Pierre, South Dakota

Where Pierre is

Pierre, pronounced "peer," is the seat of Hughes County, at 44.37°N, 100.35°W, on the east bank of the Missouri River almost exactly at the center of South Dakota. Lake Oahe, the reservoir behind Oahe Dam, begins just north of the city and stretches 230 miles to Bismarck. Fort Pierre, an older settlement that began as a fur post in 1817, is across the river at the mouth of the Bad River. The city is about 1,480 ft above sea level.

The Missouri is the time zone boundary in much of South Dakota. Pierre is on Central Time; Fort Pierre, a mile away across the bridge, is on Mountain Time, as is the western half of the state including Rapid City and the Black Hills.

How it became the capital

Dakota Territory was governed from Yankton until 1883, then from Bismarck. When South Dakota was admitted on November 2, 1889, Pierre was named temporary capital because of its central location and railroad connection. Voters chose it over Huron in 1890 and rejected a Mitchell challenge in 1904, after both campaigns handed out free rail tickets to bring supporters to the polls. Pierre was chosen for geography rather than size, which is why it has stayed small.

Population

Pierre had 14,091 residents in 2020, the second-smallest state capital after Montpelier, Vermont. Sioux Falls, the largest city in South Dakota, had 192,517, and Rapid City about 74,000. Hughes County has about 17,000 people, and the whole state 886,667. Pierre is one of only four state capitals with no interstate highway.

The capitol

The South Dakota State Capitol was designed by C. E. Bell of Minneapolis, with Bell and Detweiler, and completed in 1910; it is closely modeled on the Montana capitol that Bell had designed in Helena. The building is Indiana limestone with a copper dome and a marble interior, and a 1989 restoration returned it to its original appearance. The grounds include a lake fed by warm artesian water that stays open all winter.

Distances to other cities

Related maps

• South Dakota map — the whole state with borders, cities and counties.
• South Dakota county map · blank South Dakota map · printable South Dakota map.
• All 50 state capitals on one map, and the state capitals quiz.
• Midwest region · West North Central division · Central Time Zone.