Aberdeen, South Dakota

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Aberdeen, South Dakota
File:DSCF0643.JPG
Location in South Dakota
Location in South Dakota
CountyBrown County
Government
 • MayorMike Levsen
Population
 (2005)
 • Total24,658
Time zoneUTC-6 (Central)
 • Summer (DST)UTC-5 (Central)
Websitehttp://www.aberdeen.sd.us/

Aberdeen, a city and the county seat of Brown County, South Dakota, USA, about 125 mi (200 km) N.E. of Pierre. Settled in 1880, it was incorporated in 1882. The population was 24,658 at the 2000 census. The American News is the local newspaper.

Geography and Climate

Aberdeen is located at 45°27′49″N 98°28′53″W / 45.46361°N 98.48139°W / 45.46361; -98.48139Invalid arguments have been passed to the {{#coordinates:}} function (45.463708, -98.481291)Template:GR.

Aberdeen is located in northeastern South Dakota, in the James River valley, approximately 11 miles west of the river. The James River enters northeastern South Dakota in Brown County, where it is dammed to form two reservoirs northeast of Aberdeen. The city is located directly west of Moccasin Creek, a slow-moving waterway which flows south and then northeast to the James River.

According to the United States Census Bureau, the city has a total area of 33.7 km² (13.0 mi²). 33.6 km² (13.0 mi²) of it is land and 0.2 km² (0.1 mi²) of it (0.54%) is water.

Aberdeen has been assigned the ZIP code range 57401-57402.

Monthly Normal and Record High and Low Temperatures
Month Jan Feb Mar Apr May Jun Jul Aug Sep Oct Nov Dec
Rec High °F 60 62 82 98 96 108 120 112 103 0 95 62
Norm High °F 21.4 28.5 40.2 356 70.2 78.7 84.7 7839 73 59.2 38.8 25.7
Norm Low °F 0.6 8.8 21.2 33.4 45.6 54.8 59.7 57.4 46.5 34.4 19.7 6.3
Rec Low °F -35 -45 -32 -2 13 33 39 32 20 8 -27 -39
Precip (in) 0.48 0.48 1.34 1.83 2.69 3.49 2.92 2.42 1.81 1.63 0.75 0.38
Source: USTravelWeather.com [1]

History

Settlement

Before Aberdeen or Brown County was inhabited by European settlers, it was inhabited by the Sioux Indians from approximately 1700 to 1879. The first appearance of Caucasians was with the founding of fur trading posts during the 1820s; these trading posts remained operational until the mid 1830s. The first “settlers” of this region were the Arikara Indians, but they would later be joined by others.

The first group of Caucasian settlers to reach the area that is now Brown County was a party of only four people, three horses, two mules, fifteen cattle, and two wagons. This group of settlers were later joined by another group the following spring, and eventually more and more settlers continued to migrate towards this general area which is currently Columbia, South Dakota. This town was established June 15, 1879.

The first settlement in the general area of Aberdeen was during the fall of 1880 by a small number of settlers who came from what is now Watertown, South Dakota. This group consisted of only twelve people who resided in sod houses and stayed about three miles south of what is presently Aberdeen, South Dakota.

The majority of the settlers were Caucasian, the with the next largest group being Native American, a trend that has continued to this day.

Creation of the town

Aberdeen, like many towns of the Midwest, was built around the newly developing railroad systems and was first officially plotted as a town site on January 3, 1881 by Charles Prior, the superintendent of the Minneapolis office of the Chicago, Milwaukee, and St. Paul Railroad, or the Milwaukee Railroad company for short, which was presided over by Alexander Mitchell. Alexander Mitchell, Charles Prior’s boss, was born in Aberdeen, Scotland, from which the town of Aberdeen, South Dakota received its name. Aberdeen was officially founded on July 6, 1881, the date of the first arrival of a Milwaukee Railroad train. Aberdeen then operated under a city charter granted by the Territorial Legislature in March, 1883.

