Formed January 8, 1873 (35th county)
Stanley County (2,980), Fort Pierre (2,119)
The brown brick Modern building was constructed in 1971. The courthouse is on 2nd Avenue at 1st Street. United States Highway 83 is 1st Street. Meese, Peterson and Foss were the designers. Veteran memorials are on the grounds. There was a 1907 version of the courthouse in Fort Pierre, the only county seat. Stanley County was established on January 8, 1873 as the 35th county. It is named for Civil War General David L. Stanley. The county seat is named for the fort which was named for trapper Pierre Chouteau, Jr.
Stanley County government consists of a sheriff and 5 Commissioners. Three Circuit Court Judges and One Magistrate Court Judge serve Stanley, Bennett, Gregory, Haakon, Hughes, Hyde, Jackson, Jones, Lyman, Mellette, Potter, Sully, Todd, and Tripp counties. The county is in the central part of the state. The Missouri River forms its eastern border. Pierre, South Dakota is directly east and Rapid City, South Dakota is west of the county. The county center is 12.5 miles West-Northwest of Fort Pierre. The county is surrounded clockwise by Dewey, Sully, Hughes, Lyman, Jones, Haakon, and Ziebach counties.
The area of the county is 1443 square miles. It is 18 out of 66 in the state. It ranks 47 out of 66 in population in the state. It has a density of 2.1 persons per square mile making it 55 out of 66 in the state. Stanley County has 71.1% of its population in its incorporated areas. United States Highway 14 enters the county from the east, Hughes County, and exits to the west, Haakon County. United States Highway 83 is joined with United States Highway 14 from Hughes County, splits and heads south into Lyman County. The county looks like a watering can lying on its side. Fort Pierre is located on the southeast border of the county. Fort Pierre is the county seat and, as the only incorporated city, it is the largest city. It is 71.1% of the county population. This county is in the Pierre Micropolitan Statistical Area.
Fort Pierre
