{"id":7514,"date":"2023-09-02T13:30:24","date_gmt":"2023-09-02T13:30:24","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/townsvillages.com\/us\/?p=7514"},"modified":"2026-08-21T16:17:33","modified_gmt":"2026-08-21T16:17:33","slug":"hutchinson-county","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/townsvillages.com\/us\/hutchinson-county\/","title":{"rendered":"Hutchinson County, South Dakota"},"content":{"rendered":"<p>Hutchinson County is a county in South Dakota, United States, in the southeastern part of the state along the James River. It had a population of 7,427 at the 2020 census and covers 813 square miles (2,110 km2) of land centred near 43\u00b020\u2032N 97\u00b045\u2032W.<\/p>\n<p>Olivet is the county seat, and its postal code is 57052. The county has 2 incorporated cities, 4 incorporated towns and several unincorporated Hutterite colonies and rural communities. Hutchinson County sits in the Central time zone.<\/p>\n<h2>Towns &amp; Villages in Hutchinson County<\/h2>\n<p>Thirteen named places are recognized in Hutchinson County: two cities, four towns and seven census-designated Hutterite colonies, plus a handful of small unincorporated communities. <strong>City<\/strong> and <strong>Town<\/strong> are South Dakota&#8217;s two classes of incorporated municipality; <strong>CDP<\/strong> marks a census-designated place (the county&#8217;s Hutterite colonies); <strong>Unincorp.<\/strong> marks an unincorporated community with no municipal government.<\/p>\n<div class=\"tv-table-scroll\">\n<table>\n<thead>\n<tr>\n<th>Place<\/th>\n<th>Type<\/th>\n<th>Pop.<\/th>\n<th>ZIP<\/th>\n<\/tr>\n<\/thead>\n<tbody>\n<tr>\n<td>Freeman<\/td>\n<td>City<\/td>\n<td>&mdash;<\/td>\n<td>57029<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<tr>\n<td>Parkston<\/td>\n<td>City<\/td>\n<td>&mdash;<\/td>\n<td>57366<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<tr>\n<td>Dimock<\/td>\n<td>Town<\/td>\n<td>&mdash;<\/td>\n<td>57331<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<tr>\n<td>Menno<\/td>\n<td>Town<\/td>\n<td>&mdash;<\/td>\n<td>57045<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<tr>\n<td>Olivet<\/td>\n<td>Town &middot; seat<\/td>\n<td>&mdash;<\/td>\n<td>57052<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<tr>\n<td>Tripp<\/td>\n<td>Town<\/td>\n<td>&mdash;<\/td>\n<td>57376<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<tr>\n<td>Kaylor<\/td>\n<td>CDP<\/td>\n<td>&mdash;<\/td>\n<td>&mdash;<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<tr>\n<td>Maxwell Colony<\/td>\n<td>CDP<\/td>\n<td>&mdash;<\/td>\n<td>&mdash;<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<tr>\n<td>Milltown<\/td>\n<td>CDP<\/td>\n<td>&mdash;<\/td>\n<td>&mdash;<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<tr>\n<td>New Elm Spring Colony<\/td>\n<td>CDP<\/td>\n<td>&mdash;<\/td>\n<td>&mdash;<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<tr>\n<td>Old Elm Spring Colony<\/td>\n<td>CDP<\/td>\n<td>&mdash;<\/td>\n<td>&mdash;<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<tr>\n<td>Tschetter Colony<\/td>\n<td>CDP<\/td>\n<td>&mdash;<\/td>\n<td>&mdash;<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<tr>\n<td>Wolf Creek Colony<\/td>\n<td>CDP<\/td>\n<td>&mdash;<\/td>\n<td>&mdash;<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<\/tbody>\n<\/table>\n<\/div>\n<h2>ZIP Codes<\/h2>\n<ul>\n<li>57029 &mdash; Freeman post office town<\/li>\n<li>57045 &mdash; Menno post office town<\/li>\n<li>57052 &mdash; Olivet post office town<\/li>\n<li>57331 &mdash; Dimock post office town (also serves nearby colonies)<\/li>\n<li>57366 &mdash; Parkston post office town<\/li>\n<li>57376 &mdash; Tripp post office town<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<p>The unincorporated Hutterite colonies and rural crossroads use the ZIP of their nearest post-office town rather than a ZIP of their own.