Aberdeen

History

Before Aberdeen or Brown County was inhabited by European settlers, it was inhabited by the Sioux Indians from approximately 1700 to 1879. Europeans entered the region for business, founding fur trading posts during the 1820s; these trading posts operated 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 Euro-American settlers to reach the area that is now Brown County was a party of four people, three horses, two mules, fifteen cattle, and two wagons. This group of settlers was later joined by another group the following spring, and, eventually, more settlers migrated toward this general area, currently known as Columbia, South Dakota. This town was established on June 15, 1879, was settled in 1880, and was incorporated in 1882. Aberdeen, like many towns of the Midwest, was built around the newly developing railroad systems. Aberdeen 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 Road for short, which was presided over by Alexander Mitchell, Charles Prior's boss, who was responsible for the choice of town names. He was born in Aberdeen, Scotland, after which the town of Aberdeen was named. Aberdeen had four different railroad companies with depots built in the newly developing town. With these four railroads intersecting here, Aberdeen soon became known as the "Hub City of the Dakotas". When looking down on Aberdeen from above, the railroad tracks converging in Aberdeen resembled the spokes of a wheel converging at a hub, hence the name "Hub City of the Dakotas". These four railroad companies are the reason why Aberdeen was able…

Geography

Aberdeen is located in northeastern South Dakota, in the James River valley, approximately 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 bisected by 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 , of which is land and (0.47%) is water. The monthly daily average temperature ranges from in January to in July, while there are 16 days of + highs and 38 days with sub- lows annually. }}

Race & ethnicity

Most-observed species

• American Robin

  Turdus migratorius Linnaeus, 1766 · Aves
  996
• House Sparrow

  Passer domesticus (Linnaeus, 1758) · Aves
  925
• Common Grackle

  Quiscalus quiscula (Linnaeus, 1758) · Aves
  901
• Mourning Dove

  Zenaida macroura (Linnaeus, 1758) · Aves
  809
• House Finch

  Haemorhous mexicanus (P.L.Statius Müller, 1776) · Aves
  636
• Red-winged Blackbird

  Agelaius phoeniceus (Linnaeus, 1766) · Aves
  620
• Mallard

  Anas platyrhynchos Linnaeus, 1758 · Aves
  601
• Canada Goose (canadensis Group)

  Branta canadensis (Linnaeus, 1758) · Aves
  574

Most recent

• M 3.2 — 2020-12-09
  10 km NNW of Bowdle, South Dakota