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South Dakota County
Beadle County, South Dakota
Huron's Pheasant Capital and the world's largest pheasant statue - from Huron's pheasant hunting heritage (the ring-necked pheasant - introduced to South Dakota in 1898 - found its ideal habitat in the James River valley's grain fields and wetlands, and South Dakota produces more pheasants than any other state - Huron's position as the gateway to the premier pheasant hunting region has made it the Pheasant Capital of the World, celebrated by a 28-foot fiberglass pheasant statue on the edge of town) to Huron's status as the birthplace of Hubert Humphrey (the 38th Vice President of the United States was born in Wallace, South Dakota but grew up in Huron, and the Hubert H. Humphrey Drugstore on Dakota Avenue is preserved as a heritage site).
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Office: Beadle County Office of Emergency Management – 450 3rd St SW, Ste 102, Huron, SD 57350
Services: Preparedness, response, recovery, and mitigation for county disasters; liaison to the SD state Emergency Operations Center; SARA Title II hazardous chemical inventory reporting; floodplain administration; Beadle County Dive Team (water rescue/recovery); largely volunteer-staffed including the Huron Amateur Radio Club (CERT and storm spotters)
Related: Huron Police Department dispatch – handles all 911 calls for the City of Huron and all of Beadle County, plus Hand, Jerauld, and Kingsbury counties.
Roads & Utilities
ROADS & TRANSPORTATION
Roads: US-14 and SD-37 serve Huron, the county seat, in the James River Valley of east-central South Dakota
Transit: Limited; primarily auto-dependent – confirm current regional options directly with the county.
Business & Permits
BUILDING & PERMITS
Office: Beadle County Planning & Zoning – Beadle County Courthouse, Huron, SD
Services: Issues county building permits (except within the City of Huron, which handles its own), 911 addresses, plats, conditional use permits, and variances; also reviews Concentrated Animal Feeding Operations (CAFOs)
Notes: A permit is required for construction or dirt work within a designated flood plain – available online under Forms or through the Director of Equalization Office or Emergency Management Office.
Veterans Services
VETERANS SERVICES
County VSO: Beadle County Veterans Service Officer (also serves as Emergency Management Director) – (605) 353-8415
Services: Books, ebooks, audiobooks, DVDs, interlibrary loans, genealogy resources, Karen and Spanish-language collections, public computers, meeting space; serves the City of Huron and Beadle County
Parks & Recreation
PARKS & RECREATION
Key Assets: Beadle County’s seat, Huron, is genuinely home to the WORLD’S LARGEST PHEASANT, a striking 28-foot-tall, 22-ton fiberglass-and-steel roadside sculpture spanning more than 40 feet from beak to tail, standing prominently along US Highway 14 since 1959; the statue celebrates Huron’s longstanding reputation as one of the premier pheasant hunting destinations in the entire country – the region proudly calls itself part of “Ringneck Nation,” drawing thousands of hunters from around the world each fall for what is widely regarded as some of the finest pheasant hunting conditions anywhere; local lore surrounding the statue traces back playfully to the earliest Dakota Territory settlers of the 1880s, who spun tall tales of a legendary giant pheasant said to have carved the region’s creeks and river valleys with its footprints and painted rainbows across the prairie sky with its flashing feathers in flight – a beloved piece of frontier folklore that the community still celebrates today with an annual local tradition held just before pheasant hunting season opens each year; beyond its famous bird, Huron is also genuinely the year-round home of the SOUTH DAKOTA STATE FAIR, the state’s largest annual event, held each year in the days leading up to Labor Day, drawing crowds from across the region for concerts, rodeo events, and carnival attractions at the historic State Fairgrounds, which also houses the Dakotaland Museum, preserving antique agricultural equipment, vintage automobiles, and pioneer-era artifacts documenting the area’s settlement history
Notes: Huron’s genuine, extensively documented status as home to both the World’s Largest Pheasant and the South Dakota State Fair reflects a distinctly and proudly local sense of civic pride – “doing big things,” as the town’s own tourism materials describe it.
GIS & Maps
GIS & MAPS
GIS Portal: Beadle County GIS – accessible via beadlesd.org
Parcel Search: Beadle County Director of Equalization
Addressing/911: Coordinated through Beadle County Planning & Zoning (911 Addresses)
Animal Services
ANIMAL SERVICES
Facility: Beadle County Humane Society – 5063 Dakota Avenue S, Huron, SD 57350 | (605) 352-8955 | Email: [email protected] | Hours: Mon, Tue, Thu, Fri 8 AM–4 PM, every other Sat 8 AM–12 PM (closed Wed and Sun)
Services: Provides shelter, animal control, and abuse-situation investigation for Beadle County; funded through city/county animal control support, impound and adoption fees, and donations; governed by a volunteer board of directors; emphasizes spay/neuter education
Notes: Adoption fees and process vary by situation – call ahead to confirm current details.
Environmental & Waste
ENVIRONMENTAL / WASTE MANAGEMENT
Environmental Complaints: South Dakota Department of Agriculture and Natural Resources (DANR) – danr.sd.gov
Notes: Contact your specific municipality directly for current refuse collection and recycling program details.
