Pennington

Formed January 11, 1875 (42^nd county)

Pennington County (109,231), Rapid City (74,719)                

The masonry Beaux Arts building was erected in 1922.  There were 1883, 1897, and 1898 courthouses earlier.  The courthouse is on St. Joseph Street and 3^rd Street.  Interstate Highway 90 Business is Saint Joseph Street.  William Earl Hulse is the current courthouse designer.  An Annex was added in 1990.  The city has presidential statues throughout the government area.  Pennington County was created on January 11, 1875 as the 42^nd county.  Sheridan was the first county seat until 1878 when Rapid City assumed the position.  The county is named for Territorial Governor John L. Pennington.  The county seat is named for Rapid Creek. 

Pennington County government consists of a sheriff and 5 Commissioners.  Eight Circuit Court Judges and One Magistrate Court Judge serve Pennington, Custer, Fall River, and Oglala Lakota counties.  The county is located on the western border with Wyoming.  Pierre, South Dakota is northeast and Sioux Falls, South Dakota is east of the county.  The county center is 7.2 miles East-Northeast of Rapid City in Green Valley.  The county is surrounded clockwise by Meade, Ziebach, Haakon, Jackson, Oglala Lakota, and Custer counties and Wyoming and Lawrence County. 

The area of the county is 2776 square miles.  It is 3 out of 66 in the state.  It ranks 2 out of 66 in population in the state.  It has a density of 39.3 persons per square mile making it 7 out of 66 in the state.  Pennington County has 77.6% of its population in its incorporated areas.  Interstate Highway 90 enters the county from the east, Jackson County, and exits to the north, Meade County.  United States Highway 14 is joined with Interstate Highway 90 from Jackson to Meade counties.  United States Highway 16 originates and heads west into Wyoming.  United States Highway 385 crosses north to south from Lawrence County to Custer County.  The highest point in South Dakota, Harney Peak, is in the county.  The county is an axe shape.  Rapid City is located in the western third of the county.  Rapid City is the county seat and the largest city.  It is 68.4% of the county population.  This county is in the Rapid City Metropolitan Statistical Area.