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South Dakota County
Ziebach County, South Dakota
Dupree and Cheyenne River Sioux Nation - from Dupree's position as the governmental center of Ziebach County within the Cheyenne River Sioux Reservation (a significant portion of Ziebach County overlaps with the Cheyenne River Sioux Tribe's reservation lands, and the county's population reflects the deep Lakota cultural heritage of the region) to the county's vast Missouri River plateau ranching landscape (Ziebach County's rolling short-grass prairie and dramatic river breaks support cattle ranching on native range across one of South Dakota's most sparsely populated and remote counties in the north-central plains).
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Office: Ziebach County Emergency Management – PO Box 68, 215 Main Street, Dupree, SD 57623 | (605) 365-5177 | Email: [email protected]
Services: Provides information and assistance on response, recovery, mitigation, and preparedness; assists with disaster declarations and works with State Emergency Management and FEMA.
Related: Ziebach County Sheriff – (605) 365-5177.
Roads & Utilities
ROADS & TRANSPORTATION
Roads: SD-63 serves Dupree, the county seat and only incorporated community fully within Ziebach County, in north-central South Dakota
Transit: Limited; primarily auto-dependent – confirm current regional options directly with the county or the Cheyenne River Sioux Tribe.
Notes: Contact the county directly for current building permit requirements on non-tribal (fee-patented) land; contact the Cheyenne River Sioux Tribe for guidance on tribal trust land.
Veterans Services
VETERANS SERVICES
County VSO: Ziebach County Veterans Service Officer – Ziebach County Courthouse, Dupree, SD; also available through the Cheyenne River Sioux Tribe Veterans Service Office.
Libraries
LIBRARIES
Notes: A specific dedicated public library location and hours for Dupree/Ziebach County could not be confidently confirmed in available sources – contact the Ziebach County Courthouse, (605) 365-5157, for current library services, or the Ziebach County Historical Society, which maintains a collection of nearly 200 historical photographs documenting the county’s people, places, and events.
Parks & Recreation
PARKS & RECREATION
Key Assets: Ziebach County holds a genuinely unique and fitting distinction – it is the very last county, alphabetically, of all 3,143 counties and county-equivalents in the entire United States; the county was named for Frank M. Ziebach (1830-1929), a prominent Dakota Territory politician, newspaper publisher, and pioneer known colorfully as the “squatter governor”; the land itself is the ancestral territory of several Lakota bands, including the Minneconjou, Siha Sapa (Blackfoot Lakota), Oohenumpa (Two Kettle), and Itazipco (Sans Arc), now part of the federally recognized Cheyenne River Sioux Tribe, alongside the Hunkpapa Lakota of the Standing Rock Sioux Tribe; the area was originally part of the Great Sioux Reservation established by treaty in 1868, before a series of federal acts broke up the reservation and opened “surplus” lands to non-Native homesteading, a history that continues to shape the county today; interestingly, a county also named Ziebach briefly existed in Dakota Territory beginning in 1877, only to be dissolved in 1898 and absorbed into Pennington and Stanley counties – the modern Ziebach County was created fresh in 1911, with Dupree, founded just the year before following construction of the Milwaukee Railroad, selected as its county seat; the town of Dupree itself takes its name from Fred Dupris, an early pioneer settler, and remains the only incorporated community located entirely within the county
Notes: Ziebach County’s genuine, alphabetically final position among all U.S. counties makes for a fitting closing entry to this statewide South Dakota project – and its living Lakota heritage across the Cheyenne River and Standing Rock reservations reflects one of the most culturally significant places found anywhere in this collection.
GIS & Maps
GIS & MAPS
GIS Portal: Ziebach County GIS – contact the Ziebach County Courthouse for current parcel/GIS access
Parcel Search: Ziebach County Register of Deeds – 605-365-5165; records available in person only, no online access currently offered
Addressing/911: Coordinated through Ziebach County Emergency Management
Animal Services
ANIMAL SERVICES
Facility: Wakpa Waste Animal Shelter – operated by the Cheyenne River Sioux Tribe, serving the Cheyenne River Sioux Reservation area including Ziebach County
Services: Offers owner surrender (space-limited) and self-rehoming support, with photos and contact information shared via the shelter’s Facebook page to help place animals directly with new families.
