Aberdeen, South Dakota

Aberdeen, a city and the county seat of Brown County, South Dakota, U.S.A., about 125 m. N.E. of Pierre. Pop. (1890) 3182; (1900) 4087, of whom 889 were foreign-born; (1905) 5841; (1910) 10,753. As of the 2000 census, the city had a total population of 24,658.

In 1911, Aberdeen was served by the Chicago, Milwaukee and St Paul[?], the Great Northern, the Minneapolis and St. Louis[?], and the Chicago and North Western[?] railroads. It is the financial and trade center for the northern part of the state, a fine agricultural region, and in 1908 had five banks and a number of wholesale houses. The city is the seat of the Northern Normal and Industrial School, a state institution, and has a Carnegie Library; the principal buildings are the court house and the government buildings. Artesian wells[?] furnish good water-power, and artesian-well supplies, grain pitchers, brooms, chemicals and flour are manufactured. The municipality owns and operates the water-works. Aberdeen was settled in 1880, and was chartered as a city in 1883.

L. Frank Baum, famous for his book The Wonderful Wizard of Oz, made Aberdeen his hometown. He started a local newspaper called The Aberdeen Saturday Pioneer, which eventually failed.

Geography Aberdeen is located at 45°27'49" North, 98°28'53" West (45.463708, -98.481291)¹.

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 is water. The total area is 0.54% water.

Demographics As of the census² of 2000, there are 24,658 people, 10,553 households, and 6,184 families residing in the city. The population density is 734.6/km² (1,902.1/mi²). There are 11,259 housing units at an average density of 335.4/km² (868.5/mi²). The racial makeup of the city is 94.61% White, 0.37% 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 are Hispanic or Latino of any race.

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

In the city the population is 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 are 65 years of age or older. The median age is 36 years. For every 100 females there are 89.2 males. For every 100 females age 18 and over, there are 85.3 males.

The median income for a household in the city is $33,276, and the median income for a family is $43,882. Males have a median income of $30,355 versus $20,092 for females. The per capita income for the city is $17,923. 10.5% of the population and 7.6% of families are below the poverty line. Out of the total people living in poverty, 10.6% are under the age of 18 and 10.1% are 65 or older.

Original from an old 1911 Encyclopedia