Lyman County is a county in South Dakota, United States, in the central part of the state along the Missouri and White rivers. It had a population of 3,718 at the 2020 census and covers 1,707 square miles (4,420 km2), of which 1,642 square miles are land and 65 square miles are water, centred near 43°54′N 99°51′W.<\/p>\n
Kennebec is the county seat, and its postal code is 57544. The county has one city, three towns, three census-designated places, and a handful of unincorporated communities, most of them on the Lower Brule Indian Reservation. Lyman County lies in the Central time zone.<\/p>\n
Ten named places appear across Lyman County’s incorporated and unincorporated map. Presho is the county’s only city; Kennebec, Oacoma and Reliance are towns; Lower Brule, Vivian and West Brule are census-designated places on or near the reservation; the rest are unincorporated communities.<\/p>\n
| Place<\/th>\n | Type<\/th>\n | Pop.<\/th>\n | ZIP<\/th>\n<\/tr>\n<\/thead>\n |
|---|---|---|---|
| Kennebec<\/td>\n | Town · seat<\/td>\n | —<\/td>\n | 57544<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n |
| Presho<\/td>\n | City<\/td>\n | —<\/td>\n | 57568<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n |
| Oacoma<\/td>\n | Town<\/td>\n | —<\/td>\n | 57365<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n |
| Reliance<\/td>\n | Town<\/td>\n | —<\/td>\n | 57569<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n |
| Lower Brule<\/td>\n | CDP<\/td>\n | —<\/td>\n | 57548<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n |
| Vivian<\/td>\n | CDP<\/td>\n | —<\/td>\n | 57576<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n |
| West Brule<\/td>\n | CDP<\/td>\n | —<\/td>\n | —<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n |
| Iona<\/td>\n | Unincorp.<\/td>\n | —<\/td>\n | —<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n |
| Lyman<\/td>\n | Unincorp.<\/td>\n | —<\/td>\n | —<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n |
| Council House<\/td>\n | Unincorp.<\/td>\n | —<\/td>\n | —<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<\/tbody>\n<\/table>\n<\/div>\n Lower Brule, West Brule, Iona, Lyman and Council House all sit within or beside the Lower Brule Indian Reservation, the tribal land base of the Lower Brule Sioux Tribe, in the county’s northeastern corner along the Missouri River.<\/p>\n ZIP Codes<\/h2>\nWest Brule, Iona, Lyman and Council House have no post office of their own and are served by the nearest listed ZIP code.<\/p>\n Geography<\/h2>\nLyman County sits on the west bank of the Missouri River, in the mixed-grass prairie of central South Dakota. The Missouri forms most of the county’s eastern edge, backed up as Lake Sharpe and Lake Francis Case behind the Big Bend and Fort Randall dams; the White River drains the county’s southwestern reaches. Land away from the river breaks is rolling, largely treeless rangeland and cropland.<\/p>\n The county borders Hughes County to the north, Hyde and Buffalo counties to the east, Brule and Charles Mix counties to the southeast, Gregory and Tripp counties to the south, Mellette and Jones counties to the west, and Stanley County to the northwest.<\/p>\n Demographics<\/h2>\nLyman County had 3,718 residents at the 2020 census, spread across 1,642 square miles of land for a density of roughly 2.3 people per square mile — among the more sparsely settled counties in the state. Presho and Lower Brule are the largest communities. A substantial share of the county’s population lives on or near the Lower Brule Indian Reservation. Median household income in the county runs well below the South Dakota median of $71,810, reflecting a rural, ranching-and-farming economic base with limited wage employment outside Presho and the tribal government.<\/p>\n Economy & Local Life<\/h2>\nCattle ranching and small-grain and hay farming are the backbone of the county’s economy, on land that is more grazing range than row crop. The Lower Brule Sioux Tribe, headquartered in Lower Brule, is one of the county’s largest employers, running tribal government offices, a farm and ranch enterprise, and the Golden Buffalo Casino & Resort on the riverbank. Presho, on the Interstate 90 corridor a few miles south, serves as the county’s retail and services hub, with grain elevators, a school, and highway-travel businesses built around the interstate exit.<\/p>\n History<\/h2>\nThe Dakota Territorial Legislature created Lyman County on January 8, 1873, though it was not organized as a functioning county government until May 21, 1893. Its boundaries were adjusted several more times, in 1891, 1897, 1898 and 1916, as neighboring counties were carved out. The county is named for W. P. Lyman, a territorial-era politician. Oacoma served as the first county seat; the seat moved to Kennebec in 1922, where it has remained. The Lower Brule Indian Reservation, established in the 19th century for the Lower Brule Sioux Tribe, occupies much of the county’s northeastern portion along the Missouri.<\/p>\n Getting There<\/h2>\nInterstate 90 crosses the county’s southeastern corner near Oacoma, where it meets US Highway 183, the county’s main north–south route through Presho and Kennebec.<\/p>\n
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