<\/p>\n<h2>Geography<\/h2>\n<p>The James River runs south-southeast through the center of Hutchinson County, and the land slopes from rolling upland toward the river valley on both banks. The county&#8217;s highest point, about 1,880 feet (573 m) above sea level, sits in the southwest corner. Farmland dominates the terrain, and 1.5 square miles (3.9 km2) of the county&#8217;s total area is water.<\/p>\n<p>Hutchinson County borders <a href=\"https:\/\/townsvillages.com\/us\/hanson-county\/\">Hanson County<\/a> to the north, <a href=\"https:\/\/townsvillages.com\/us\/mccook-county\/\">McCook County<\/a> to the northeast, <a href=\"https:\/\/townsvillages.com\/us\/turner-county-south-dakota\/\">Turner County<\/a> to the east, <a href=\"https:\/\/townsvillages.com\/us\/yankton-county\/\">Yankton County<\/a> to the southeast, <a href=\"https:\/\/townsvillages.com\/us\/bon-homme-county\/\">Bon Homme County<\/a> to the south, <a href=\"https:\/\/townsvillages.com\/us\/charles-mix-county\/\">Charles Mix County<\/a> to the southwest, <a href=\"https:\/\/townsvillages.com\/us\/douglas-county-south-dakota\/\">Douglas County<\/a> to the west and <a href=\"https:\/\/townsvillages.com\/us\/davison-county\/\">Davison County<\/a> to the northwest.<\/p>\n<h2>Demographics<\/h2>\n<p>Hutchinson County&#8217;s population was 7,427 at the 2020 census, spread across a mostly rural county at about 9 people per square mile. Parkston and Freeman are the two largest communities. Hutchinson County is the most heavily Mennonite-populated county in South Dakota, home to German-speaking Mennonite communities whose ancestors settled from Russia beginning in 1874; several of the county&#8217;s Hutterite colonies still farm communally. Median household income in the county runs below the South Dakota median of $71,810, typical of the state&#8217;s smaller agricultural counties.<\/p>\n<h2>Economy &amp; Local Life<\/h2>\n<p>Agriculture anchors the county economy, with corn, soybeans and cattle the leading enterprises across its rolling farmland. Freeman is home to Freeman Academy, a Mennonite college-prep school, and to Freeman Regional Health Services, the county&#8217;s main hospital. Parkston, the county&#8217;s largest city, serves as a regional trade and grain-shipping point along US 18.<\/p>\n<h2>History<\/h2>\n<p>The South Dakota territorial legislature created Hutchinson County on May 8, 1862, and it organized as a county government in 1871. It was named for John Hutchinson, the territory&#8217;s first secretary. Mennonite and Hutterite settlers arrived from Russia and Ukraine starting in the 1870s, and their descendants&#8217; colonies and church communities remain a defining feature of the county today.<\/p>\n<h2>Getting There<\/h2>\n<p>US Highway 18 crosses the county east-west and US Highway 81 crosses it north-south, with State Highways 25, 37 and 44 providing local connections.<\/p>\n<ul>\n<li>Mitchell, SD &mdash; 20 miles north<\/li>\n<li>Yankton, SD &mdash; 30 miles southeast<\/li>\n<li>Sioux Falls, SD &mdash; 60 miles east<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<p>The nearest commercial airport is Sioux Falls Regional Airport, about an hour&#8217;s drive east.<\/p>\n<h2>Frequently Asked Questions<\/h2>\n<p><strong>Where is Hutchinson County, South Dakota?<\/strong><br \/>\nIt is in the southeastern part of South Dakota, along the James River, between Mitchell and Yankton.<\/p>\n<p><strong>What is the population of Hutchinson County?<\/strong><br \/>\n7,427 as of the 2020 census.<\/p>\n<p><strong>How big is Hutchinson County?<\/strong><br \/>\n813 square miles (2,110 km2) of land, plus 1.5 square miles (3.9 km2) of water.<\/p>\n<p><strong>What is the county seat of Hutchinson County?<\/strong><br \/>\nOlivet is the county seat.<\/p>\n<p><strong>How many towns are in Hutchinson County?<\/strong><br \/>\nTwo cities (Freeman, Parkston) and four towns (Dimock, Menno, Olivet, Tripp), plus seven Hutterite colonies recognized as census-designated places.