Environmental & Waste
ENVIRONMENTAL / WASTE MANAGEMENT
Environmental Complaints: South Dakota Department of Agriculture and Natural Resources (DANR) – danr.sd.gov; for reservation land, also contact the Cheyenne River Sioux Tribe’s environmental programs directly.
Notes: Contact your specific community or the Cheyenne River Sioux Tribe directly for current refuse collection and recycling program details.
NOTES
Ziebach County is genuinely the last county alphabetically in the entire United States, and lies entirely within the Cheyenne River and Standing Rock Sioux reservations. All contact information above was sourced from official county, city, tribal, and courthouse pages as of this writing; phone numbers and hours should be reconfirmed directly with the relevant office before a visit.
About Ziebach County
Ziebach County is north-central South Dakota’s Cheyenne River Sioux Reservation and ranching county – the Lakota cultural heritage of the Cheyenne River Sioux Nation and the remote mixed-grass prairie ranching economy define one of South Dakota’s most isolated counties, with Dupree providing the limited governmental and commercial services for a vast and sparsely settled landscape.
Dupree (the county seat, population ~450) is Ziebach County’s governmental hub, a remote Great Plains community serving one of South Dakota’s least populated counties.
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Ziebach County Assessor at 106 Main Street, Dupree, SD 57623, phone 605-365-5165. SD assessed at fair market value.
Courts & Legal
Ziebach County Circuit Court at 106 Main Street, Dupree, SD 57623, phone 605-365-5165, handles probate.
Marriage & Vital Records
Marriage licenses, divorce records, and birth & death certificates are handled by the following office(s):
CLERK OF COURTS
200 West 2nd Ave, Dupree, SD 57623
(605) 365-5157
Genealogy
County-level record sources
Ziebach County Clerk of Courts, Dupree (probate/estate case files – Register of Deeds holds birth, marriage, burial, and land records from 1911; Clerk of Courts holds divorce, probate, and court records from 1911).
The 1931-32 Ziebach County Courthouse, NRHP-listed, is a significant local landmark.
Ziebach County Historical Society, Dupree, South Dakota – confirmed local resource.
Tribal genealogical and historical records for the Cheyenne River Sioux Tribe may also be relevant.
Local societies
Ziebach County Historical Society, Dupree – confirmed local resource.
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, Ziebach County PO Box 306, 601 Main Street, Dupree, SD 57623 (605) 365-5159
Ziebach County was created in 1911, named for Frank M. Ziebach, in north-central South Dakota, seated in Dupree – the only incorporated community located entirely within the county. Ziebach County is the last county alphabetically among all U.S. counties and county equivalents. It lies within the Cheyenne River Indian Reservation. The 1931-32 Ziebach County Courthouse, Classical Revival in style, 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. Note: because Ziebach County lies within the Cheyenne River Indian Reservation, tribal court jurisdiction and federal law may also intersect with estate matters for enrolled tribal members and trust/restricted land – check with the Cheyenne River Sioux Tribe court system as well for those situations.
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 Ziebach 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). For trust/restricted Indian land, federal probate procedures may also apply.
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 Ziebach 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
200 West 2nd Ave, Dupree, SD 57623
(605) 365-5154
Elections & Voting
Voter registration, polling locations, and elections information are handled by the following office(s):
AUDITOR (ELECTIONS)
200 West 2nd Ave, Dupree, SD 57623
(605) 365-5157
Health & Human Services
Offices & Contacts
Health services, social services, and assistance programs are handled by the following office(s):
Public Health
200 West 2nd Ave, Dupree, SD 57623
(605) 365-5157
Social Services
200 West 2nd Ave, Dupree, SD 57623
(605) 365-5157
Public Health Information
PUBLIC HEALTH
Office: Ziebach County Public Health Nursing Service – Dupree, SD
Related: Indian Health Service, Cheyenne River Service Unit – serves enrolled tribal members and eligible residents.
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Last verified June 2026
County Facts
County Seat: Dupree
Population: 2,600
Established: 1911
Tier: 4
Public Records
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Search public records for Ziebach County residents.
