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South Dakota County
Butte County, South Dakota
Belle Fourche - the geographic center of the United States - from Belle Fourche's geographic distinction (the geographic center of the 50 United States - calculated after Alaska and Hawaii's admission - falls in Butte County near Belle Fourche, making it the most central community in America and earning the Center of the Nation monument on the edge of town) to Belle Fourche's cattle shipping heritage (the town at the confluence of the Belle Fourche and Redwater rivers was once the largest cattle shipping point in the world - the northern ranges' cattle drives converged on Belle Fourche's stockyards, and the town's cowboy heritage is celebrated at the Black Hills Roundup rodeo, one of the oldest rodeos in the US).
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Office: Butte County Emergency Management – Butte County Courthouse, 839 5th Avenue, Belle Fourche, SD 57717
Services: Provides disaster and emergency planning/aid to government, public, and private interests; assists with training and funding for local law enforcement, fire, and EMS; liaises with volunteer fire departments countywide
Related: Butte County Sheriff’s Office – 839 5th Avenue, Belle Fourche, SD 57717, (605) 892-3324, 24/7; Butte County Dispatch – handles ~80% Belle Fourche calls, ~20% covering Nisland, Newell, Vale, Hoover, Aladdin, Alzada, and Harding County; Butte County Ambulance Service – board meets 4th Thursday monthly at the Belle Fourche Ambulance Hall.
Roads & Utilities
ROADS & TRANSPORTATION
Roads: US-85 and SD-34/79 serve Belle Fourche, the county seat, on the northern slopes of the Black Hills in western South Dakota near the Wyoming and Montana borders
Transit: Limited; primarily auto-dependent – confirm current regional options directly with the county.
Business & Permits
BUILDING & PERMITS
Office: Butte County Equalization and Planning – 830 6th Avenue, Belle Fourche, SD 57717 | (605) 892-3950
Services: Building permits and land use planning for unincorporated Butte County outside Belle Fourche city limits
Notes: City of Belle Fourche Engineering Department issues its own separate permits for in-city construction – (605) 723-9340; addresses outside city limits must go through the county office above.
Veterans Services
VETERANS SERVICES
County VSO: Butte County Veterans Service Officer – Butte County Courthouse, Belle Fourche, SD
Libraries
LIBRARIES
System: Belle Fourche Public Library – 905 5th Ave, Belle Fourche, SD 57717
Services: E-books, public computers, interlibrary loans, streaming movies, children’s programs, a South Dakota Room dedicated to local and Black Hills history, and microfilm access to the Belle Fourche newspaper dating back to 1896 with an obituary index.
Parks & Recreation
PARKS & RECREATION
Key Assets: Butte County’s seat, Belle Fourche, is genuinely and officially home to the GEOGRAPHIC CENTER OF THE NATION – the precise point that became the calculated geographic center of the 50 United States the moment Hawaii joined the Union on August 21, 1959, shifting the designation more than 200 miles from its former home in Smith Center, Kansas; the U.S. Coast and Geodetic Survey (predecessor to today’s National Geodetic Survey) officially pinpointed the new center at latitude 44°58′ North, longitude 103°46′ West – a spot roughly 20 miles north of Belle Fourche, on private farmland; for decades, the actual site was marked only by a modest metal survey pole and a flag planted in a pasture, a marker so unassuming that, as one local chamber of commerce representative memorably put it, “we haven’t even had a post card, because a post card of a fence post really doesn’t cut it”; because Belle Fourche was recognized as the nearest town to the true center – falling well within the calculation’s margin of error – the community’s Chamber of Commerce and a dedicated planning committee decided the milestone deserved a proper monument, and on August 21, 2007, timed to coincide with the approaching 50th anniversary of Hawaii’s statehood, Belle Fourche unveiled its elaborate Geographic Center of the Nation Monument; designed by local artist Monte Amende, the monument is a striking 21-foot-diameter, 54,000-pound compass rose crafted from South Dakota granite and etched with a detailed map of the United States, featuring a 12-inch bronze marker provided by the National Geodetic Survey at its heart, and ringed by an “Avenue of Flags” displaying all 50 state flags alongside the national flags of the United States and Canada; the monument sits adjacent to the Center of the Nation Visitor Center and Tri-State Museum at 415 5th Avenue, is free to visit, and remains accessible 24 hours a day, year-round – a genuinely striking must-stop landmark for travelers passing through western South Dakota
Notes: Belle Fourche’s genuine, extensively documented status as the official Geographic Center of the Nation – commemorated with a beautifully designed public monument – is one of the most distinctive geographic landmarks found anywhere in this project.
