Pennington County was formed by the Dakota Territorial legislature in 1875, and named after the territorial governor, John Pennington. The Black Hills were still part of the Great Sioux Nation under the terms of the Laramie Treaty of 1868, when white settlers first occupied the bottomlands along Rapid Creek. The settlement took the name of “Hay Camp”.

With the expansion of deep, underground gold mining in the northern Black Hills, the South Dakota School of Mines was established in Rapid City in 1885 to train mining engineers.

Arts & Culture

As the major metropolitan center for a large rural hinterland, Pennington County's arts and culture offerings are extraordinarily rich. As the commercial capital, Rapid City is home to visual and performing artists, regional galleries and theater as well as several nationally-recognized writers who focus on the character of the community and the natural beauty of the region.

Several other Pennington County communities have become incubators for the arts, especially Hill City. Hill City is among the stops the South Dakota Arts Council recommends for those interested in art in the Black Hills region. The community has numerous art galleries, including the Sandy Swallow Gallery, which features Oglala Lakota artists; Warrior’s Work Gallery, which features Black Hills and South Dakota artists; the Jon Crane Gallery, featuring the artist’s watercolors and prints; and ArtForms, an artist-owned gallery. In addition, the Prairie Berry Winery hosts exhibits showcasing area artists.

The Hill City Area Arts Council sponsors several events annually. Among them are Music in the Hills, an open-mike program offered twice each month from January through March, and Sculpture in the Hills, a juried art sculpture show which is held the final weekend in June. The arts council also works with organizers to host the Black Hills Film Festival annually during the first week in May. This festival offers classes from film professionals and showcases new voices in the independent film industry.

Among the shaping forces in the arts community is Kristin Donnan Standard, who is not only president of the Hill City Area Arts Council, but is also a prolific writer, publisher of Art of the Hills magazine, and co-owner with her husband Grant Standard of Black Hills Bronze, Inc. By giving a voice to arts in the area, Donnan Standard has promoted the growth of a community identity that includes the arts. Other published writers from the area include her mother Marcia Mitchell and director of the South Dakota State Railroad Museum, Rick Mills.    

Historical Photos & Documents Online

The Rapid City Flood of June 9, 1972 is documented in images, oral histories and documents online. 

Historic photographs and newsletters from Black Hills Power & Light are available on the Black Hills Knowledge Network along with historic public policy reports, photographs and documents related to the creation of Mount Rushmore that were provided by the Chiesman Foundation.

The National Archives and Records Administration has a number of images and documents related to the Battle Creek Fire that took place in 2002 as well as Census documents from 1940. Enter "Pennington County" into the search bar on NARA's Archives Research Catalog.

The Denver Public Library has several documents including three Draft Registration documents from World War I as well as a genealogical record of a pioneering family from New Mexico and an obituary index from Intermountain Jewish News that records from 1918.

The Library of Congress has an extensive collection of photographs and construction drawings from the area including Ellsworth Airforce Base and its Air and Space Museum.

Museums, Libraries & Archives

The Journey Museum is a natural history museum that takes visitors on a 'journey' through the history of the Black Hills. There are 5 different institutions that form the Journey Museum: The Museum of Geology at South Dakota School of Mines & Technology; the South Dakota Historical Society's Archeology Research Center; the US Department of Interior, Indian Arts and Craft Board's Sioux Indian Museum; the Minnilusa Historical Association and The City of Rapid City Duhamel Plains Indian Artifact Collection

The Rapid City Public Library has been a cornerstone of the Rapid City community since its founding as Library Hall in 1888. A new Carnegie Library was built in 1903 on the corner of Kansas City Street and 6th Street, followed by the building of the Downtown Library in 1972 on Quincy and 7th Street. The Rapid City Public Libraries today have two branch locations, RCPL Downtown and North at General Beadle Elementary, as well as an online branch.

Hill City Public Library

Keystone Town Library

Wall Community Library

Religion

According to a national survey of congregations conducted in 2000, Catholics comprise the largest single denomination or faith in Pennington County. At that time, the Catholic Church had 24,694 adherents in the county. Various Lutheran denominations accounted for the next largest religious group. Membership in various Evangelical Protestant churches was approximately equal to Mainline Protestant churches with about 14,600 members in each category. Between 1990 and 2000, a major decline in membership in the Southern Baptist Convention a major increase in Evangelical Protestant congregations marked the most important trends. Access the county profile from the Association of Religion Data Archives here. To see a chart with the most recent data, click here.

Pennington County is the most populous in the region with an estimated 102,815 residents as of July 1, 2011, according to the U.S. Census. This total reflected a 1.4 percent increase over the prior year. In 2010, 67,956 lived in Rapid City, the county seat. Pennington is also the fastest growing county in the region with a 14.0 percent growth rate between 2000 and 2010, according to the US Census.

Age

The median age in Pennington County is 36.8, nearly identical to the statewide median of 36.9. 

Race

Pennington County is 83.6 percent white and 9.7 percent Native American, making it one of the state’s most diverse counties. The largest Hispanic population in the region accounts for 4.0 percent of Pennington’s population.

