Brookings

History

The county and city were both named after one of South Dakota's pioneer promoters, Wilmot Brookings. Brookings set out for the Dakota Territory in June 1857. He arrived at Sioux Falls on August 27, 1857, and became one of the first settlers there. He and his group represented the Western Town Company. After a time in Sioux Falls, Brookings and a companion set out for the Yankton area to locate a town in an area that was soon to be ceded by the Native Americans. This trip began in January 1858, and the two soon encountered a blizzard that froze Brookings's feet, which both had to be amputated. Brookings rose to a high position in the Territory, becoming a member of the Squatter Territorial Legislature and later elected Squatter Governor. He then was appointed superintendent of a road that was to be built from the Minnesota state line west to the Missouri River about 30 miles north of Ft. Pierre. It was during this road's construction that Brookings came into contact with land that was part of this county at the time. He made settlement of this area possible for many people. The first real town organized in Brookings County was Medary, in 1857. Before that, the area had been traveled and utilized only by Native Americans, with a few indistinct traces left showing the penetration of the area by explorers, missionaries, trappers, and traders. Along with Sioux Falls and Flandreau, Medary was one of the first three European settlements established in South Dakota. The first site of Medary was located by the Dakota Land Company of Minnesota, led by Alpheus G. Fuller and Franklin J. DeWitt and accompanied by engineer Samuel A. Medary, Jr. In 1857, the men put up quarters in preparation to live out the winter in Medary. Many other settlers moved into the area in 1858. But in…

Geography

Brookings is located at (44.3021491, -96.7863120). The monthly daily average temperature range from in January to in July, while there are 8 days of + highs and 35 days with sub- lows annually. }}

Race & ethnicity

Most-observed species

• American Robin

  Turdus migratorius Linnaeus, 1766 · Aves
  1,549
• Black-capped Chickadee

  Poecile atricapillus (Linnaeus, 1766) · Aves
  1,529
• Downy Woodpecker

  Dryobates pubescens (Linnaeus, 1766) · Aves
  1,281
• House Finch

  Haemorhous mexicanus (P.L.Statius Müller, 1776) · Aves
  1,194
• Canada Goose (canadensis Group)

  Branta canadensis (Linnaeus, 1758) · Aves
  1,160
• Blue Jay

  Cyanocitta cristata (Linnaeus, 1758) · Aves
  1,097
• House Sparrow

  Passer domesticus (Linnaeus, 1758) · Aves
  1,075
• Northern Cardinal

  Cardinalis cardinalis (Linnaeus, 1758) · Aves
  1,045

Most recent

• M 2.7 — 2026-01-09
  5 km ENE of Artesian, South Dakota
• M 2.7 — 2023-10-19
  3 km E of Humboldt, South Dakota
• M 3.1 — 2005-10-19
  7 km N of Howard, South Dakota