By 1890, Aberdeen was home to approximately 230 businesses, including: approximately sixty retail stores, twelve wholesale houses, twenty hotels, four restaurants, a flour mill, seven livery stables, three lumber yards, three brick factories, a cracker factory, eleven farm implement dealers, a plow factory, thirty-five lawyers, six banks, seven newspapers, eight physicians, six drug stores, five music teachers, two artists, two architects, forty-three real estate agents, six meat markets, one fish market, one map publisher, a soda pop factory, a foundry, a steam laundry, an opera house, a band, a greenhouse, an electric company, telephone service, an artesian well, a library, a race track, a brewery, four cigar factories, and at least nine churches.1

As Aberdeen grew, many businesses and buildings were constructed along Aberdeen’s Main Street. However, this would soon be a problem due to Aberdeen’s “unique” geography; Aberdeen is, after all, referred to as “The Town in the Frog Pond”.2 At first, this unique condition presented no problem to the newly constructed buildings because it had not rained very much; but eventually, citizens would see how inconvenient this problem would become. During dry periods, this Frog Pond caused no trouble and was unnoticeable; but when heavy rains fell, the Pond would reappear and flood the basements of every building on Main Street, causing many business owners and home owners much turmoil. When this flooding would happen, the city had only one little steam pump that was to be used to dry out the entire area that was flooded, which would take days, if not weeks – and more often than not, it would have rained again in this time period and cause even more flooding, even in the basements that had already been emptied of the water. And then, even once the water was gone from the basements, the city still had to deal with the mud that was also a result of the heavy rains. It was because of this Frog Pond that the city decided in 1882 to build an artesian ditch, which would later be upgraded and developed into an artesian well in 1884 to combat the heavy rains and keep the basements from flooding. Even though the artesian well was designed by the city engineers to prevent flooding and develop a water system, this was not how things happened; during the digging of the well, the water stream that was found underground was too powerful to contain due to all of the built up pressure, which caused the water to come blasting out with violent force and soon had the entirety of Main Street under, in some cases, four feet of water. The engineers realized the previous flaws of the artesian well plan and soon added a gate valve to the well to control the flow of water, giving Aberdeen its first working water supply.

By 1886, Aberdeen had three different railroad companies with depots built in the newly developing town; due to these three railroads intersecting here, Aberdeen soon became known as the “Hub City of the Dakotas”. When looking down on Aberdeen from above with a bird’s eye view, the railroad tracks converging in Aberdeen resembled the spokes of a wheel converging at a hub, hence the name “Hub City of the Dakotas”.3 These three different railroad companies are the reason why Aberdeen was able to grow and flourish as it did; however, only one of these railroads is still presently running through Aberdeen, the railroad today known as the Burlington Northern Santa Fe.

According to the census of 1900, Aberdeen had a population of 4,087; by the census of 1910, it had reached a population of 10,752, an increase of 163 percent. It was from these censuses that Aberdeen was predicted to reach a population of 50,000 by 1920.4 However, this was not the case; the census of 1910 showed the highest population increase that Aberdeen would see in its years to come. Over the years, Aberdeen has become the third largest community in South Dakota, preceded by Rapid City and Sioux Falls.

Aberdeen is the present county seat of Brown County. The original county seat of Brown County, however, was Columbia. During the days of the railroad construction, plans were laid to bring the railroad through Columbia, then the county seat. When word of this spread, land in and around Columbia soared in price due to speculation. When time came for the railroads to purchase land, the increase in land prices in and around Columbia led them to change their decision and instead route the rail lines through Aberdeen. However, once Aberdeen became a town in 1881, there was a long-running controversy concerning which town would be the county seat, which continued until 1890, when it was declared by the newly formed South Dakota state constitution in 1889 that a majority vote could move the county seat if the county seat in question had originally been established by less than a majority vote.5 The result of the vote declared that Aberdeen would be the county seat once and for all, so all of the records were once again transferred to Aberdeen’s courthouse; during the battle for county seat, the records had been moved from Columbia’s courthouse to Aberdeen’s courthouse (which was built from 1886 to 1887), and back again to Columbia’s in what seemed to be a never-ending cycle of the transferring of records. This was typically done in the form of nighttime raids from the two towns.

Demographics

As of the censusTemplate:GR of 2000, there were 24,658 people, 10,553 households, and 6,184 families residing in the city. The population density was 734.6/km² (1,902.1/mi²). There were 11,259 housing units at an average density of 335.4/km² (868.5/mi²). The racial makeup of the city was 94.61% White, 0.37% Black or African American, 3.17% Native American, 0.54% Asian, 0.13% Pacific Islander, 0.19% from other races, and 0.99% from two or more races. 0.79% of the population were Hispanic or Latino of any race.

