed
August 2008Thunderstorm WindSpearfish$1,000no account filed
July 2025Thunderstorm WindSpearfish-Public measured wind gust.
June 2023Flash FloodSpearfish-Runoff from heavy rain caused considerable damage in Spearfish. Numerous roads flooded and asphalt buckled on portions of Main Street and Jackson Boulevard. The USGS gage, Spearfish Creek at Spearfish, recorded its fifth highest level since 1947 with a flow of 1900 cfs. Damage was reported at several locations, including the DC Booth National Fish Hatchery and a private apartment complex.
June 2023FloodSpearfish-Runoff from heavy rain caused considerable damage in Spearfish. Numerous roads flooded and asphalt buckled on portions of Main Street and Jackson Boulevard. The USGS gage, Spearfish Creek at Spearfish, recorded its fifth highest level since 1947 with a flow of 1900 cfs. Damage was reported at several locations, including the DC Booth National Fish Hatchery and a private apartment complex.
May 2022HailSpearfish-The ground was covered with hail, mostly dime size or less.
May 2022HailSpearfish-A lot of marble sized hail, with a few near ping pong ball size.
July 2022HailSpearfish-Windows were broken by the combination of large hail and wind.
July 2021Thunderstorm WindSpearfish-Half inch sized hail also fell with the storm.
June 2020Thunderstorm WindSpearfish-Time estimated from radar.
June 2020Thunderstorm WindSpearfish-The roof was partially torn off a house, windows were broken, and trees were damaged.
July 2019HailSpearfish-Hail to baseball size fell over a 15 minute period.
July 2018Thunderstorm WindSpearfish-Wind gusts were estimated near 60 mph.
July 2018Thunderstorm WindSpearfish-Wind gusts were estimated at near 70 mph.
July 2018Flash FloodSpearfish-Flash flooding occurred west of Spearfish and on the Redwater River along the Butte-Lawrence County line. A river gauge on Redwater Creek at the Wyoming and South Dakota border recorded an increase in flow by over 1000 cfs in two hours. Several normally dry drainage areas quickly filled with water. Precipitation reports indicated two to three inches of rain fell in an hour.
July 2018HailSpearfish-The combination of large hail and gusty winds broke windows in a home and vehicles.
July 2018Thunderstorm WindSpearfish-Many trees were blown down in Spearfish Canyon along US Highway 14A from Cleopatra Lane to around two miles south.
July 2018Thunderstorm WindSpearfish-Small tree branches were downed by the wind.
August 2016HailSpearfish-A wind gust of 53 mph was recorded as well with the storm.
August 2016Thunderstorm WindSpearfish-Wind gusts were estimated at 60 mph.
June 2015Thunderstorm WindSpearfish-Tree limbs were blown down.
June 2015Flash FloodSpearfish-Water covered US Highway 14 between mileposts 1 and 2 between Spearfish and Beulah.
June 2015Thunderstorm WindSpearfish-The windows of a shed were blown out by the strong winds.
July 2011Thunderstorm WindSpearfish-Wind gusts were estimated at 60 mph.
May 2011FloodSpearfish-Several small streams and creeks flooded roads around Spearfish and the northern Black Hills.
May 2011FloodSpearfish-Several small creeks and streams flooded roads around Spearfish and in northern Lawrence County.
June 2010Thunderstorm WindSpearfish-Wind gusts were estimated at 60 mph.
July 2008Thunderstorm WindSpearfish-Two center pivot irrigation systems were blown over, a trailer house was blown off its foundation, and ten to 12 inch diameter tree branches were broken by the wind gusts.
June 2007FloodSpearfish-Heavy rains flooded several roads in and around town.
June 2001Thunderstorm WindSpearfish-A storm spotter measured a 58 mph wind gust during an early morning thunderstorm.
August 2000WildfireSpearfish-A ten acre fire started by lightning threatened Spearfish Canyon. Nine other small fires, each less than two acres in size, were also ignited throughout Lawrence County, but were extinguished within 24-48 hours.
June 1999Tornado (F1)Spearfish-The tornado knocked several trees into a home, destroyed a chicken coop and damaged a rental car which had a tree fall on it. Numerous trees around the property were also blown down.
May 1999Tornado (F0)Spearfish-Brief Touchdown. Moved into Butte County.
July 1998LightningSpearfish-LIGHTNING STRIKE CAUSE HOUSE FIRE.
July 1995Thunderstorm WindSpearfish-Strong winds caused some trees to be downed.
June 1995HailSpearfish-Stripped trees and damaged automobiles.
July 1995Thunderstorm WindSpearfish-Winds gusted to 60 mph and caused many trees to be downed or damaged. Power was out for two to three hours due to tree branches lying on power lines.
July 2024HailSpearfish-no account filed
July 2024Thunderstorm WindSpearfish-no account filed
August 2024HailSpearfish-no account filed
June 2023HailSpearfish-no account filed
May 2023HailSpearfish-no account filed
May 2023HailSpearfish-no account filed
May 2023HailSpearfish-no account filed
July 2023HailSpearfish-no account filed
July 2023HailSpearfish-no account filed
June 2023HailSpearfish-no account filed
June 2023HailSpearfish-no account filed

Every storm recorded in Lawrence 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
Mountain Plains1.5 miles20
Carbonate (historical)6.3 miles20
Maurice6.7 miles19
Victoria7.1 miles19
Maitland7.1 miles20
Saint Onge8.3 miles13
Lancaster City (historical)8.9 miles20
Ragged Top (historical)9.2 miles18

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 SpearfishAn encyclopaedic summary. Its text is share-alike, so it is linked here rather than copied.
Wikidata item Q568764The 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 1262476. 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.