Formed January 8, 1873 (17th county)
Davison County (19,960), Mitchell (15,662)
The yellow masonry Art Deco structure was constructed in 1937. It is located on a square at 4th Avenue, Lawler Street, 5th Avenue, and Kimball Street. South Dakota State Highway 37 is one block west of the location. Floyd F. Kings and Walter J. Dixon were the designers. Veteran memorials are on the courthouse grounds. A Public Safety Center augments the courthouse. There was an 1883 courthouse also in Mitchell. Firesteel was the first county until 1880 when Mitchell assumed the county seat. Davison County was created on January 8, 1873 as the 17th county. The county is named for settler, Henry C. Davison. The county seat is named for railroad officer, Alexander Mitchell. He is also the namesake for the county seat of Hanson County.
Davison County government consists of a sheriff and 5 Commissioners. Six Circuit Court Judges and One Magistrate Court Judge serve Davison, Aurora, Bon Homme, Brule, Buffalo, Charles Mix, Clay, Douglas, Hanson, Hutchinson, McCook, Turner, Union and Yankton counties. Davison County is in southeast South Dakota. Sioux Falls, South Dakota is east and Pierre, South Dakota is northwest of the county. The county center is 6.8 miles West of Mitchell nearer Betts. The county is surrounded clockwise by Sanborn, Hanson, Hutchinson, Douglas, and Aurora counties.
The area of the county is 436 square miles. It is 63 out of 66 in the state. It ranks 10 out of 66 in population in the state. It has a density of 45.8 persons per square mile making it 3 out of 66 in the state. Davison County has 82.6% of its population in its incorporated areas. Interstate Highway 90 crosses the county east to west from Hanson County to Aurora County. Davison County is a rectangle shape. Mitchell is located in the northeast quarter of the county. Mitchell is the county seat and the largest city. It is 78.5% of the county population. This county is in the Mitchell Micropolitan Statistical Area.
Ethan
Mitchell
Mount Vernon
