History of Kingsbury County

The Kingsbury County About Us page was created to give background and history of Kingsbury County.   Kingsbury County was created on February 2, 1880. De Smet was chosen as the county seat on November 2, 1880. On May 30, 1882, Mr. and Mrs. Albert Keep presented the site for the courthouse.  It was named for brothers George W. and T. A. Kingsbury, descendants of the colonial English Kingsbury family in Boston, Massachusetts. They were prominently involved in the affairs of Dakota Territory and served as elected members of several Territorial Legislatures. As of the 2010 census the population was 5,148. 

The east wing or everything east of the courthouse drive thru was built in 1898. The courthouse budget was not to exceed $4,000; meanwhile, many of the Kingsbury County government agencies were housed in other De Smet buildings. M.E. Bush was awarded a contract to build the west wing of the courthouse in January 1898. Mr. Bush had a budget of $14,800 ($44.00 was added for use of Springfield brick in the building’s interior and $225 was added to bring the east building’s roof to the height of the west building’s roof). Flowers and trees were planted and curved walkways were added to the grounds. The courthouse was finished January 1899. By January 17th, the courthouse was fully functioning with new furniture in the offices.

Kingsbury County has a total of 12 Cities, Towns, or Unincorporated Communities and they are: 

Arlington - City

Badger - City

Bancroft - Town

De Smet - City and County Seat

Erwin - Town

Esmond - Unincorporated community

Hetland - Town

Iroquois - City

Lake Preston - City

Manchester - Ghost town 

Oldham-Town

Osceola - Unincorporated community

Kingsbury County also has Lake Thompson.  With an area of 16,236 acres, it is one of the largest natural lakes in South Dakota. The maximum depth of the lake is 26 ft,  The shoreline has a length of 44.6 miles.