There were 10,553 households out of which 27.3% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 47.0% were married couples living together, 8.9% had a female householder with no husband present, and 41.4% were non-families. 34.9% of all households were made up of individuals and 13.6% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 2.21 and the average family size was 2.86.

In the city the population was spread out with 21.8% under the age of 18, 14.1% from 18 to 24, 26.4% from 25 to 44, 20.4% from 45 to 64, and 17.2% who were 65 years of age or older. The median age was 36 years. For every 100 females there were 89.2 males. For every 100 females age 18 and over, there were 85.3 males.

The median income for a household in the city was $33,276, and the median income for a family was $43,882. Males had a median income of $30,355 versus $20,092 for females. The per capita income for the city was $17,923. About 7.6% of families and 10.5% of the population were below the poverty line, including 10.6% of those under age 18 and 10.1% of those age 65 or over.

Education

Aberdeen Public Schools

The Aberdeen School District 6-1 has five elementary schools, two middle schools, one high school, and a technical school. The five elementary schools are C.C. Lee Elementary School, Lincoln Elementary School, Simmons Elementary School, O.M. Tiffany Elementary School and May Overby Elementary School. The middle schools are Holgate Middle School and Simmons Middle School, the high school is Aberdeen Central High School, and the technical school is called Hub Area Technical School.

The Aberdeen School District’s current enrollment for the year 2006-2007 is approximately 3,650 students, and the average class size is in the low to mid twenties. Aberdeen’s mascot is the Golden Eagle.

Hub Area Technical School

Hub Area Technical School is supported by Aberdeen Central High School, Frederick High School, Northwestern High School, Roncalli High School, and Warner High School. Hub Area Technical School offers the following programs: Automotive Technology, Building Trades, CISCO Academy, Computer Technician Fundamentals, Electronics, Graphic Communications, Health Occupations, Machine Tool Technology, and Radio/TV Production. Hub Area Technical School is available to students in grades ninth through twelfth and they attend for one or two blocks during the school day and when they graduate from high school, they receive a competency certificate from Hub Area Technical School. The school has about 325 students each year who partake in career and technical education (CTE), and receive tuition from the member high schools according to the number of students that attend Hub Area Technical School. Students from high schools other than the member schools may attend the school so long as their high school is willing to pay the tuition.

Aberdeen Catholic School System

The Aberdeen Catholic School System (ACSS) includes Roncalli Junior & Senior High School, Roncalli Elementary School, and also Roncalli Primary School. Roncalli High School, Elementary School, and Primary School have approximately 620 students and is formed by St. Mary’s and Sacred Heart Parishes. The Primary School is located at St. Mary’s Parish while the Sacred Heart Parish is home to the Roncalli Elementary School.

In the 1800’s the first Catholic school in Aberdeen was established by Sacred Heart Parish, and they built the Elementary school in 1913, one year after St. Mary’s Parish built St. Mary’s Elementary School. The two parishes taught first grade through eighth grade independently until the 1970s, and in 1980 the two parishes consolidated to form the Aberdeen Catholic School System, which is also when kindergarten was added. In 2004, new elementary buildings were built and the ACSS demolished the old schools. Roncalli High School, which is named after Pope John XXIII Angelo Giuseppi Roncalli, was built in 1964 and was part of the ACSS and held grades nine through twelve.

Aberdeen Christian School

The other private, Christian school, Aberdeen Christian School, originally began as Aberdeen Christian High School in 1999. For the 1999-2000 school year, the Christian school only offered ninth and tenth grade, but added eleventh grade in 2000-2001, and twelfth in 2001-2002. Aberdeen Christian High School merged with First Baptist Christian School in 2006 and is a non-denominational school that hosts grades pre-kindergarten through twelfth grade. The grades are split into an elementary school that includes pre-kindergarten through eighth grade, and a secondary school for ninth through twelfth graders.