GIS & Maps
GIS & MAPS
GIS Portal: Butte County GIS – accessible via buttesd.org
Parcel Search: Butte County Equalization Office
Addressing/911: Coordinated through Butte County Dispatch
Animal Services
ANIMAL SERVICES
Notes: No dedicated county-run animal shelter or animal control department was confirmed in available sources for Butte County. For strays or animal concerns, contact the Butte County Sheriff’s Office, (605) 892-3324. Local veterinary clinics (e.g., Belle Fourche Veterinary Clinic) can also provide guidance – contact directly to confirm whether they assist with strays or referrals to regional shelters.
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. Belle Fourche Dam (Orman Dam), built 1911, created the Belle Fourche Reservoir, Belle Fourche National Wildlife Refuge, and Rocky Point Recreation Area, all within the county.
NOTES
Butte County’s seat, Belle Fourche, is genuinely home to the official Geographic Center of the Nation, marked by an elaborate granite monument unveiled in 2007. All contact information above was sourced from official county, city, library, and courthouse pages as of this writing; phone numbers and hours should be reconfirmed directly with the relevant office before a visit.
About Butte County
Butte County is the geographic center of the United States – the Center of the Nation monument near Belle Fourche marks the most central point in America, and the town’s historic cattle shipping legacy as the world’s largest cattle shipping point gives it two extraordinary distinctions.
Belle Fourche (the county seat, population ~5,600) celebrates both identities – the Center of the Nation monument draws visitors and the Black Hills Roundup rodeo honors the cattle heritage.
All Services
Browse every category and topic available for this county.
Butte County Director of Equalization at 839 5th Avenue, Belle Fourche, SD 57717, phone 605-892-3991. SD residential owner-occupied exemptions apply.
Courts & Legal
Butte County Circuit Court at 839 5th Avenue, Belle Fourche, SD 57717, phone 605-892-2516, handles probate.
Marriage & Vital Records
Marriage licenses, divorce records, and birth & death certificates are handled by the following office(s):
CLERK OF COURTS
839 5th Ave, Belle Fourche, SD 57717
(605) 892-4212
Genealogy
County-level record sources
Butte County Clerk of Courts, Belle Fourche (probate/estate case files – see Probate section above).
The 1911 Butte County Courthouse and Historic Jail Building, NRHP-listed, is a significant local landmark tied to the growth of local government in western plains communities.
Local societies
No dedicated Butte 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, Butte County 839 5th Avenue, Belle Fourche, SD 57717 (605) 892-2516
Butte County was established in 1883, named for the hills within it, in northwestern South Dakota, seated in Belle Fourche. The 1911 Butte County Courthouse and Historic Jail Building, Beaux Arts/Classical Revival in style, is listed on the National Register of Historic Places, notable for its association with local figure Seth Bullock.
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 Butte 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 Butte 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
839 5th Ave, Belle Fourche, SD 57717
(605) 892-2515
Elections & Voting
Voter registration, polling locations, and elections information are handled by the following office(s):
AUDITOR (ELECTIONS)
839 5th Ave, Belle Fourche, SD 57717
(605) 892-4472
Health & Human Services
Offices & Contacts
Health services, social services, and assistance programs are handled by the following office(s):
Health Department
1418 5th Ave, Belle Fourche, SD 57717
(605) 892-2517
Department of Social Services
1418 5th Ave, Belle Fourche, SD 57717
(605) 892-2517
Public Health Information
PUBLIC HEALTH
Office: Butte County Public Health Nursing Service – Belle Fourche, SD
Services: Immunizations, WIC, environmental health, vital records
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