Aberdeen, South Dakota

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Aberdeen, South Dakota
File:DSCF0643.JPG
Location in South Dakota
Location in South Dakota
CountyBrown County
Government
 • MayorMike Levsen
Population
 (2005)
 • Total24,658
Time zoneUTC-6 (Central)
 • Summer (DST)UTC-5 (Central)
Websitehttp://www.aberdeen.sd.us/

Aberdeen, a city and the county seat of Brown County, South Dakota, USA, about 125 mi (200 km) N.E. of Pierre. Settled in 1880, it was incorporated in 1882. The population was 24,658 at the 2000 census.

Geography

Aberdeen is located at 45°27′49″N 98°28′53″W / 45.46361°N 98.48139°W / 45.46361; -98.48139Invalid arguments have been passed to the {{#coordinates:}} function (45.463708, -98.481291)Template:GR.

According to the United States Census Bureau, the city has a total area of 33.7 km² (13.0 mi²). 33.6 km² (13.0 mi²) of it is land and 0.2 km² (0.1 mi²) of it (0.54%) is water.

Aberdeen has been assigned the ZIP code range 57401-57402, and the FIPS place code 00100.

Demographics

As of the censusTemplate:GR of 2000, there were 24,658 people, 10,553 households, and 6,184 families residing in the city. The population density was 734.6/km² (1,902.1/mi²). There were 11,259 housing units at an average density of 335.4/km² (868.5/mi²). The racial makeup of the city was 94.61% White, 0.37% Black or African American, 3.17% Native American, 0.54% Asian, 0.13% Pacific Islander, 0.19% from other races, and 0.99% from two or more races. 0.79% of the population were Hispanic or Latino of any race.

There were 10,553 households out of which 27.3% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 47.0% were married couples living together, 8.9% had a female householder with no husband present, and 41.4% were non-families. 34.9% of all households were made up of individuals and 13.6% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 2.21 and the average family size was 2.86.

In the city the population was spread out with 21.8% under the age of 18, 14.1% from 18 to 24, 26.4% from 25 to 44, 20.4% from 45 to 64, and 17.2% who were 65 years of age or older. The median age was 36 years. For every 100 females there were 89.2 males. For every 100 females age 18 and over, there were 85.3 males.

The median income for a household in the city was $33,276, and the median income for a family was $43,882. Males had a median income of $30,355 versus $20,092 for females. The per capita income for the city was $17,923. About 7.6% of families and 10.5% of the population were below the poverty line, including 10.6% of those under age 18 and 10.1% of those age 65 or over.

Public Domain This article incorporates text from a publication now in the public domain: Chisholm, Hugh, ed. (1911). Encyclopædia Britannica (11th ed.). Cambridge University Press. {{cite encyclopedia}}: Missing or empty |title= (help)

Education

Aberdeen Public Schools

The Aberdeen School District 6-1 has five elementary schools which are Kindergarten through fifth grade, two middle schools for sixth to eighth graders, one high school which includes grades ninth through twelfth, and a technical school. The five elementary schools are C.C. Lee Elementary School, Lincoln Elementary School, May Overby Elementary School, O.M. Tiffany Elementary School, and Simmons Elementary School. The middle schools are Holgate Middle School and Simmons Middle School, the high school is Aberdeen Central High School, and the technical school is called Hub Area Technical School.

The Aberdeen School District’s current enrollment for the year 2006-2007 is approximately 3,650 students, and the average class size is in the low to mid twenties. The Aberdeen School District has extra curricular activities for the middle and high schools that include sports such as basketball, cross country, gymnastics, football, tennis, golf, track, volleyball, and wrestling; also offered is music, speech, debate, drama, and special interest clubs. Aberdeen’s mascot is the Golden Eagle.

Hub Area Technical School

Hub Area Technical School is supported by Aberdeen Central High School, Frederick High School, Northwestern High School, Roncalli High School, and Warner High School. Hub Area Technical School offers the following programs: Automotive Technology, Building Trades, CISCO Academy, Computer Technician Fundamentals, Electronics, Graphic Communications, Health Occupations, Machine Tool Technology, and Radio/TV Production. Hub Area Technical School is available to students in grades ninth through twelfth and they attend for one or two blocks during the school day and when they graduate from high school, they receive a competency certificate from Hub Area Technical School. The school has about 325 students each year who partake in career and technical education (CTE), and receive tuition from the member high schools according to the number of students that attend Hub Area Technical School. Students from high schools other than the member schools may attend the school so long as their high school is willing to pay the tuition.

