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South Dakota · Glacial Lakes · #511
Codington County, South Dakota
In the glacial lake country of northeast South Dakota where a retreating glacier left behind dozens of prairie lakes, Codington County's Watertown serves as the regional hub for a wide swath of the northeastern plains - a reliable small city in landscape that rewards patience and careful looking.
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Office: Codington County Emergency Management – 119 S Maple, Watertown, SD 57201 | (605) 882-6272 | Office located in the basement of the Law Enforcement Center
Services: Assists the County Commission, municipalities, and individuals with response, recovery, mitigation, and preparedness; assists with disaster declarations, coordinating with State Emergency Management and FEMA
Related: After-hours emergency contact – Watertown Police Department dispatch, (605) 882-6210; Codington County Search and Rescue (CCSAR).
Roads & Utilities
ROADS & TRANSPORTATION
Roads: I-29 and US-212 serve Watertown, the county seat, in northeastern South Dakota between Pelican Lake and Lake Kampeska
Transit: Limited; primarily auto-dependent – confirm current regional options directly with the county.
Business & Permits
BUILDING & PERMITS
Office: Codington County Zoning Office – building permit applications available at the Codington County Extension Office or online
Services: Zoning administration and enforcement; building permits for unincorporated Codington County
Notes: Beginning construction without a permit may incur an administrative fee up to 200% of the standard permit fee.
Veterans Services
VETERANS SERVICES
County VSO: Codington County Veterans Service Officer – Codington County Courthouse, Watertown, SD
Services: Books, audiobooks, movies, music CDs, meeting rooms, art displays, tax forms, electronic databases, WiFi, interlibrary loan, homebound/senior care delivery, extensive children’s and teen programming; free for Watertown/Codington County residents.
Parks & Recreation
PARKS & RECREATION
Key Assets: Codington County’s seat, Watertown, is genuinely and proudly the hometown of TERRY REDLIN, one of America’s most popular and prolific wildlife artists, and home to the REDLIN ART CENTER, his personal $10 million gift to the community; born and raised in Watertown, young Terry originally dreamed of becoming a forest ranger, spending his childhood fishing, hunting, and exploring the lakes, woods, and prairies of northeastern South Dakota – a passion that would later directly inspire his artwork – but at age 15, a motorcycle accident resulted in the loss of one of his legs, a life-altering event he later said felt “like the end of my world”; South Dakota’s scholarship program for students with disabilities awarded young Terry $1,500, funding that allowed him to attend art school and ultimately launch a career as a commercial artist before becoming one of the nation’s most celebrated wildlife and rural-life painters – during the 1990s, gallery surveys conducted by U.S. Art magazine repeatedly named him “America’s most popular artist”; in the early 1990s, Terry’s son Charles convinced his father to stop selling his original oil paintings so that a permanent public gallery could someday be built to share them, and Terry agreed on one condition: the building had to be constructed in his hometown of Watertown, as a way of repaying the state for the scholarship that had changed his life; designed by Charles Redlin himself, the 52,000-square-foot Redlin Art Center opened its doors on June 7, 1997, and today displays over 160 of Terry’s original oil paintings – nearly every piece he created since 1985, along with select earlier works acquired later through a 1999 auction purchase – spread across three galleries, entirely free to the public; the center sits on 30 acres of prairie grasses and wetlands that serve as a genuine “living painting,” reflecting the same rural Watertown landscapes, sunsets, and lakeside scenes – inspired in large part by the nearby waters of Pelican Lake and Lake Kampeska – that fill Redlin’s canvases; beyond his art, Redlin was also a major conservation philanthropist, donating a record $28 million to Ducks Unlimited over his lifetime
Notes: The Redlin Art Center’s genuine, extensively documented origin story – a disabled teenager’s state scholarship repaid decades later with a $10 million gift to his hometown – is one of the most heartwarming cultural landmarks found anywhere in this project.
