Belle Fourche is one of America’s great cattle towns. Sited at the junction of the Belle Fourche River and Redwater Creek, the place was named “beautiful fork” by French explorers who trapped and traded fur here in the mid 1800s. Cattle and sheep ranches now spread north, east, and west for hundreds of miles in every direction in what was once the heart of buffalo country. Belle Fourche was settled in 1890 when famous Deadwood lawman and land speculator Seth Bullock, built a railroad terminal and shipping center for the Fremont, Elkhorn and Missouri Railroad on land he owned near the rivers. He secured the community’s future by offering free land to the railroad when it came to the Hills in the late 1800s.

For years Belle Fourche was one of the most important shipping points for beef in the U.S., sending thousands of carloads of cattle each month to Midwest slaughterhouses. The wool industry has also played a key role in the community’s history.At its height in the early 20th century, Belle Fourche shipped hundreds of thousands of head of cattle to eastern markets every year. The Belle Fourche Livestock Exchange still hosts some of the largest live cattle auctions in the county. Belle Fourche is also a center for sheep and wool production. Until 1965 Belle Fourche was also a major producer of sugar beets, thanks to the Belle Fourche Reservoir irrigation project of the early 1900s. Today the same irrigation system provides water to more than 5,700 acres of farmland, most of it planted in alfalfa and corn. Production of bentonite, a versatile clay used in everything from cosmetics to kitty litter, has also been a mainstay of the local economy. Belle Fourche is also a bedroom community to the nearby college town of Spearfish that is ten miles south in the foothills of the Black Hills.

Today Belle Fourche is home to 5,594 people, some descendants of the farmers and ranchers who settled in the area after the 1876 gold rush and grew food for miners and their work animals. The city is the county seat of Butte County, and has benefited from the in-migration of residents from smaller rural ranch communities. Since the 2000 Census, the population has increased by 20 percent. According to the U.S. Census, the median household income in Belle Fourche is $38,702, and the per capita income is $19,077, almost $4,400 below the state average. 17.7% of residents live below the poverty line. Although 86.4 percent of residents over the age of 25 have a high school degree, only 16.7 percent have a college or advanced degree, well below the state average. The population is mostly white (97.4 percent), with American Indians accounting for less than one percent. The Hispanic population is growing rapidly at 7 percent.

Belle Fourche is the home of the Tri-State Museum which celebrates the local  history of South Dakota, Wyoming and Montana. The Rocky Point Recreation Area on the Belle Fourche Reservoir is a tourism, fishing and hunting attraction. Just ten miles north of Belle Fourche is the geographic center of the nation, set by the Coast and Geodetic Survey in 1959 after the entrance of Alaska and Hawaii into the nation. The community is also home to the Black Hills Round Up and Rodeo, held every July 4th since 1918.

Demographics

Today Belle Fourche is home to 5,594 people, according to the 2010 Census.  With a median age of 36, the population of Belle Fourche is growing rapidly. Since the 2000 Census, it has posted a growth of 22.5 percent.  In the city of Belle Fourche, there are 658.1 people per square mile.

The majority (93.6 percent) of people in Belle Fourche are white.  American Indians constitute 2.1 percent of  Belle Fourche’s population and 4.1 percent are Hispanic. In 2010, 2.6 percent of the population reported belonging to more than one race.

Belle Fourche catered to the needs of local cowboys and ranchers for many years. The culture of the community still reflects the region's roots in agriculture and ranching.

Arts & Culture

Museums, Libraries & Archives

Museums, Libraries & Archives

Tri-State Museum

Students in the Belle Fourche School District take the annual Dakota STEP test to ensure that the district is making adequate yearly progress (AYP) in reading and math. According the State of South Dakota's report card, Belle Fourche students achieved AYP in all categories in all grades tested in elementary, middle and high schools in the spring of 2011. Belle Fourche's high school graduation rate was 91.5 percent in 2011, lower than the 97.0 percent rate posted in 2010 but above the statewide average of 83.3 percent.

During the 2010-2011 academic year, the Belle Fourche School District's fall enrollment was 1,348 in grades K-12. With a 0.8 percent dropout rate, the district graduated 90 students. Fifty-four students took the ACT exam. The average composite score was 20.52. To compare Belle Fourche School District ACT scores with other Black Hills districts, click here.To view a statistical profile of funding, student and staff data, see the South Dakota Department of Education's 2010-2011 Profile of Belle Fourche School District.

Local Government

The 2010-2030 Comprehensive Plan looks at how Belle Fourche plans to grow over the next two decades and provides information on future land use and annexation.      

Public Safety

Budgets

Community Planning

Education

Disease and treatment patterns

Health care providers

Fitness indicators

Training & recruitment

Sports & recreation

With a potential labor force of just under 4,000 people aged 16 years or older, Belle Fourche has approximately 2,600 people employed or seeking employment in the community, according to the U.S.