Aberdeen Catholic School System

Besides the Aberdeen Public School System, there is also the Aberdeen Catholic School System (ACSS), which includes Roncalli Junior & Senior High School, grades 7-12, Roncalli Elementary School, grades 3-6, and also Roncalli Primary School, grades Pre-K-2. Roncalli High School, Elementary School, and Primary School have approximately 620 students and is formed by St. Mary’s and Sacred Heart Parishes. The Primary School is located at St. Mary’s Parish while the Sacred Heart Parish is home to the Roncalli Elementary School.

In the 1800’s the first Catholic school in Aberdeen was established by Sacred Heart Parish, and they built the Elementary school in 1913, one year after St. Mary’s Parish built St. Mary’s Elementary School. The two parishes taught first grade through eighth grade independently until the 1970’s, and in 1980 the two parishes consolidated to form the Aberdeen Catholic School System, which is also when Kindergarten was added. In 2004, new elementary buildings were built and the ACSS demolished the old schools. Roncalli High school, which is named after Pope John XXIII Angelo Giuseppi Roncalli, was built in 1964 and was part of the ACSS and held grades nine through twelve.

Roncalli High School offers band and athletics such as boys’ and girls’ basketball, cross country, football, golf, gymnastics, tennis, track and field, volleyball, and wrestling; the Roncalli mascot is the Cavalier.

Aberdeen Christian School

The other private, Christian school, Aberdeen Christian School, originally began as Aberdeen Christian High School in 1999. For the 1999-2000 school year, the Christian school only offered ninth and tenth grade, but added eleventh grade in 2000-2001, and twelfth in 2001-2002. Aberdeen Christian High School merged with First Baptist Christian School in 2006 and is a non-denominational school that hosts grades pre-kindergarten through twelfth grade. The grades are split into an elementary school that includes pre-kindergarten through eighth grade, and a secondary school for ninth through twelfth graders.

ACS is a member of the Lake Region Conference for varsity cross country and track and field, with varsity boys’ and girls’ basketball and volleyball to follow for the 2008-2009 school year. There currently are junior varsity boys’ and girls’ basketball, 7th-8th grade boys’ basketball, 7th-8th grade girls’ basketball, and also 3rd-4th and 5th-6th girls’ basketball. Other activities include drama, band, vocal, and Fellowship of Christian Athletes. The ACS mascot is a Knight.

Higher Education in Aberdeen

Northern State University

Aberdeen is also the home to Northern State University (NSU) Wolves and the Presentation College (PC) Saints. NSU is a public, state funded school that was founded in 1889 and today occupies a 72 acre campus. 2,528 students, ranging from first year to graduate students, attended NSU for the 2006-2007 school year, and take part in the student to teacher ratio of 19:1.

NSU was originally called the Institute of South Dakota before changing its name to Northern Normal and Industrial School in 1901. It again took on a new name in 1939 when it became the Northern State Teachers College, and again in 1964, becoming Northern State College before finalizing at Northern State University in 1989.

NSU offers thirty-eight majors and forth-two minors as well as other various degrees, and also has nine graduate degree areas for students wishing to further their education after achieving their undergraduate degree.

The Wolves athletic department has a wide variety of men’s and women’s sports including the following: men’s baseball, basketball, cross country, golf, football, track and field, wrestling, and women’s basketball, cross country, golf, soccer, softball, track and field, and volleyball. Athletics are just one aspect of NSU’s extracurricular activities for students to participate in. There are many student organizations, activities, and intramural sports that cover a wide variety of interests.

Presentation College

PC is a Catholic college, yet accepts students of other religions, that bases its teachings on the traditions of Sisters of the Presentation of the Blessed Virgin Mary (PVBM), was founded in 1951, and sits on a one hundred acre campus. Besides Aberdeen, PC has campuses located in Eagle Butte, South Dakota and Fairmont, Minnesota, but also offers education in Sioux Falls, SD, and Fargo, ND, and all together, PC has approximately eight hundred students as of the 2006 spring semester. PC is a private Christian school and costs more than a state funded institution. Reciprocity does not apply to PC because the cost is the same for each student regardless of their home address on account that PC is a private school.