GIS & Maps
GIS & MAPS
GIS Portal: Codington County GIS Data – accessible via codington.org
Parcel Search: Codington County Director of Equalization – (605) 882-6274
Addressing/911: Coordinated through Codington County Emergency Management
Animal Services
ANIMAL SERVICES
Facility: Codington County Humane Society / Humane Society Animal Shelter – 6th Avenue NW, Watertown, SD | Hours: Mon–Sat 9 AM–5 PM (closed Sun)
Services: Provides temporary housing, care, and adoption for stray, unwanted, and owner-relinquished cats and dogs
Related: Sarah’s Treasures Rescue – a separate rescue organization also serving Watertown.
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. Sandy Shore Recreation Area on Lake Kampeska is South Dakota’s smallest state park at just 19 acres.
NOTES
Codington County’s seat, Watertown, is genuinely home to the Redlin Art Center, wildlife artist Terry Redlin’s $10 million gift to his hometown. 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 Codington County
Codington County sits in the heart of South Dakota’s Glacial Lakes region – the terrain left by the last great ice sheet, dotted with hundreds of small lakes and prairie potholes that provide extraordinary waterfowl habitat and attract hunters and anglers from across the region. Lake Kampeska and Lake Pelican, the largest lakes near Watertown, draw summer recreation. Watertown itself is a comfortable regional hub providing healthcare (Prairie Lakes Health System), retail, and professional services to surrounding rural counties. Lake Area Technical College serves workforce development. South Dakota’s no-income-tax, no-estate-tax environment makes the state favorable for retirees and families.
All Services
Browse every category and topic available for this county.
South Dakota assesses property at 100% of market value. Property owners may appeal to the County Board of Equalization. South Dakota has no income, estate, or inheritance tax.
Courts & Legal
Courts & Legal
SENIOR SERVICES
Northeastern South Dakota Area Agency on Aging
P.O. Box 1449, Aberdeen, SD 57402
Phone: (605) 626-2546
Senior transportation, Meals on Wheels, and long-term care counseling for Codington County residents.
Senior Services
Northeastern South Dakota Area Agency on Aging
P.O. Box 1449, Aberdeen, SD 57402
Phone: (605) 626-2546
Senior transportation, Meals on Wheels, and long-term care counseling for Codington County residents.
Marriage & Vital Records
Marriage licenses, divorce records, and birth & death certificates are handled by the following office(s):
CLERK OF COURTS
14 1st Ave SE, Watertown, SD 57201
(605) 882-5077
Genealogy
County-level record sources
Codington County Clerk of Courts, Watertown (probate/estate case files – see Probate section above).
The 1929 Codington County Courthouse, NRHP-listed, is a significant local landmark with murals by artist Vincent Aderente.
Local societies
No dedicated Codington 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, Codington County 14 1st Avenue SE, Watertown, SD 57201 (605) 882-5095
Codington County is in northeastern South Dakota, seated in Watertown – one of the state’s more populous counties. The 1929 Codington County Courthouse, Classical Revival in style with a rotunda featuring murals by Vincent Aderente, is listed on the National Register of Historic Places.
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 Codington 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 Codington 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
22 2nd St SE, Watertown, SD 57201
(605) 882-5177
Elections & Voting
Voter registration, polling locations, and elections information are handled by the following office(s):
AUDITOR (ELECTIONS)
14 1st Ave SE, Watertown, SD 57201
(605) 882-5090
Health & Human Services
Offices & Contacts
Health services, social services, and assistance programs are handled by the following office(s):
Health Department
1105 6th Ave SE, Watertown, SD 57201
(605) 882-5148
Department of Social Services
715 South Maple St, Watertown, SD 57201
(605) 882-5089
Public Health Information
PUBLIC HEALTH
Office: Codington County Public Health Nursing Office – Watertown, SD
Services: Immunizations, WIC, environmental health, vital records
Related: Codington County Community Services – 7 West Kemp, Watertown, SD 57201, (605) 882-6286, Hours: Mon–Fri 9 AM–4 PM, emergency assistance for qualifying indigent county residents.
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Last verified June 2026
County Facts
County Seat: Watertown
Population: 30,000
Tier: 4
Inmate Services
Care Packages
Send care packages to inmates in Codington County facilities via Amazon.