South Dakota School for the Blind and Visually Impaired

The South Dakota School for the Blind and Visually Impaired is a state special school under the direction of the South Dakota Board of Regents. SDSBVI specializes in working with students who are blind or visually impaired. This is accomplished in various ways, including a residential program, an outreach program, and in cooperation with a variety of other agencies and organizations.

Higher Education in Aberdeen

Northern State University

NSU is a public, state funded school that was founded in 1889 and today occupies a 72 acre campus. 2,528 students, ranging from first year to graduate students, attended NSU for the 2006-2007 school year. The student to teacher ratio is 19:1.

NSU was originally called the Institute of South Dakota before changing its name to Northern Normal and Industrial School in 1901. It again took on a new name in 1939 when it became the Northern State Teachers College, and again in 1964, becoming Northern State College before finalizing at Northern State University in 1989.

NSU offers thirty-eight majors and forty-two minors as well as other various degrees, and also has nine graduate degree areas for students wishing to further their education after achieving their undergraduate degree.

Presentation College

PC is a Catholic college on a one hundred acre campus. PC has approximately eight hundred students as of the 2006 spring semester. PC offers twenty six programs between the main Aberdeen campus and the others. Most of the degrees offered are in the health-care field. The student to teacher ratio is 12:1.

Healthcare

Aberdeen’s foremost healthcare provider is the Avera St. Luke’s hospital that offers services that are not available in many of the surrounding small town areas within 200 miles. There are also counseling services that provide help for marriage counseling, mental health, drug and alcohol abuse, anxiety, abuse issues, and family therapy. There are a number of available dentists and orthodontists that are able to perform root canals, extractions, cosmetic bonding, tooth whitening, bridges and crowns, and other family dentistry needs. There are ophthalmology centers that treat eye diseases such as glaucoma, cataracts, corneal disease and others, and perform laser refractive surgery. Along with ophthalmologists there are also optometrists that perform simple tasks such as prescribing eyeglasses and contact lenses. Aberdeen also has a hearing and speech clinic that can test middle ear pressure and mobility, test the function of middle ear muscles, determines the type and degree of hearing loss, and fits hearing aids.

Aberdeen also has programs offered to take care of senior citizens such as Meals on Wheels that delivers meals to individual homes. Manor Care, Bethesda, Angelhaus, and Gellhaus Carhaus are examples of retirement homes that provide nursing care and therapy to the elderly.

Aberdeen also provides services to the blind and visually impaired. There is an Independent Living Program that teaches the skills of blindness to people in their homes by using adaptive techniques. Their services include home management, low vision, communications, and mobility.

Arts and culture

The Aberdeen area is home to many art and culture organizations including the Aberdeen Area Arts Council, Aberdeen Community Concert Association, Aberdeen Community Theater, Aberdeen Recreation & Cultural Center, and the ArtWorks Cooperative.

The Aberdeen Area Arts Council publishes a small monthly newspaper entitled ARTiFACTS with information on area events ranging from plays, art gallery tours, quilt shows, oral interpretation, concerts and much more; it also features artists and news pertaining to the art world.

The Aberdeen Community Theater is a non-profit community theater that was created in 1979 by the Northern State University Director of Theater, Richard Norquist and Aberdeen American News writer, Donald H. Hall. The Aberdeen Community Theater performs at the Capitol Theater in downtown Aberdeen, the last remaining theater in Aberdeen’s downtown. The Capitol Theater was originally built in 1926 and donated to the Aberdeen Community Theater in 1991; since then more than $963,000 has been spent on renovating and preserving the historical aspect of the Capitol Theater. Today, the Aberdeen Community Theater performs five mainstage productions and three youth productions per year in the Capitol Theater.

The ArtWorks Cooperative is “a partnership of visual artists working to market their original artwork in a gallery setting.” The ArtWorks Cooperative’s members are invitational only, and the artists are reviewed on a regular basis. The ArtWorks Cooperative sells artists’ work as well as provides an environment that will benefit the artist in terms of artist-to-artist communication, and public interest. Not only are paintings and other fine art sold at the ArtWorks Cooperative; greeting cards and note cards, books featuring members’ artwork, limited edition hand pulled prints, painted ornaments, ceramic pieces, hand painted t-shirts, handmade books, and small art pieces are just a few among the wide selection of artistic works that the Cooperative has available.