PC offers twenty six programs between the main Aberdeen campus and the others. Because of the college’s mission, the degrees available are somewhat limited and most of the degrees offered are in the health-care field. The student to teacher ratio is 12:1.

PC has activities such as campus ministry, a volunteer program, student organizations, a wellness center, and intramural sports. For varsity athletics, PC offers men’s’ and women’s cross country, soccer, basketball, and golf; women’s softball and men’s baseball, and volleyball. The Saints are a member of the Upper Midwest Athletic Conference and are a National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) Division III college.

Healthcare

Avera St. Luke's Hospital is the primary provider of health care in Aberdeen.

Arts & Culture

File:Capitol theater.jpg
The Capitol Theater in downtown Aberdeen

The Aberdeen area is home to many art and culture organizations including the Aberdeen Area Arts Council, Aberdeen Community Concert Association, Aberdeen Community Theatre, Aberdeen Recreation & Cultural Center, and the ArtWorks Cooperative.

The Aberdeen Area Arts Council publishes a small monthly newspaper entitled ARTiFACTS with information on area events ranging from plays, art gallery tours, quilt shows, oral interpretation, concerts and much more; it also features artists and news pertaining to the art world.

The Aberdeen Community Theatre is a non-profit community theater that was created in 1979 by the Northern State University Director of Theatre at that time, Professor Richard Norquist. The Aberdeen Community Theatre performs at the Capitol Theater in downtown Aberdeen, the last remaining theatre in Aberdeen’s downtown. The Capitol Theater was originally built in 1927 and donated to the Aberdeen Community Theater in 1991; since then over $630,000 have been spent on renovating and preserving the historical aspect of the Capitol Theater. Today, the Aberdeen Community Theater puts on four to five plays on average per year in the renovated Capitol Theater that was completed in February, 2004.

The ArtWorks Cooperative is “a partnership of visual artists working to market their original artwork in a gallery setting.” The ArtWorks Cooperative’s members are invitational only, and the artists are reviewed on a regular basis. The ArtWorks Cooperative sells artists’ work as well as provides an environment that will benefit the artist in terms of artist-to-artist communication, and public interest. Not only are paintings and other fine art sold at the ArtWorks Cooperative; greeting cards and note cards, books featuring members’ artwork, limited edition hand pulled prints, painted ornaments, ceramic pieces, hand painted t-shirts, handmade books, and small art pieces are just a few among the wide selection of artistic works that the Cooperative has available.

There are three art galleries in Aberdeen: Presentation College’s Wein Gallery, Northern State University’s Lincoln Gallery, and the Aberdeen Recreation & Cultural Center (ARCC)/ArtWorks Cooperative Gallery located at the ARCC. Along with the local art galleries, the NSU Theater Department puts on three plays throughout the school year, including a Winter Theater Event and also a Spring Theater Event, such as an acting showcase or musical comedy.


Religion

The following Christian denominations have places of worship in Aberdeen:

There is one Synagogue in Aberdeen.

Local Government

Aberdeen is the center of government for Brown County. Its government is overseen by a mayor and five commissioners. Each commissioner serves a five year term. As of 2006 the commissioners include Dennis Feickert, Tom Fischbach, Nancy Hansen, Deb Knecht, and Mike Wiese. The state senators from Brown County are Duane Sutton and Jim Hundstad. Members of the state House of Representatives from the Aberdeen area include H. Paul Dennert, Burt Elliot, Al Novstrup, and Larry Frost. All of these state legislators' terms end in December of 2006.

Major Employers

  • Avera St. Luke’s Hospital: 1,272 workers.
  • Aberdeen Public Schools: 650 workers.
  • 3M: 569 workers.
  • Cendant Motel Reservations: 480 workers.
  • Aman Collection Service Inc.: 450 workers.
  • Hub City Inc: 405 workers.
  • South Dakota Wheat Growers: 310 workers.
  • Northern State University: 298 workers.
  • Kessler’s (grocery store): 260 workers.

Transportation

Popular Attractions

Notable Residents and Natives

External links

Wikisource has the text of the 1911 Encyclopædia Britannica article "Aberdeen (city)".

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Citations

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