Gregory

Formed April 5, 1862 (6^th county)

Gregory County (3,991), Burke (576), Gregory (1,226)

The 1934 tan brick Art Deco and Prairie facility is the courthouse for Gregory County.  It is located on 8^th Street between Washington and Lincoln streets.  United States Highway 18 is five blocks south of the courthouse.  Walter J. Dixon is the courthouse designer.  Veterans’ memorials are in front of the courthouse.  The county was organized on April 5, 1862 as an original county (6^th county.)  Fairfax was the first county seat until 1916 when Burke assume the position.  Gregory County is named for Legislator John Shaw Gregory.  The county seat was named for Legislator Charles Burke. 

Gregory County government consists of a sheriff and 5 Commissioners.  Three Circuit Court Judges and One Magistrate Court Judge serve Gregory, Bennett, Haakon, Hughes, Hyde, Jackson, Jones, Lyman, Mellette, Potter, Stanley, Sully, Todd, and Tripp counties.  The county is located on the southern border with Nebraska.  Pierre, South Dakota is northwest and Sioux Falls, South Dakota is northeast of the county.  The Missouri River forms its eastern border.  The county center is 17.3 miles East of Burke nearer Herrick.  The county is surrounded clockwise by Lyman, Brule, and Charles Mix counties and Nebraska and Tripp County. 

The area of the county is 1016 square miles.  It is 29 out of 66 in the state.  It ranks 39 out of 66 in population in the state.  It has a density of 3.9 persons per square mile making it 43 out of 66 in the state.  Gregory County has 58.0% of its population in its incorporated areas.  United States Highway 18 passes through the county from east to west from Charles Mix County to Tripp County.  United States Highway 281 is joined with United States Highway 18 from Charles Mix County, splits and continues south into Nebraska.  The county resembles a mud slide.  Burke is located in the southwest quarter of the county.  The City of Gregory is in the western quarter of the county.  Burke is the county seat and Gregory is the largest city.  Burke is 14.4% of the county population while Gregory is 30.7% of the county population.