<\/p>\n<p><strong>What ZIP codes are in Hutchinson County?<\/strong><br \/>\n57029 (Freeman), 57045 (Menno), 57052 (Olivet), 57331 (Dimock), 57366 (Parkston) and 57376 (Tripp).<\/p>\n<p><strong>Why does Hutchinson County have so many Hutterite colonies?<\/strong><br \/>\nGerman-speaking Mennonite and Hutterite settlers arrived from Russia beginning in 1874, and several of their communal farming colonies still operate in the county today.<\/p>\n<p>More counties in this state: <a href=\"https:\/\/townsvillages.com\/us\/category\/south-dakota\/\">Towns and villages in South Dakota<\/a>.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Hutchinson County is a county in South Dakota, United States, in the southeastern part of the state along the James River. It had a population of 7,427 at the 2020 census and covers 813 square miles (2,110 km2) of land centred near 43\u00b020\u2032N 97\u00b045\u2032W. Olivet is the county seat, and its postal code is 57052. [&hellip;]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_seopress_titles_title":"Towns & Villages in Hutchinson County, SD","_seopress_titles_desc":"Hutchinson County, South Dakota: population, ZIP codes, county seat Olivet, and every city, town and Hutterite colony in this James River county.","_seopress_robots_index":"","_seopress_robots_follow":"","_seopress_robots_imageindex":"","_seopress_robots_snippet":"","_seopress_robots_primary_cat":"","_seopress_robots_breadcrumbs":"","_seopress_robots_freeze_modified_date":"","_seopress_robots_custom_modified_date":"","_seopress_robots_canonical":"","_seopress_social_fb_title":"","_seopress_social_fb_desc":"","_seopress_social_fb_img":"","_seopress_social_fb_img_attachment_id":0,"_seopress_social_fb_img_width":0,"_seopress_social_fb_img_height":0,"_seopress_social_twitter_title":"","_seopress_social_twitter_desc":"","_seopress_social_twitter_img":"","_seopress_social_twitter_img_attachment_id":0,"_seopress_social_twitter_img_width":0,"_seopress_social_twitter_img_height":0,"_seopress_redirections_value":"","_seopress_redirections_enabled":"","_seopress_redirections_enabled_regex":"","_seopress_redirections_logged_status":"","_seopress_redirections_param":"","_seopress_redirections_type":0,"_seopress_analysis_target_kw":"","_genesis_hide_title":false,"_genesis_hide_breadcrumbs":false,"_genesis_hide_singular_image":false,"_genesis_hide_footer_widgets":false,"_genesis_custom_body_class":"","_genesis_custom_post_class":"","_genesis_layout":"","_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[48],"tags":[6],"class_list":["post-7514","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","category-south-dakota","tag-towns-and-cities","entry"],"jetpack_featured_media_url":"","jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/townsvillages.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/7514","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/townsvillages.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/townsvillages.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/townsvillages.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/townsvillages.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=7514"}],"version-history":[{"count":2,"href":"https:\/\/townsvillages.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/7514\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":11241,"href":"https:\/\/townsvillages.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/7514\/revisions\/11241"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/townsvillages.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=7514"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/townsvillages.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=7514"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/townsvillages.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=7514"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}