What is the population of Spearfish, South Dakota?

Spearfish has a population of approximately 12,930 according to the latest available open data.

Where is Spearfish, South Dakota located?

Spearfish is located in South Dakota, United States, at approximate coordinates 44.4921°, -103.8197°.

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Spearfish

South Dakotacity

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Spearfish

Total population

12,930

Founded

1876

Elevation1112 m

Land area42.32 km²

Coordinates44.49°, -103.82°

Demographic figures from US Census Bureau · ACS 5-year estimates. Overview below cites Wikipedia and may reference a different year.

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City facts

Founded

1876

Elevation

1112 m

Area

42.32 km²

Official website

www.cityofspearfish.com

Facts from Wikidata (CC0).

Overview

Spearfish is a city in Lawrence County, South Dakota, United States. The population was 12,193 at the 2020 census, and was estimated to be 13,803 in 2024, making it the 10th most populous city in South Dakota. Spearfish is the largest city in Lawrence County and the home of Black Hills State University.

History & geography

History

Before the Black Hills Gold Rush of 1876, the area was used by Native Americans (primarily bands of Sioux but others also ranged through the area). Once the gold rush started, the city was founded in 1876 at the mouth of Spearfish Canyon, and was originally called Queen City. Spearfish grew as a supplier of foodstuffs to the mining camps in the hills. Even today, a significant amount of truck farming and market gardening still occurs in the vicinity. In 1887, the accepted history of gold mining in the Black Hills was thrown into question by the discovery of what has become known as the Thoen Stone. Discovered by Louis Thoen on Lookout Mountain, the stone purports to be the last testament of Ezra Kind who, along with six others, entered the Black Hills in 1833, "got all the gold we could carry" in June 1834, and were subsequently "killed by Indians beyond the high hill." There is corroborating historical evidence for the Ezra Kind party. In the 20th century, the history of Spearfish was tied to mining and tourism. Architect Frank Lloyd Wright, who visited Spearfish Canyon in 1935, later called the area "unique and unparalleled elsewhere in our country," and wondered, "How is it that I've heard so little of this miracle and we, toward the Atlantic, have heard so much of the Grand Canyon when this is even more miraculous?" The Homestake Sawmill (previously part of Pope and Talbot, now owned by Neimen Forest Products) was built to supply timbers for the Homestake Mine in Lead (closed January 2002). In 1938, Joseph Meier brought the Luenen Passion Play to settle permanently in Spearfish and become the Black Hills Passion Play, drawing thousands of visitors every year during the summer months. After Meier's death in 2007, the amphitheater and surrounding it were put up…

Geography

According to the United States Census Bureau, the city has a total area of , of which is land and (0.03%) is water. Crow Peak (elevation 5760 ft) which sits approximately halfway between Spearfish and the Wyoming state line in the west, and Spearfish Peak (elevation 5798 ft), which is the most prominent peak when facing south from town. Spearfish Creek is a fast-moving creek that emerges from Spearfish Canyon at Spearfish. It runs roughly south to north through the center of town (parallel to Canyon Street), year round. The creek freezes from the bottom up instead of icing over. This unusual phenomenon occurs due to the very fast rate at which the creek flows. This speed prevents ice from forming except along the bottom of the creek bed where friction and turbulence allow the water to slow down long enough to freeze. Since the creek continues to flow atop this ice, the water level of the creek gradually rises as more ice accumulates on the bottom, in some cases causing flooding on the north side of town where the channel is not as deep.

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Excerpted from the corresponding Wikipedia article (CC BY-SA).