Pierre, South Dakota

Pierre is the capital of the U.S. state of South Dakota. As of the 2000 census, it had a population of 13,876. The second least-populous state capital after Montpelier in Vermont, Pierre (pronounced "peer") is also the county seat of Hughes County. Founded in 1880 on the Missouri River opposite Fort Pierre, Pierre has been the state capital since 1889. It is also a statewide major transportation hub and is famous for its memorial hall. The Capital Journal is the local newspaper.

1 Geography
2 Demographics
3 Trivia
4 External links

[edit] Geography

Pierre is located at 44°22′5″N, 100°20′11″W (44.367966, −100.336378) ¹.

According to the United States Census Bureau, the city has a total area of 33.7 km² (13.0 mi²). 33.7 km² (13.0 mi²) of it is land, and 0.08% is water.

Pierre lies on rough river bluffs overlooking the Missouri River. Many of these bluffs are strewn with large boulders.

The climate in Pierre consists of cold, sometimes harsh, winters and very warm to hot summers. The average highs and lows are 28ºF/3ºF for January and 89ºF/62ºF in July. The warmest temperature ever recorded in Pierre was 117ºF (47.2ºC), set on July 15, 2006. The coldest recorded temperature was −35ºF (−37.2ºC) on February 9, 1994.

[edit] Demographics

As of the census^GR2 of 2000, there were 13,876 people, 5,567 households, and 3,574 families residing in the city. The population density was 411.5/km² (1,065.8/mi²). There were 5,949 housing units at an average density of 176.4/km² (457.0/mi²). The racial makeup of the city was 88.91% White, 0.20% African American, 8.56% Native American, 0.46% Asian, 0.02% Pacific Islander, 0.29% from other races, and 1.56% from two or more races. Hispanics or Latinos of any race were 1.25% of the population.

There were 5,567 households, out of which 32.9% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 51.6% were married couples living together, 9.5% had a female householder with no husband present, and 35.8% were non-families. 31.5% of all households were made up of individuals, and 10.7% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 2.35, and the average family size was 2.96.

South Dakota State Capitol building stands near the Missouri River in downtown Pierre. The limestone and white marble building was begun in 1905. Pierre has been South Dakota's capital since 1889. Earlier capitals were Yankton, South Dakota, from 1861 to 1883 and Bismarck, North Dakota, from 1883 to 1889.

In the city, the population was spread out, with 27.2% under the age of 18, 6.5% from 18 to 24, 28.6% from 25 to 44, 23.6% from 45 to 64, and 14.1% who were 65 years of age or older. The median age was 38 years. For every 100 females, there were 90.5 males. For every 100 females age 18 and over, there were 85.4 males.

The median income for a household in the city was $42,962, and the median income for a family was $52,144. Males had a median income of $32,969 versus $22,865 for females. The per capita income for the city was $20,462. About 5.5% of families and 7.8% of the population were below the poverty line, including 7.9% of those under age 18 and 9.2% of those age 65 or over.

[edit] Trivia

Pierre is the only state capital city that does not share at least one letter with its state.
Pierre is one of only five state capitals not served by an interstate highway. Dover, Delaware; Jefferson City, Missouri; Carson City, Nevada; and Juneau, Alaska, are the other four state capitals with this distinction.
Pierre is the second-smallest state capital, behind Montpelier, Vermont.
Pierre is the only state capital to lie on a timezone demarcation line.
Legend states that 66 blue tiles are laid on the floor of the state capitol building for the 66 Italian artists involved in laying the Terrazzo floor. Only 55 of these tiles have been found. Legendary Blue Tiles
Pierre is a few miles away from Lake Oahe, one of the largest manmade lakes in the world and a very popular fishing destination.
Pierre is the subject of a joke in the song "Capital," performed by the popular a cappella group Rockapella and composed by Sean Altman. The song lists every U.S. state capital except for Pierre; during the song's final fade-out, a voice can be heard exclaiming, "Pierre! Pierre! We forgot Pierre!"[1]. A subsequent track on the album features the then-mayor of Pierre chastising Rockapella for the omission (and their mispronunciation of the town's name).

[edit] External links

Pierre Chamber of Commerce
Pierre city government official web site
The Capital Journal - local newspaper
Maps and aerial photos Coordinates: 44.367966° -100.336378°
- Street map from Google Maps, or Yahoo! Maps, or Windows Live Local
- Satellite image from Google Maps, Windows Live Local, WikiMapia
- Topographic map from TopoZone
- Aerial image or topographic map from TerraServer-USA

	State of South Dakota Pierre (capital)
Regions	Badlands \| Black Hills \| Coteau des Prairies
Cities	Aberdeen \| Brandon \| Brookings \| Huron \| Madison \| Mitchell \| Pierre \| Rapid City \| Sioux Falls \| Spearfish \| Sturgis \| Vermillion \| Watertown \| Yankton
Counties	Aurora \| Beadle \| Bennett \| Bon Homme \| Brookings \| Brown \| Brule \| Buffalo \| Butte \| Campbell \| Charles Mix \| Clark \| Clay \| Codington \| Corson \| Custer \| Davison \| Day \| Deuel \| Dewey \| Douglas \| Edmunds \| Fall River \| Faulk \| Grant \| Gregory \| Haakon \| Hamlin \| Hand \| Hanson \| Harding \| Hughes \| Hutchinson \| Hyde \| Jackson \| Jerauld \| Jones \| Kingsbury \| Lake \| Lawrence \| Lincoln \| Lyman \| Marshall \| McCook \| McPherson \| Meade \| Mellette \| Miner \| Minnehaha \| Moody \| Pennington \| Perkins \| Potter \| Roberts \| Sanborn \| Shannon \| Spink \| Stanley \| Sully \| Todd \| Tripp \| Turner \| Union \| Walworth \| Yankton \| Ziebach