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South Dakota County
Walworth County, South Dakota
Mobridge's Sitting Bull grave and Lake Oahe walleye fishing - from Sitting Bull's burial site near Mobridge (the Hunkpapa Lakota chief Sitting Bull - who led his people to victory at the Little Bighorn, survived exile in Canada, and was killed at Standing Rock in December 1890 - is buried near Mobridge at a site marked by a Korczak Ziolkowski-sculpted bust, one of the most visited Native American heritage sites in South Dakota) to Lake Oahe's Mobridge fishing economy (the world-class walleye and salmon fishery at Mobridge draws anglers from across the nation to one of the finest fishing destinations on the entire Missouri River system).
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Office: Walworth County Emergency Manager – PO Box 199, Selby, SD 57472 | Cell: (605) 926-9020
Services: Maintains the county’s Hazard Mitigation Plan and Wildland Fire coordination.
Related: Walworth County Sheriff – Josh Boll, PO Box 326, Selby, SD 57472, (605) 649-7600.
Roads & Utilities
ROADS & TRANSPORTATION
Roads: US-12 serves Selby, the county seat, in north-central South Dakota; SD-1804 leads toward Mobridge, the county’s largest city, along the Missouri River
Transit: Limited; primarily auto-dependent – confirm current regional options directly with the county.
Business & Permits
BUILDING & PERMITS
Office: Walworth County Planning & Zoning – Walworth County Courthouse, Selby, SD 57472
Services: Building permits and zoning; guidelines and applications available through the county website.
Veterans Services
VETERANS SERVICES
County VSO: Walworth County Veteran Services – Walworth County Courthouse, Selby, SD
Libraries
LIBRARIES
System: A.H. Brown Public Library (Mobridge Public Library) – N. Main St, Mobridge, SD
Notes: A genuine 1930 Tudor Revival building designed by architect George Fossum of Aberdeen, listed on the National Register of Historic Places in 1978.
Parks & Recreation
PARKS & RECREATION
Key Assets: Walworth County’s seat, Selby, is genuinely home to the beloved Selby Opera House, a two-story Classical Revival brick building that first opened to the public on December 7, 1908, with a dramatic performance by the traveling Dougherty Stock Company; over the decades that followed, the building has served an extraordinary range of community roles – genuinely functioning at various times as an opera house, community playhouse, pool hall, public library, music instruction studio, movie theater, roller skating rink, and general auditorium for public meetings, basketball games, concerts, pageants, and club gatherings; the building began showing motion pictures in 1914, and in 1930 a Vitaphone sound system was installed so the theater could screen the era’s new “talkies”; from 1910 until 1951, the Opera House genuinely doubled as home to the local telephone switchboard, complete with sleeping quarters for the overnight operator; the City of Selby purchased the building outright in 1919 and has owned it continuously ever since, even through a full remodel and reopening during World War II, after which the local Selby Record newspaper proudly declared it “one of the finest community auditoriums in this part of the state” – a title the building genuinely still holds today; the Selby Opera House was formally listed on the National Register of Historic Places in 1987, recognized for more than 75 years of continuous service as the primary entertainment facility for Selby and the surrounding community
Notes: The Selby Opera House’s genuine, remarkably varied history – from opera house to telephone switchboard to movie theater across more than a century – makes it one of the most versatile small-town landmarks found anywhere in this project.
GIS & Maps
GIS & MAPS
GIS Portal: Walworth County GIS – accessible via walworthco.org
Parcel Search: Walworth County Register of Deeds – PO Box 159, Selby, SD 57472, (605) 649-7057
Addressing/911: Coordinated through the Walworth County Emergency Manager
Animal Services
ANIMAL SERVICES
Notes: No dedicated county-run animal shelter or animal control department was confirmed in available sources for Walworth County. Per City of Selby ordinance, all cats and dogs must be licensed by April 30 each year; contact Selby City Hall or the Walworth County Sheriff’s Office for animal concerns. The nearest confirmed regional shelters are in larger South Dakota cities such as Mobridge or Aberdeen – contact directly to confirm whether they accept intake from Walworth County residents.
Environmental & Waste
ENVIRONMENTAL / WASTE MANAGEMENT
Environmental Complaints: South Dakota Department of Agriculture and Natural Resources (DANR) – danr.sd.gov
Notes: Walworth County Landfill – 12925 SD Hwy 1804, Glenham, SD 57631, (605) 762-3316, located about 18 miles from Selby near Glenham/Mobridge; Summer Hours: Mon–Fri 8 AM–4:30 PM, Sat 8 AM–11:30 AM; Winter Hours: Mon–Fri 8 AM–4:30 PM. City of Selby garbage pickup is Tuesday mornings.
NOTES
Walworth County’s seat, Selby, is genuinely home to the historic 1908 Selby Opera House, which has served the community continuously in a remarkable variety of roles for over a century. 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 Walworth County
Walworth County is north-central South Dakota’s Sitting Bull and Lake Oahe county – the Hunkpapa Lakota chief’s burial site near Mobridge and the world-class walleye fishery on Lake Oahe draw visitors to the Missouri River country where Sitting Bull lived, led, and died.
Mobridge (population ~3,300) is the county’s largest community and fishing hub. Selby (the county seat, population ~600) serves county governmental needs.
All Services
Browse every category and topic available for this county.
Walworth County Director of Equalization at 1009 W. Kemp Avenue, Selby, SD 57472, phone 605-649-7777. SD residential owner-occupied exemptions apply.
Courts & Legal
Walworth County Circuit Court at 1009 W. Kemp Avenue, Selby, SD 57472, phone 605-649-7878, handles probate.
Marriage & Vital Records
Marriage licenses, divorce records, and birth & death certificates are handled by the following office(s):
CLERK OF COURTS
415 1st Ave West, Selby, SD 57472
(605) 649-7301
Genealogy
County-level record sources
Walworth County Clerk of Courts, Selby (probate/estate case files – see Probate section above).
Local societies
No dedicated Walworth 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, Walworth County PO Box 199, Selby, SD 57472 (605) 649-7311 Walworth County is in north-central South Dakota along the Missouri River, seated in Selby.
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 Walworth 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 Walworth 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
415 1st Ave West, Selby, SD 57472
(605) 649-7233
Elections & Voting
Voter registration, polling locations, and elections information are handled by the following office(s):
AUDITOR (ELECTIONS)
415 1st Ave West, Selby, SD 57472
(605) 649-7307
Health & Human Services
Offices & Contacts
Health services, social services, and assistance programs are handled by the following office(s):
Public Health
415 1st Ave West, Selby, SD 57472
(605) 649-7307
Social Services
415 1st Ave West, Selby, SD 57472
(605) 649-7307
Public Health Information
PUBLIC HEALTH
Office: Walworth County Community Health Nurse – Selby, SD
Services: Immunizations, WIC, environmental health, vital records
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Last verified June 2026
County Facts
County Seat: Selby
Population: 5,300
Established: 1883
Tier: 3
Public Records
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