Pennington County, South Dakota Genealogy

Guide to Pennington County, South Dakota ancestry, genealogy and family history, birth records, marriage records, death records, census records, family history, and military records.

Description
The county was named after John L. Pennington, fifth Governor of Dakota Territory, who held office in 1875 when the county was formed. It's county seat is Rapid City. It was organized 1875. It is located in the West corner of the state.

County Courthouse
Pennington County Courthouse 315 S Joseph Street; Rapid City, SD 57709-0230 Phone: 605.394.2575 Register of Deeds has birth and death records from 1905, land records; County Treasurer has marriage records from 1887; Clerk Court has divorce and court records from 1877 and probate records from 1884

Record Loss
There is no known history of courthouse disasters in this county.

Boundary Changes
1875--Pennington County was created 11 January 1875 from unorganized territory. County seat: Rapid City
 * Interactive Formation Boundary Map of North Dakota - shows boundary changes for South Dakota Counties
 * South Dakota Historical Boundary Changes - list of all boundary changes by county provided by Newberry Library

Populated Places
The following are locations in the county

State Census Records

 * 1885 South Dakota, Territorial Census, 1885 at Ancestry ($)
 * 1895 South Dakota, State Census, 1895 at Ancestry ($)

Federal Census Records
Federal Censuses were taken for South Dakota starting in 1910. For links to Federal census indexes, see South Dakota Census.

Church Records
LDS Ward and Branch Records


 * Rapid City

Land and Property Records
Online Land Records


 * Land Patent Search - index to federal patents and homesteads on the Bureau of Land Management website, some images available
 * 1796 - 1907 - U.S. General Land Office Records, 1796-1907 at Ancestry - index, info taken from Bureau of Land Management website
 * 1861 - 1936 - U.S. Homestead Records 1861-1936 at Ancestry.com - ($), index and images

Local Histories

 * Down in Bull Creek. 1975. By Frieda B. Tupper. Clark, South Dakota : F.B. Tupper. Online at: ;.
 * Eastern Pennington County memories. 1965. By American Legion. Auxiliary of Carrol McDonald (Wall, South Dakota) . Wall, South Dakota : American Legion Auxiliary, Carrol McDonald Unit. Online at: ;.
 * A History of Pennington County, S. D.. 1986?. By Pennington County History Book Committee. Rapid City, South Dakota : Pennington County History Book Committee. Online at: ;.
 * Homesteading in the South Dakota badlands. 1971. By Ernest G. Bormann. Stickney, South Dakota : E.G. Bormann. Online at: ;.
 * Keystone Mine. n.d. n.p.: n.p. Online at:.

Maps and Gazetteers

 * Interactive Formation Boundary Map of South Dakota - shows boundary changes for South Dakota Counties
 * Historical Maps and Atlases of South Dakota - maps and atlases of South Dakota

Military Records
Civil War World War I
 * 1861 - 1941 South Dakota, Grand Army of the Republic Membership Records, 1861-1941 at FamilySearch
 * 1861 -1865 at FamilySearch.
 * 1890 at FamilySearch.
 * 1917 - 1918 Roster of the men and women who served in the army or naval service (including the Marine Corps) of the United States or its allies from the state of North Dakota in the World War, 1917-1918, Vols. 1-4 at Ancestry ($)
 * For further information see North Dakota Military Records.

Naturalization and Citizenship

 * 1904 - 1928 South Dakota, Federal Naturalization Records, 1904-1928 at Ancestry — index and images ($)
 * 1865 - 1972 at FamilySearch — images
 * South Dakota Naturalization Records Index:First Papers — index
 * South Dakota Naturalization Records Index:Second Papers — index
 * Name Index to Naturalization Records from Dakota Territory and South Dakota at National Archives, Kansas City — index

Newspapers
 South Dakota Newspapers Online South Dakota Newspaper Catalogs
 * GenealogyBank - ($), contains images of South Dakota newspapers
 * Newspaper Archive - ($), contains images of South Dakota newspapers
 * Chronicling America - contains images of some South Dakota newspapers; searching tips
 * Elephind - Free; search engine that retrieves newspaper images from other free newspaper websites
 * U.S. Newspaper Directory, 1690-Present on Chronicling America - contains a list of all known newspapers and the dates they cover; once you locate a newspaper name, contact the local library to see if they have copies of the newspaper.

Probate Records
Online Records
 * 1800 – 1985 North Dakota and South Dakota Wills and Probate Records 1800-1985 at Ancestry.com — index and images $
 * 1880 – 1937 at FamilySearch Historical Collections — images; suggestion — learn the case number from the Ancestry.com index above

School Records

 * 1879 - 1970 at FamilySearch — index and images
 * 1879 - 1970 South Dakota, School Records,1879-1970 at Ancestry — images

Birth

 * 1843 - 1914 at FamilySearch  — index
 * 1856 - 1950 South Dakota, Birth Index, 1856-1915 at Ancestry  — index ($)
 * Birth Record Search Site For South Dakota Birth Records With Birth Dates Over 100 Years — index

Marriage

 * 1950 - 2014  — index
 * 1905 - 2013 South Dakota, Marriages, 1905-2013 at Ancestry — index and images ($)

Death

 * 1879 - 1955 South Dakota, Death Index, 1879-1955 at Ancestry — index($)

Family History Centers

 * Rapid City South Dakota Family History Center

Societies
Rapid City Society For Genealogical Research P.O. Box 1495 Rapid City, SD 57709-1495 Website

Websites

 * USGenWeb project. May have maps, name indexes, history or other information for this county. Select the state, then the county.