Miner County (Miner County)
Miner County is a county in the U.S. state of South Dakota. As of the 2020 census, the population was 2,298. Its county seat is Howard. The county was created in 1873 and organized in 1880.
The area is situated on the site of Dakota Sioux trails that connected two sites of cultural significance to the Dakota people, the pipestone quarries in southwestern Minnesota and the Sioux Crossing of the Three Rivers, near present-day Fort Thompson. South Dakota Highway 34 now roughly follows this route.
The Fort Ridgely and South Pass Wagon Road, also known as Nobles Trail, the first road in Dakota Territory, passed through the area. It was made in 1857, connecting Fort Ridgley, Minnesota with South Pass in Wyoming Territory, along the Oregon Trail. The Minnesota and Powder River Road of 1865 also passed through the county.
The boundaries of present-day Miner County experienced several changes during territorial times. The county was established in 1873 by the Dakota Territorial Legislature when Hanson County was divided into several parts. It was named for Ephriam Miner, a territorial legislator, and Nelson Miner, a territorial legislator and captain in the 1st Dakota Cavalry. At the time, Miner County spanned the southern half of present-day Miner and Sanborn counties; Bramble County (now extinct) spanned the northern portion of these counties. In 1879 the legislature combined Miner, Bramble, and portions of Wetmore counties, and eliminated the latter two. The new Miner County was organized the following year with Forestburg as the county seat. In 1883 the county was divided; the western portion being renamed Sanborn County, and the eastern portion retaining the name Miner County. Howard was named the county seat of Miner County.
In 1881, the Milwaukee Road railroad opened tracks in Miner County that followed Fort Ridgely Road from east to west, connecting Madison to Woonsocket. The Chicago and North Western railroad opened tracks from Hawarden, Iowa, to Iroquois, crossing northwest across the county in 1882. These railroads have since abandoned their tracks in the county.
The first settler in Miner County was Matthew A. Moore, who homesteaded near the present site of Howard in the spring of 1879. Significant homesteading started in the latter part of 1879 and concluded in 1884, when all available government land had been claimed. Settlers were primarily Norwegian, German, Danish, Welsh, Irish and Swedish.
On August 28, 1884, the second known photograph of a tornado was taken in Miner County. See 1884 Howard, South Dakota tornado.
The current Miner County Courthouse was built in 1938 at a cost of $107,000 by the Great Depression-era Public Works Administration and was dedicated on September 26, 1938.
On June 13, 1943, two B-17 bombers from the 393rd Bomb Group of the Sioux City Army Air Base collided while on a training exercise over Miner County. One plane crashed immediately, and the other made a controlled landing in a creek bed several miles away. Eleven airmen were killed.
The area is situated on the site of Dakota Sioux trails that connected two sites of cultural significance to the Dakota people, the pipestone quarries in southwestern Minnesota and the Sioux Crossing of the Three Rivers, near present-day Fort Thompson. South Dakota Highway 34 now roughly follows this route.
The Fort Ridgely and South Pass Wagon Road, also known as Nobles Trail, the first road in Dakota Territory, passed through the area. It was made in 1857, connecting Fort Ridgley, Minnesota with South Pass in Wyoming Territory, along the Oregon Trail. The Minnesota and Powder River Road of 1865 also passed through the county.
The boundaries of present-day Miner County experienced several changes during territorial times. The county was established in 1873 by the Dakota Territorial Legislature when Hanson County was divided into several parts. It was named for Ephriam Miner, a territorial legislator, and Nelson Miner, a territorial legislator and captain in the 1st Dakota Cavalry. At the time, Miner County spanned the southern half of present-day Miner and Sanborn counties; Bramble County (now extinct) spanned the northern portion of these counties. In 1879 the legislature combined Miner, Bramble, and portions of Wetmore counties, and eliminated the latter two. The new Miner County was organized the following year with Forestburg as the county seat. In 1883 the county was divided; the western portion being renamed Sanborn County, and the eastern portion retaining the name Miner County. Howard was named the county seat of Miner County.
In 1881, the Milwaukee Road railroad opened tracks in Miner County that followed Fort Ridgely Road from east to west, connecting Madison to Woonsocket. The Chicago and North Western railroad opened tracks from Hawarden, Iowa, to Iroquois, crossing northwest across the county in 1882. These railroads have since abandoned their tracks in the county.
The first settler in Miner County was Matthew A. Moore, who homesteaded near the present site of Howard in the spring of 1879. Significant homesteading started in the latter part of 1879 and concluded in 1884, when all available government land had been claimed. Settlers were primarily Norwegian, German, Danish, Welsh, Irish and Swedish.
On August 28, 1884, the second known photograph of a tornado was taken in Miner County. See 1884 Howard, South Dakota tornado.
The current Miner County Courthouse was built in 1938 at a cost of $107,000 by the Great Depression-era Public Works Administration and was dedicated on September 26, 1938.
On June 13, 1943, two B-17 bombers from the 393rd Bomb Group of the Sioux City Army Air Base collided while on a training exercise over Miner County. One plane crashed immediately, and the other made a controlled landing in a creek bed several miles away. Eleven airmen were killed.
Map - Miner County (Miner County)
Map
Country - United_States
 |
 |
| Flag of the United States | |
Indigenous peoples have inhabited the Americas for thousands of years. Beginning in 1607, British colonization led to the establishment of the Thirteen Colonies in what is now the Eastern United States. They quarreled with the British Crown over taxation and political representation, leading to the American Revolution and proceeding Revolutionary War. The United States declared independence on July 4, 1776, becoming the first nation-state founded on Enlightenment principles of unalienable natural rights, consent of the governed, and liberal democracy. The country began expanding across North America, spanning the continent by 1848. Sectional division surrounding slavery in the Southern United States led to the secession of the Confederate States of America, which fought the remaining states of the Union during the American Civil War (1861–1865). With the Union's victory and preservation, slavery was abolished nationally by the Thirteenth Amendment.
Currency / Language
| ISO | Currency | Symbol | Significant figures |
|---|---|---|---|
| USD | United States dollar | $ | 2 |
| ISO | Language |
|---|---|
| EN | English language |
| FR | French language |
| ES | Spanish language |