There are three art galleries in Aberdeen: Presentation College’s Wein Gallery, Northern State University’s Lincoln Gallery, and the Aberdeen Recreation & Cultural Center (ARCC)/ArtWorks Cooperative Gallery located at the ARCC. Along with the local art galleries, the NSU Theater Department puts on three plays throughout the school year, including a Winter Theater Event and also a Spring Theater Event, such as an acting showcase or musical comedy.

Sports and recreation

Tennis

Aberdeen is presently home to 24 public tennis courts throughout the city -Melgaard Park (4), Northern State University (12), and Holgate Middle School (8). At one point in the past, the city of Aberdeen had 27 tennis courts giving it the most tennis courts in the country per capita.

Golf

Aberdeen is home to three golf courses; Lee Park Municipal Golf Course, Moccassin Creek Country Club, and Rolling Hills Country Club. Lee Park and Moccassin Creek are both 18 hole courses while Rolling Hills is a newely developed nine hole course opened in 2005.

Skateboarding/Rollerblading

Aberdeen has a skate park located between East Melgaard Road and 17th Ave SE at Melgaard Park. The equipment installed includes a quarter pipe, penalty box with half pyramid, bank ramp, spine, kinked rail and a ground rail.

Disc golf

Aberdeen is home to two disc golf courses. Kuhnert Arboretum and the Richmond Lake Disc Golf Course.

Richmond Lake Recreation Area

The Richmond Lake Recreation Area is used by all types of outdoors enthusiasts. Three separate areas in this park cater to the needs of campers, swimmers, naturalists, boaters and anglers. Campers stay in the South Unit, while the 200-acre Forest Drive Unit is a great place for wildlife viewing. The Boat Ramp Unit provides access to the more than 1,000-acre lake.

Camping/Cabins

Richmond Lake Recreation Area's small campground offers a quiet camping experience. The park also features a wheelchair accessible camping cabin.

Trails

The park's extensive trail system features over 10 miles of trails, including both accessible and interpretive trails. Hikers, bikers and horseback riders can observe the abundance of prairie plants and wildlife of the area up-close.

Boating

The park has multiple private and public boat ramps as well as an accessible fishing dock. Richmond Lake has a population of walleye, northern pike, bass, perch, crappie, bluegill, catfish, and bullheads within its waters. An entrance fee is required to gain access to the water and park itself.

Wylie Park Recreation Area

Wylie Park Recreation Area features a water slide, go kart racing, sand volleyball courts, access to Wylie Lake, camping area, picnic areas, and is connected to Storybook Land. Wylie Lake is a small man-made lake, open in the summer months for swimming, laying on the beach, and paddleboating.

Storybook Land castle

Storybook Land

Storybook Land is a park consistenting of attractions from several different children's storybooks. At the center of the park is a castle, open for viewing as well as often utilized for weddings, and play performances among other things. There is a train with a depot that takes visitors on a ride all through storybook land for only $1 a ride. One of the attractions icluded in the park is a barn, complete with a farm animal petting zoo. Newly added is the Land of Oz, that features characters and attractions from L. Frank Baum's "Wizard of Oz." L. Frank Baum was a resident of Aberdeen in the early 1800s, and his legacy still lives on there through The Land of Oz and the celebration of the "Oz Festival" every summer.

Religion

There are many different religions in Aberdeen, with a Christian majority. There is one synagogue in Aberdeen. There are four Catholic, four Baptist, eight Lutheran, three Methodist, two Full Gospel, two independent, and three non-denominational churches within the Aberdeen area. The other branches of Christianity include Adventists, Alliance, Assemblies of God, Church of Christ, Church of God, The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, Episcopal, Evangelical, Jehovah's Witnesses, Nazarene, Presbyterian, Reformed, Salvation Army, United Church of Christ, United Pentecostal, and Wesleyan; all of which have one church in Aberdeen.

Local government

Aberdeen is the center of government for Brown County. Its government is overseen by a mayor and five commissioners. Each commissioner serves a five year term. The commissioners include Dennis Feickert, Tom Fischbach, Nancy Hansen, Deb Knecht, and Mike Wiese. Aberdeen is home to Brown County offices including clerk-magistrate, county auditor, landfill office, register of deeds, county treasurer, coroner, emergency management, highway superintendent, public welfare, state’s attorney, and a few others. The senators from Brown County include Duane Sutton and Jim Hundstad, and the representatives included H. Paul Dennert, Burt Elliot, Al Novstrup, and Larry Frost. However, all of these state legislators' terms end in December of 2006.