NOTES
Beadle County’s seat, Huron, is genuinely home to the World’s Largest Pheasant statue and the South Dakota State Fair, the state’s largest annual event. All contact information above was sourced from official county, city, library, and shelter pages as of this writing; phone numbers and hours should be reconfirmed directly with the relevant office before a visit.
About Beadle County
Beadle County is South Dakota’s Pheasant Capital – the James River valley’s grain fields and wetlands produce more pheasants than anywhere in America, and Huron’s 28-foot pheasant statue and Vice President Hubert Humphrey’s hometown heritage make it one of South Dakota’s most distinctive small cities.
Huron (the county seat, population ~13,000) is the pheasant hunting hub for the James River valley – fall hunting season brings thousands of hunters from across the country.
All Services
Browse every category and topic available for this county.
Beadle County Director of Equalization at 450 3rd Street SW, Huron, SD 57350, phone 605-353-8406. SD residential owner-occupied exemptions apply.
Courts & Legal
Beadle County Circuit Court at 450 3rd Street SW, Huron, SD 57350, phone 605-353-8441, handles probate.
Marriage & Vital Records
Marriage licenses, divorce records, and birth & death certificates are handled by the following office(s):
CLERK OF COURTS
450 3rd St SW, Huron, SD 57350
(605) 353-8443
Genealogy
County-level record sources
Beadle County Clerk of Courts, Huron (probate/estate case files – see Probate section above).
Local societies
No dedicated Beadle County genealogical society was confirmed in available directories.
Probate & Estate
Losing someone and having to deal with courts and paperwork at the same time is hard. This section won’t make that easier, but it should tell you what to expect, what it costs, and where to go – so at least you’re not walking in blind.
Where to go
Clerk of Courts, Beadle County 450 3rd Street SW, Huron, SD 57350 (605) 353-7165 Beadle County is in east-central South Dakota, seated in Huron.
Step 1: figure out which path applies
South Dakota HAS adopted the Uniform Probate Code (Articles I, II, III, IV, and VIII, effective July 1, 1995). Probate proceedings are handled by the Circuit Court in the county where the decedent lived, generally administered under the supervision of the Clerk of Courts.
Small Estate Affidavit – Collection of Personal Property (SDCL § 29A-3-1201) – available when the total gross value of the entire estate, wherever located, less liens and encumbrances, does not exceed $50,000. At least 30 days must have passed since death, no petition for appointment of a personal representative is pending or has been granted anywhere, and the decedent had no outstanding debts to the Department of Social Services for medical assistance or institutional/nursing home care. A separate affidavit exists for South Dakota real estate under $50,000, which must also be filed with the Register of Deeds where the property sits.
Informal Probate – the most common track in South Dakota, used when heirs and beneficiaries are getting along and no disputes are expected.
Unsupervised Formal Probate and Supervised Formal Probate – for more complex or contested situations.
Step 2: filing for administration
The personal representative (or an interested party) files an application or petition with the Clerk of Courts in Beadle County, along with the original will if one exists.
For informal probate, the clerk reviews the application administratively and issues Letters Testamentary or Letters of Administration without a hearing in most cases.
Formal proceedings require notice to interested parties and, if contested, a hearing before the circuit judge.
The personal representative gathers and inventories assets, notifies creditors, and pays valid debts and expenses.
After debts and taxes are satisfied, remaining assets are distributed according to the will or South Dakota’s intestacy statutes (SDCL Chapter 29A-2).
The estate is formally closed by filing a sworn closing statement or a petition for formal order of discharge (SDCL § 29A-3-1003).
What it costs
Court costs are set by law and paid to the Clerk of Courts; confirm current fees with Beadle County directly.
South Dakota has NO state estate tax and NO state inheritance tax. Only the federal estate tax may apply, and only to very large estates.
A surviving spouse cannot be disinherited in South Dakota unless the spouse agrees.
Probate filings, estate administration, and guardianship matters are handled by the following office(s):
Public Safety & Arrests
Arrest records, inmate search, and law enforcement services are handled by the following office(s):
SHERIFF
450 3rd St SW, Huron, SD 57350
(605) 353-8460
Elections & Voting
Voter registration, polling locations, and elections information are handled by the following office(s):
AUDITOR (ELECTIONS)
450 3rd St SW, Huron, SD 57350
(605) 353-8402
Health & Human Services
Offices & Contacts
Health services, social services, and assistance programs are handled by the following office(s):
Health Department
2000 Community Cir, Huron, SD 57350
(605) 353-7150
Department of Social Services
2000 Community Cir, Huron, SD 57350
(605) 353-7160
Public Health Information
PUBLIC HEALTH
Office: James Valley Community Health Center – 1000 18th St SW, Suite 27, Huron, SD 57350 | (605) 554-1015
Related: Beadle County Public Health Nursing Service – 1000 18th St SW, Suite 4, Huron, SD 57350, (605) 353-7135, Hours: Mon–Fri 8 AM–5 PM; Beadle County WIC – same address, (605) 353-7135.
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Last verified June 2026
County Facts
County Seat: Huron
Population: 18,500
Established: 1879
Tier: 3
Public Records
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