Lemmon, South Dakota

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

Coordinates: 45°56′22″N 102°9′36″W / 45.93944, -102.16
Lemmon, South Dakota
Location in Perkins County and the state of South Dakota
Country	United States
State	South Dakota
County	Perkins
Area
- Total	1 sq mi (2.6 km²)
- Land	1 sq mi (2.6 km²)
- Water	0 sq mi (0 km²)
Elevation	2,569 ft (783 m)
Population (2000)
- Total	1,398
- Density	1,398/sq mi (537.7/km²)
Time zone	Mountain (MST) (UTC-7)
- Summer (DST)	MDT (UTC-6)
ZIP code	57638
Area code(s)	605
FIPS code	46-36340^[1]
GNIS feature ID	1256086^[2]

Lemmon is a city in Perkins County, South Dakota, United States. The population was 1,398 at the 2000 census.

1 Geography
2 Demographics
3 Sites of interest
4 Schools
5 City Government
6 References
7 External links

[edit] Geography

Lemmon is located at 45°56′22″N, 102°9′36″W (45.939375, -102.160128)^[3].

According to the United States Census Bureau, the city has a total area of 1.0 square miles (2.6 km²), all of it land.

Lemmon has been assigned the ZIP code 57638 and the FIPS place code 36340.

[edit] Demographics

As of the census^[1] of 2000, there were 1,398 people, 623 households, and 356 families residing in the city. The population density was 1,378.7 people per square mile (534.4/km²). There were 776 housing units at an average density of 765.3/sq mi (296.6/km²). The racial makeup of the city was 95.99% White, 0.14% African American, 2.65% Native American, 0.36% Asian, 0.29% from other races, and 0.57% from two or more races. Hispanic or Latino of any race were 0.50% of the population.

There were 623 households out of which 25.2% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 47.5% were married couples living together, 7.9% had a female householder with no husband present, and 42.7% were non-families. 40.3% of all households were made up of individuals and 22.2% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 2.15 and the average family size was 2.91.

In the city the population was spread out with 22.9% under the age of 18, 6.3% from 18 to 24, 24.7% from 25 to 44, 18.7% from 45 to 64, and 27.5% who were 65 years of age or older. The median age was 42 years. For every 100 females there were 84.2 males. For every 100 females age 18 and over, there were 81.2 males.

The median income for a household in the city was $28,109, and the median income for a family was $37,813. Males had a median income of $27,426 versus $17,813 for females. The per capita income for the city was $17,272. About 8.0% of families and 12.0% of the population were below the poverty line, including 12.1% of those under age 18 and 16.0% of those age 65 or over.

[edit] Sites of interest

This section does not cite any references or sources. (March 2008)
Please help improve this article by adding citations to reliable sources. Unverifiable material may be challenged and removed.

Lemmon is home to the world’s largest Petrified Wood Park. This tourist attraction fills an entire block of the downtown area and is built entirely of petrified wood, fossils and stone. Construction began in 1930 and continued until 1932 under the supervision of Ole S. Quammen. It was in private ownership until 1954 when it was donated to the city by the heirs of Quamman. The park features a wishing well, waterfall and castle. The castle weighs in at 300 tons and boasts towering spires and turrets. Also in the park are two separate museums. They are both built entirely of petrified wood. The largest of the two is circular has a petrified gras floor along with petrified logs. If you look close you can find dinosaur claws, bird tracks and fossilized snakes in the petrified wood. Also in the museum you can find antiques and artificts from the Lemmon area. The formations in the park number to over 100 and some of them tower up to 20 feet tall.

The Grand River Museum is located on Highway 12. The Museum features exhibits on creation science, fossils, Native Americans, cowboys and ranch life, a full-scale tipi and a model of the Ark. Admission is free.

Lemmon has a 9-hole golf course, an airport, two convenience stores, a Ben Franklin variety store, a hardware store, a grocery store, and many other businesses.

Lemmon is home to the Powderhorn family restaurant, the Sugar Shack, the Alaska Cafe, Benny's steakhouse, and the Chinese Garden.

Many Lemmonites are employed at Wheeler's Manufacturing, which produces jewelry products. Gregorian, Inc., and Dakota Woodcrafts also employ manufacturing workers. Other major employers are the school system and ranches.

David Miller from South Carolina is currently visiting Lemmon.

Lemmon is 3 hours from Sturgis, SD, home of the Sturgis Bike Rally, and 3.5 hours from Mt. Rushmore.

Lemmon is home to 7 churches, 3 financial institutions, a library, and a movie theater.

Lemmon has a clinic, a nursing home, an eye clinic, and a dentistry office.

[edit] Schools

Lemmon's school district includes a high school, an elementary school, and the Progress country school in Meadow. Lemmon's football team won its first ever playoff game in 2006, but it lost to Eureka-Bowdle in the next round.

Lemmon's DI team is traveling to Knoxville the week of May 19.

[edit] City Government

The mayor of Lemmon is currently Neal Pinnow, elected in April 2008 to replace outgoing mayor Wally Dauwen. There are eight members of the city council.