Poverty

Pennington County has 14,234 people living at or below the poverty level according to the 2010 US Census, about 14.1 percent of the population. This is in line with the statewide poverty level of 14.2 percent.

According to the South Dakota Kids Count project, the estimated percentage of children under the age of 18 in poverty in Pennington County hovered 19 and 20 percent between 2005 and 2009.

The per capita income in Pennington County is $25,310 and the median household income is $46,972, the highest in the seven-county region. The homeownership rate was 67.7 percent in 2010, and the median owner-occupied house was worth $143,100.

Towns and Cities in Pennington County

Other communities in Pennington County include: Box Elder, Hill City, Wall and New Underwood. Census profiles for Box Elder, Hill City and New Underwood are provided below. 

Pennington County has three school districts.

Douglas School District

Students in the Douglas 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, Douglas students achieved AYP in all categories in all grades tested in elementary, middle and high schools in the spring of 2011, with the exception of middle school students with disabilties and economically disadvantaged middle school students, who did not achieve AYP in reading. The high school graduation rate was 82.2 percent in 2011, down from the 86.6 percent rate posted in 2010 and slightly lower than the statewide average of 83.3 percent.

During the 2010-2011 academic year, the Douglas School District's fall enrollment was 2,520 in grades K-12. With a 1.5 percent dropout rate, the district graduated 134 students. Seventy-seven students took the ACT exam with an average composite score of 22.5. To view a statistical profile of funding, student and staff data, see the South Dakota Department of Education's 2010-2011 Profile of Douglas School District.

Hill City School District

Students in the Hill City 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, Hill City students achieved AYP in all categories in all grades tested in elementary, middle and high schools in the spring of 2011. Hill City's high school graduation rate was 100 percent in 2011, up from the 92.8 percent rate posted in 2010 and higher than the statewide average of 83.3 percent.

During the 2010-2011 academic year, the Hill City School District's fall enrollment was 500 in grades K-12. The district had no dropouts and graduated 42 students. Twenty-eight students took the ACT exam. The average composite score was 20.0. To view a statistical profile of funding, student and staff data, see the South Dakota Department of Education's 2010-2011 Profile of Hill City School District.

New Underwood School District

Students in the New Underwood 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, New Underwood students achieved AYP in all categories in all grades tested in elementary, middle and high schools in the spring of 2011. New Underwood's high school graduation rate was 81.4 percent in 2011, lower than the 100 percent rate posted in 2010 and higher than the statewide average of 83.3 percent.

During the 2010-2011 academic year, the New Underwood School District's fall enrollment was 337 in grades K-12. With a 0.7 percent dropout rate, the district graduated 16 students. Fifteen students took the ACT exam. The average composite score was 21.9. To view a statistical profile of funding, student and staff data, see the South Dakota Department of Education's 2010-2011 Profile of New Underwood School District.

Compare education attainment levels for Pennington County, State of South Dakota and United States.  Data found at 2010 American Community Survey 1-Year Estimates at www.census.gov (Data Tab: American FactFinder)

County Government

Pennington County ranked 28th among 59 South Dakota counties scored on the basis of health outcomes in 2012, according to a collaborative project conducted by the Population Health Institute at the University of Wisconsin and the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation. Pennington County ranked 41st among 59 counties on the basis of health factors. Based on comparing local information to state and national data, young people are especially at risk. The teen birth rate is higher than state and national averages, the graduation rate is lower, and more children live in poverty and in single parent households.

Regarding other segments of the population, there are also higher rates of risky behavior as indicated by a greater percentage of adults smoking. In addition, the incidence of sexually transmitted infections exceeds the state average and is over five times the national average. To compare Pennington County to other counties, go to: County Health Rankings: Mobilizing Action Toward Community Health. For more data related to the risks faced by young people in Pennington County, see data provided by Kids Count at the University of South Dakota.

Data from U.S. Department of Health & Human Services

County-level health statistics are also available from the U.S. Deparment of Health & Human Services. Compare Pennington County to similar counties in the United States and to the national median for the following subjects:

- Average life expectancy, all causes of death, self-rated health status, and average number of unhealthy days in the past month.

- Leading causes of death.

- Measures of birth and death. This data indicates that infant mortality and suicide rates in Pennington County are higher than in similar counties and in the nation as a whole.

Pennington County's median income exceeds most other counties in the Black Hills region and has risen from $37,485 in 2000 to $46,972 in 2009. According to the Bureau of Labor Statistics, the county's total labor force in October 2011 was 55,226, with 2,213 people or 4.0 percent listed as unemployed. Trade, transportation and utilities account for the largest share of jobs in Pennington County with nearly 22 percent of total employment. Education and health services is second with 17 percent. Most employed resident work in the county, with less than 5 percent commuting out. The median drive to work lasts 17 minutes. For an in-depth economic profile of Pennington County, visit the South Dakota Governor's Office of Economic Development. The Rapid City Chamber of Commerce has aggregated data links related to the Rapid City economy. Rapid City Economic Development also provides market data on the local economy.