Major employers

  • St. Luke’s hospital: 1,272 employees
  • Aberdeen Public School Systems: 650
  • 3M: 569
  • Cendant Motel Reservations: 480
  • Aman Collection Service Inc.: 450
  • Hub City Inc: 405
  • South Dakota Wheat Growers: 310
  • Northern State University: 298
  • Kessler’s, Inc.: 260

Transportation

Air

The Aberdeen Regional Airport is currently served by Northwest Airlines, a.k.a. Mesaba Airline and by Great Lake Airlines. It offers flight service to Denver International Airport and Minneapolis-St. Paul International Airport.

Roads

There are two major highways that serve Aberdeen. One is US Route 281 that comes to Aberdeen from North Dakota and goes to the southern border of South Dakota. The second highway is US Route 12 that goes across South Dakota from Minnesota to Montana. US-12 becomes 6th Avenue in Aberdeen.

Transit

Taxi

Aberdeen Taxi service provides general taxi service in Aberdeen. Aberdeen Shuttle provides shuttle service to and from the airport along with general taxi services.

Bus

Jefferson Lines is a bus service from Aberdeen that connects to Fargo, North Dakota and Minneapolis, Minnesota.

Car rental

There are three car rental services in Aberdeen; Hertz, Avis and Payless. Hertz and Avis Car rental are located in the terminal. Payless Car Rental is located in Aberdeen Flying Service.

Train

The Burlington Northern Railroad conveys freight and grain through Aberdeen.

Popular attractions

Shopping

Aberdeen has a mall, four department stores, four grocery stores, and a variety of mini malls.

Lakewood Mall is the largest shopping center in the northeast part of South Dakota providing over forty stores, restaurants, and a movie theater.

The Downtown area has small or family-run shops. Downtown is being revitalized, with over 1,700 programs currently under way, most of which have been initiated by a city official or a downtown association. Downtown is gradually becoming a busy place, with plenty of shopping and businesses to meet customers' needs. Spas, salons, and therapy are services only offered downtown.

Notable residents and natives

External links

Wikisource has the text of the 1911 Encyclopædia Britannica article "Aberdeen (city)".

Template:Geolinks-US-cityscale

References

  • "Area Art Events October Through December." ARTiFACTS: Aberdeen Area Arts Council. Oct. 2006: 3
  • Art WORKS Cooperative. Aberdeen, South Dakota: Art WORKS Cooperative, 2006
  • "Clip & Save." ARTiFACTS: Aberdeen Area Arts Council. Oct. 2006: 2
  • Empowering all STUDENTS to Succeed in a Changing World. Aberdeen, South Dakota: Aberdeen School District 6-1, 2006.
  • Got a minute or two?. Aberdeen, South Dakota: Aberdeen Christian High School, 2006.
  • Hub Area Technical School. anonymous. n.d. Hub Area Technical School, Aberdeen, South Dakota. 27 November 2006 <http://www.hubarea.com/>
  • Northern State University Theater. Aberdeen, South Dakota: Northern State University, 2006
  • Unlimited Opportunities Endless Possibilities, Presentation College. Aberdeen, South Dakota: Presentation College, 2006.
  • Avera St. Lukes. "Avera St. Luke's: We're Caring for Life." Aberdeen, South Dakota.
  • Avera St. Lukes. "Healthcare Directory and Wellness Guide." Aberdeen, South Dakota.
  • American News. "Access Aberdeen." Aberdeen, South Dakota 2006.
  • Keast, Bret. "Tomorrow Plan: Planting Seeds for a Better Tomorrow." Aberdeen, South Dakota, Future Land Use Plan 2005.
  • Aberdeen Chamber of Commerce. Aberdeen, SD. n.d.
  • Don Artz. The Town in the Frog Pond. 1991. Memories, Inc.
  • Dacotah Prairie Museum. Aberdeen/Brown County, South Dakota Historical Highlights. n.d.
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