Volga

History

Volga was founded by the Western Town Lot Company on December 27, 1879, by Col. Arthur Jacoby, who had platted the area in September of that year. It was originally named "Bandy Town" after the Bandy family, early settlers there. In December 1879, the railroad assigned it the name "Volga", either after the Volga River in Russia, or the town (and river) of Volga, Iowa. By the next year, Volga had five general stores and two hardware stores, as well as two hotels and three lumber yards. By sometime in the early 1880s, there were four hotels, chief of which was the Farrington. The lumber yard owned by the Laird, Norton Company was closed in 1884. In November 1994, it was decided that a soybean processing plant – expected to create 67 jobs – would be built in Volga. Prairie AquaTech, a fish feed company, built a facility to the south of the Volga plant in 2019.

Geography

Volga is located at (44.3218528, -96.9222616). According to the United States Census Bureau, the city has a total area of , all land. To the east of the city is the Big Sioux River, to the northwest is Lake Goldsmith.

Race & ethnicity

Largest nearby schools

• Brookings High School - 01
  High · Brookings · 1,050 students · 17.8:1 ratio
• George S. Mickelson Middle School - 02
  Middle · Brookings · 751 students · 13.2:1 ratio
• Camelot Intermediate - 06
  Elementary · Brookings · 529 students · 15.1:1 ratio
• Dakota Prairie Elementary - 07
  Elementary · Brookings · 473 students · 13.5:1 ratio
• Sioux Valley Elementary - 02
  Elementary · Volga · 354 students · 14.8:1 ratio
• Medary Elementary - 05
  Elementary · Brookings · 323 students · 11.5:1 ratio
• Hillcrest Elementary - 04
  Elementary · Brookings · 305 students · 15.3:1 ratio
• Sioux Valley High School - 01
  High · Volga · 224 students · 18.7:1 ratio