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South Dakota County
Lawrence County, South Dakota
Deadwood - Wild Bill Hickok's Boot Hill and the Black Hills Gold Rush - from Deadwood's extraordinary history (on August 2, 1876, Wild Bill Hickok was shot from behind while playing poker in Deadwood's Nuttal & Mann's Saloon, holding aces and eights - the Dead Man's Hand - in one of the most famous deaths in American frontier history - Deadwood's Boot Hill cemetery holds Wild Bill and Calamity Jane, and the entire historic district is a National Historic Landmark where legalized gambling was restored in 1989 to fund preservation) to the Homestake Mine in Lead (the deepest gold mine in North America - from 1876 to 2002 the Homestake produced 40 million ounces of gold - now converted to the Sanford Underground Research Facility conducting dark matter experiments a mile underground).
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Office: Lawrence County Emergency Management – coordinates disaster response planning, organization, coordination, training, and the Lawrence County Search and Rescue Team
Related: Deadwood Police Department – (605) 578-2623; Lead Police Department – (605) 584-1615; Spearfish Police Department – (605) 642-1300; Whitewood Police Department – (605) 269-2550.
Roads & Utilities
ROADS & TRANSPORTATION
Roads: US-14A and I-90 serve the county; Deadwood is the county seat, while Spearfish is the county’s largest city, in the northern Black Hills of western South Dakota
Transit: Limited; primarily auto-dependent – confirm current regional options directly with the county.
Business & Permits
BUILDING & PERMITS
Office: Lawrence County Planning & Zoning Department – handles building inspections, permit applications, code enforcement, contractor licensing, flood plain administration, land use applications, occupancy permits, plats, septic systems, signage, and zoning
Notes: Building permits are required for all new construction, additions, decks, deck replacement, and moving any building including mobile homes; concrete cannot be poured without a permit; a contractor license is required to work in Lawrence County. Cities of Spearfish, Deadwood, and Whitewood each maintain their own separate zoning – Spearfish has Joint Powers jurisdiction over building permits, variances, and flood plain administration within a defined area around city limits.
Veterans Services
VETERANS SERVICES
County VSO: Lawrence County Veterans Service Officer – Lawrence County Courthouse, Deadwood, SD
Libraries
LIBRARIES
System: Spearfish Public Library – 625 North Fifth Street, Spearfish, SD 57783 | (605) 642-1330
Services: Over 60,000 books, audiobooks, videos, 10 public computers, WiFi, digital content, test proctoring, teen and adult programming, computer classes, preschool/children’s programming, and a homebound delivery program.
Parks & Recreation
PARKS & RECREATION
Key Assets: Lawrence County’s seat, Deadwood, is genuinely and famously one of the most historically significant Wild West towns in the entire United States, designated a National Historic Landmark by the U.S. Department of the Interior on July 3, 1961 – with virtually the entire town recognized for its remarkably preserved gold rush-era character; Deadwood’s story began in the fall of 1875 when a small party of prospectors discovered gold in “Deadwood Gulch,” triggering what became America’s last great gold rush; by the spring of 1876, seven separate mining camps had sprung up in the gulch, and thousands of miners, muleskinners, lawmen, gunslingers, and gamblers descended on the narrow rocky canyon almost overnight – some struck it rich with a lucky shovelful of earth or a winning hand of cards, while others lost everything, sometimes to a well-placed bullet; the town’s most legendary resident was James Butler “Wild Bill” Hickok, the famed frontier gunfighter and folk hero, who arrived in Deadwood Gulch in June 1876 alongside fellow frontier legend Martha “Calamity Jane” Canary; Hickok’s time in Deadwood was tragically brief – on August 2, 1876, while playing poker at Nuttall & Mann’s Saloon (widely known today as Saloon No. 10), he was shot in the back and killed by Jack McCall; Hickok now rests at Deadwood’s historic Mount Moriah Cemetery, alongside Calamity Jane, lawman Seth Bullock, and other celebrated frontier figures, and the dramatic reenactment of his murder and McCall’s subsequent capture and trial remains a beloved daily tourist attraction on Deadwood’s Main Street to this day; gambling, central to the town’s identity from its earliest days, was formally outlawed in 1905, but Deadwood residents brought it roaring back in 1989 when the town became just the third place in the entire United States – after Atlantic City and Nevada – to legalize gaming through a statewide referendum, a change directly sparked by a devastating 1987 fire that destroyed three historic Main Street buildings and became a rallying cry for the town’s economic revival; the city is currently commemorating its 150th anniversary in 2026 with a full year of dedicated events
Notes: Deadwood’s genuine, federally designated National Historic Landmark status – and its extensively documented connection to Wild Bill Hickok, Calamity Jane, and America’s last great gold rush – makes it one of the single most historically significant county seats found anywhere in this entire project.
