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County · code 46117

Stanley CountySouth Dakota

Stanley County is a county in South Dakota, with its seat at Fort Pierre. The county was founded in 1873 and named after David S. Stanley.

  • Founded1873
  • County seatFort Pierre
  • Named forDavid S. Stanley
  • Land area1,444 sq mi + 73 sq mi water
  • Population2,980 2020 Census
  • Parcels mapped10,798 checked 15 October 2026
Open the free map Click any parcel in Stanley County: acreage, parcel id, address and who publishes the map. No sign-in.

Updated

JonesSullyHughesDeweyHaakonLymanZiebach Fort Pierre Census outline · seat marked

Where it is

Stanley on the map of South Dakota

South Dakota has 66 counties and county equivalents, each with its own records office. Shapes with a page are links.

Aurora CountyBeadle CountyBennett CountyBon Homme CountyBrookings CountyBrown CountyBrule CountyBuffalo CountyButte CountyCampbell CountyCharles Mix CountyClark CountyClay CountyCodington CountyCorson CountyCuster CountyDavison CountyDay CountyDeuel CountyDewey CountyDouglas CountyEdmunds CountyFall River CountyFaulk CountyGrant CountyGregory CountyHaakon CountyHamlin CountyHand CountyHanson CountyHarding CountyHughes CountyHutchinson CountyHyde CountyJackson CountyJerauld CountyJones CountyKingsbury CountyLake CountyLawrence CountyLincoln CountyLyman CountyMcCook CountyMcPherson CountyMarshall CountyMeade CountyMellette CountyMiner CountyMinnehaha CountyMoody CountyOglala Lakota CountyPennington CountyPerkins CountyPotter CountyRoberts CountySanborn CountySpink CountySully CountyTodd CountyTripp CountyTurner CountyUnion CountyWalworth CountyYankton CountyZiebach CountyStanley County Stanley
Counties of South Dakota · Stanley highlighted

History

Founded in 1873

An old deed may name a county that no longer exists, or a boundary that has since moved.

Stanley County became a county in the state of South Dakota on November 2, 1889. The county was fully organized and detached from Hughes on April 23, 1890. Stanley gained territory from multiple sources, including from Jackson, Nowlin, Sterling, and Ziebach between 1893 and 1898, and lost territory to the creation of Haakon in 1914.

Boundary changes from the Newberry Library, Atlas of Historical County Boundaries; the 5 that matter most are shown first.

