Sanborn

Formed May 1, 1883 (56^th county)

Sanborn County (2,330), Woonsocket (632)

The brown brick and stone Classical Revival facility, built in 1907, on a square at 6^th Street, 2^nd Avenue, 7^th Street, and 3^rd Avenue.  South Dakota State Highway 34 is 7^th Street.  E. P. Eisentraut provided the courthouse designs.  The grounds feature veteran memorials, canon balls, and an eagle.  The county was organized on May 1, 1883 as the 56^th county with Woonsocket as the only county seat.  Sanborn County is named for George W. Sanborn.  The county seat is named for Woonsocket, Rhode Island. 

Sanborn County government consists of a sheriff and 5 Commissioners.  Five Circuit Court Judges and One Magistrate Court Judge serve Sanborn, Beadle, Brookings, Clark, Codington, Deuel, Grant, Hamlin, Hand, Jerauld, Kingsbury, Lake, Miner, and Moody counties.  The county is in southeast South Dakota.  Pierre, South Dakota is northwest and Sioux Falls, South Dakota is southeast of the county.  The county center is 12.5 miles East of Woonsocket nearer Forestburg.  The county is surrounded clockwise by Beadle, Kingsbury, Miner, Hanson, Davison, Aurora, and Jerauld counties. 

The area of the county is 569 square miles.  It is 54 out of 66 in the state.  It ranks 55 out of 66 in population in the state.  It has a density of 4.1 persons per square mile making it 39 out of 66 in the state.  Sanborn County has 39.2% of its population in its incorporated areas.  There are no Interstates or United States Highways in the county.  Sanborn County is a rectangle.  Woonsocket is located in the western quarter of the county.  Woonsocket is the county seat and the largest city.  It is 27.1% of the county population.  The county seat is pronounced WOON-SOK-ET.