Hyde County, SD - Brief History

	This brief history of Hyde County was found in the 1940 Hand & 
	Hyde Counties Farm Directory, published by Dakota Directory 
	Service, Mitchell, SD

	Scanning and OCR by Joy Fisher, sdgenweb@yahoo.com

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		HYDE COUNTY HISTORY

		Hyde county was created in 1873 and organized in 1884. 
Named for James Hyde. Hyde county is bounded on the north by Potter and 
Faulk counties; on the east by Hand county and the main channel of the 
Missouri river; on the west by Hughes and Sully counties. County seat, 
Highmore. Part of the Crow Creek Indian Reservation is included in its 
boundaries. Principal industries are farming and stockraising. The 
Chicago and Northwestern railroad traverses the county east and west. 
The towns of Holabird and Highmore are on U. S. Highway 14. Area, 
554,240 acres.

		The Chicago and Northwestern railway built thru the county 
from Tracy, Minn., to Blunt in 1880, and was completed thru to Pierre 
in 1881. E. O. Parker, one of the first settlers in Hyde county, 
located on a 40 acre plot and platted the town of Highmore. C. P. 
Swanson, now deceased, helped build the section house when the railroad 
went thru. Later he became president or the First National Bank. The 
first school in the county was started in Highmore in what is now the 
Grand Armory building, in 1881. The first church built in the county 
was Methodist, in Highmore, in 1883. Highmore was made the county seat 
in 1884. The first court house burned and the present building was 
erected at a cost of $75,000.

		The town of Holabird was started in 1883. Stephen was 
started as a Catholic Mission in 1885. It now consists of an Indian 
Mission school, church, store and post-office.

		The county seat of Hyde county was named Highmore because 
it is located on the highest ground on the Northwestern between the 
Mississippi and Missouri rivers. It has a population of more than 1000 
persons, and has the advantages of the more crowded centers. It is 
proud of its excellent school and churches, and up-to-date stores.