  1. 1883
    Gained territory Stanley gained from Presho (extinct) and gained part of Non-County Area 7, lost to Pratt (extinct). Stanley was attached to Hughes "for judicial purposes" on 26 January 1887.
    from Preshofrom Prattfrom Hughes
    · Dak. Terr. Laws 1883, 15th sess., ch. 35/p. 52; "Collins v. Lyman County," in S. Dak. Rpts., 30:104-118; Dak. Terr. Laws 1887, 17th sess., ch. 175/p. 372
  2. 1889
    Became part of South Dakota Stanley became a county in the state of South Dakota. · U.S. Stat., vol. 25, ch. 180[1889]/pp. 676-684; U.S. Stat., vol. 26, no. 5/pp. 1548-1549; Swindler, 9:107-109; Van Zandt, 134
  3. 1909
    Eliminated Jackson eliminated, ending its attachment to Stanley.
    into Jackson
    · S. Dak. Laws 1909, 11th sess., ch. 280/pp. 427-429
  4. 1911
    Eliminated Sterling eliminated, ending its attachment to Stanley.
    into Sterling
    · S. Dak. Laws 1911, 12th sess., ch. 107/p. 137
  5. 1953
    Eliminated Armstrong eliminated, ending its attachment to Stanley.
    into Armstrong
    · S. Dak. Laws 1951, 32d sess., ch. 37/p. 38; S. Dak. Code 1939, 1:339
Show all 14 changes (9 more)
  1. 1883
    Gained territory Stanley gained from Presho (extinct) and gained part of Non-County Area 7, lost to Pratt (extinct). Stanley was attached to Hughes "for judicial purposes" on 26 January 1887.
    from Preshofrom Prattfrom Hughes
    · Dak. Terr. Laws 1883, 15th sess., ch. 35/p. 52; "Collins v. Lyman County," in S. Dak. Rpts., 30:104-118; Dak. Terr. Laws 1887, 17th sess., ch. 175/p. 372
  2. 1889
    Became part of South Dakota Stanley became a county in the state of South Dakota. · U.S. Stat., vol. 25, ch. 180[1889]/pp. 676-684; U.S. Stat., vol. 26, no. 5/pp. 1548-1549; Swindler, 9:107-109; Van Zandt, 134
  3. 1890
    Changed Attachment of Stanley to Hughes “for the levy and collection of taxes therein” was confirmed.
    Hughes
    · S. Dak. Laws 1890, 1st sess., ch. 65/p. 159
  4. 1890
    Changed Stanley fully organized, detached from Hughes.
    Hughes
    · "Dakota's Counties," 13
  5. 1893
    Changed Jackson detached from Pennington, attached to Stanley; Nowlin (extinct) and Sterling (extinct) detached from Meade, attached to Stanley; Pyatt (later Armstrong, extinct) detached from Lawrence, attached to Stanley. All attachments were “for judicial purposes.”
    JacksonPenningtonNowlinSterlingMeadePyattArmstrongLawrence
    · S. Dak. Laws 1893, 3d sess., ch. 50/p. 79
  6. 1893
    Gained territory Stanley gained from Nowlin (extinct), Pratt (extinct), Pyatt (later Armstrong, extinct), Sterling (extinct), and gained part of Non-County Area 7.
    from Nowlinfrom Prattfrom Pyattfrom Armstrongfrom Sterling
    · S. Dak. Laws 1893, 3d sess., ch. 46/p. 76
  7. 1895
    Changed Attachment of Jackson, Nowlin (extinct), Pyatt (later Armstrong, extinct), and Sterling (extinct) to Stanley “for judicial purposes” was confirmed.
    JacksonNowlinPyattArmstrongSterling
    · S. Dak. Laws 1895, 4th sess., ch. 48/pp. 53-54
  8. 1898
    Gained territory Stanley gained from Armstrong (extinct), Jackson, Nowlin (extinct), Sterling (extinct), and Ziebach (original, extinct). Nowlin and Ziebach (original) eliminated, ending Nowlin's attachment to Stanley.
    from Armstrongfrom Jacksonfrom Nowlinfrom Sterlingfrom Ziebach
    · S. Dak. Laws 1897, 5th sess., ch. 41/p. 90; Early History of South Dakota Counties, 102
  9. 1909
    Eliminated Jackson eliminated, ending its attachment to Stanley.
    into Jackson
    · S. Dak. Laws 1909, 11th sess., ch. 280/pp. 427-429
  10. 1911
    Eliminated Sterling eliminated, ending its attachment to Stanley.
    into Sterling
    · S. Dak. Laws 1911, 12th sess., ch. 107/p. 137
  11. 1914
    Lost territory Stanley lost to creation of Haakon, and lost to re-creation of Jackson.
    to Haakonto Jackson
    · S. Dak. Comp. Laws 1929, 1:146-147, 150; HRS S. Dak., Haakon, 3; S. Dak. Code 1939, 1:323-325
  12. 1919
    Changed Attachment of Armstrong (extinct) to Stanley “for judicial purposes” was confirmed.
    Armstrong
    · S. Dak. Laws 1918, 15th sess., spec., ch. 354/p. 434
  13. 1923
    Changed Attachment of Armstrong (extinct) to Stanley “for judicial purposes” was confirmed.
    Armstrong
    · S. Dak. Laws 1923, 18th sess., ch. 304/p. 319
  14. 1953
    Eliminated Armstrong eliminated, ending its attachment to Stanley.
    into Armstrong
    · S. Dak. Laws 1951, 32d sess., ch. 37/p. 38; S. Dak. Code 1939, 1:339

Land and parcels

What the maps cover in Stanley

Who publishes each layer, how good it is, and when we last checked.

Official
from the office that keeps the record
Good enough
a reliable statewide or national copy
Fallback
a guide only; check the official record
Missing
nothing public found yet

People and land

Stanley by the Census

Population
2,980 2020 Census count
Housing units
1,427 2020 Census count
Land area
1,444 square miles
Water area
73 square miles
People per sq mi
2 population ÷ land area

Source: US Census Bureau, 2020 Census; US Census Bureau, 2020 Gazetteer Files. Not endorsed or certified by the Census Bureau.

Rules and offices

Who to ask before you build, dig or sell

Official county pages only. We link to them; we do not copy them, because they change.

Inside a city or town, permits usually come from that city rather than the county.

Zoning and code

County government

See your own lot on these maps

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Questions

Common questions about Stanley County

When was Stanley County founded?
Stanley County was founded in 1873, and named after David S. Stanley.
What is the county seat of Stanley County?
The county seat of Stanley County is Fort Pierre.
Is there an online parcel map for Stanley County?
Yes. Stanley County publishes a parcel map of 10,798 parcels, rated good enough here. You can click any parcel on it in Parcel Chart's free map, no sign-in needed.
Has Stanley County's boundary or name changed?
Atlas of Historical County Boundaries records 14 changes for Stanley County. Since then the Atlas of Historical County Boundaries records 14 later changes, chiefly involving Armstrong County, Jackson County and Sterling County.
Is my lot in a flood zone?
We do not have flood maps for Stanley County yet. Look up the address on FEMA's Flood Map Service Center, which shows the effective flood map for any lot.

Nearby

Counties next door