GIS & Maps
GIS & MAPS
GIS Portal: Lawrence County GIS – accessible via lawrence.sd.us
Parcel Search: Lawrence County Register of Deeds – Deadwood, SD
Addressing/911: Coordinated through Lawrence County Emergency 911 Director
Animal Services
ANIMAL SERVICES
Facility: Western Hills Humane Society – 324 Industrial Drive, Spearfish, SD 57783 | Hours: Mon, Tue, Thu–Sat 10:30 AM–4:30 PM (closed Sun and Wed)
Services: No-kill shelter caring for approximately 600 animals per year; funded in part by the City of Spearfish and Lawrence County; the Spearfish Police Department contracts with Western Hills Humane Society for animal impound/kenneling services
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
Lawrence County’s seat, Deadwood, is genuinely a National Historic Landmark and the real Wild West town where Wild Bill Hickok was killed in 1876. 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 Lawrence County
Lawrence County is South Dakota’s Wild Bill Hickok and Black Hills gold county – Deadwood’s Dead Man’s Hand poker death, Boot Hill graves of frontier legends, and the Homestake Mine that produced 40 million ounces of gold define the most historically dramatic county in the Black Hills.
Deadwood (the county seat, population ~1,300) is one of the most visited historic destinations in the Dakotas – the restored saloons, gambling halls, and Boot Hill draw over a million visitors annually. Spearfish (population ~11,000) is the county’s largest commercial community.
All Services
Browse every category and topic available for this county.
Lawrence County Director of Equalization at 90 Sherman Street, Deadwood, SD 57732, phone 605-578-3940. SD residential owner-occupied exemptions apply.
Courts & Legal
Lawrence County Circuit Court at 90 Sherman Street, Deadwood, SD 57732, phone 605-578-3940, handles probate.
Marriage & Vital Records
Marriage licenses, divorce records, and birth & death certificates are handled by the following office(s):
CLERK OF COURTS
90 Sherman St, Deadwood, SD 57732
(605) 578-2040
Genealogy
County-level record sources
Lawrence County Clerk of Courts, Deadwood (probate/estate case files – see Probate section above).
Deadwood’s Gold Rush-era history draws significant heritage tourism and genealogical interest; the town is a National Historic Landmark District.
Local societies
No dedicated Lawrence 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, Lawrence County PO Box 626, 78 Sherman Street, Deadwood, SD 57732 (605) 578-2040
Lawrence County is in the Black Hills of western South Dakota, seated in Deadwood – famed for its Gold Rush-era history and outlaw legends.
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 Lawrence 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 Lawrence 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
90 Sherman St, Deadwood, SD 57732
(605) 578-2064
Elections & Voting
Voter registration, polling locations, and elections information are handled by the following office(s):
AUDITOR (ELECTIONS)
90 Sherman St, Deadwood, SD 57732
(605) 578-2030
Health & Human Services
Offices & Contacts
Health services, social services, and assistance programs are handled by the following office(s):
Public Health
645 5th St, Spearfish, SD 57783
(605) 722-4400
Social Services
90 Sherman St, Deadwood, SD 57732
(605) 578-2020
Public Health Information
PUBLIC HEALTH
Office: Lawrence County Public Health Nursing Service – Deadwood, SD
Services: Immunizations, WIC, environmental health, vital records
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Last verified June 2026
County Facts
County Seat: Deadwood
Population: 26,000
Established: 1877
Tier: 3
Public Records
TruthFinder
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