| Vermillion | |
| Official Name: | Vermillion, South Dakota |
| Native Name: | Waséoyuze |
| Settlement Type: | City |
| Mapsize: | 250px |
| Pushpin Map: | USA |
| Pushpin Map Caption: | Location in the United States |
| Subdivision Type: | Country |
| Subdivision Name: | United States |
| Subdivision Type1: | State |
| Subdivision Name1: | South Dakota |
| Subdivision Type2: | County |
| Subdivision Name2: | Clay |
| Government Type: | Council–manager[1] |
| Leader Title: | Mayor |
| Leader Name: | Jon Cole |
| Established Title3: | Incorporated |
| Established Date3: | 1877[2] |
| Unit Pref: | Imperial |
| Area Footnotes: | [3] |
| Area Total Km2: | 12.07 |
| Area Land Km2: | 12.07 |
| Area Water Km2: | 0.00 |
| Area Total Sq Mi: | 4.66 |
| Area Land Sq Mi: | 4.66 |
| Area Water Sq Mi: | 0.00 |
| Population As Of: | 2020 |
| Population Total: | 11695 |
| Population Density Km2: | 968.76 |
| Population Density Sq Mi: | 2509.12 |
| Timezone: | Central (CST) |
| Utc Offset: | -6 |
| Timezone Dst: | CDT |
| Utc Offset Dst: | -5 |
| Coordinates: | 42.7814°N -96.9253°W |
| Elevation Ft: | 1234 |
| Postal Code Type: | ZIP code |
| Postal Code: | 57069 |
| Area Code: | 605 |
| Blank Name: | FIPS code |
| Blank Info: | 46-66700 |
| Blank1 Name: | GNIS feature ID |
| Blank1 Info: | 1267613 |
| Website: | City of Vermillion |
Vermillion (lkt|'''Waséoyuze''';[4] "The Place Where Vermilion is Obtained") is a city in and the county seat of Clay County.[5] It is in the southeastern corner of South Dakota, United States, and is the state's 12th-most populous city. According to the 2020 census, the population was 11,695. The city lies atop a bluff near the Missouri River.
The area has been home to Native American tribes for centuries. French fur traders first visited in the late 18th century. Vermillion was founded in 1859 and incorporated in 1873. The name refers to the Lakota name: wa sa wak pa'la (red stream). Home to the University of South Dakota, Vermillion has a mixed academic and rural character: the university is a major academic institution for the state, with its only law and medical schools and its only AACSB-accredited business school. Major farm products include corn, soybeans, and alfalfa.
The area has been home to Native American tribes for centuries[6] . In the late 1700s, the Sioux nations were driven from Minnesota to Dakota, and the Yankton Sioux cultivated corn and stored supplies near where Vermillion would be founded.[7]
French fur traders came to the site in the late 18th century. Lewis and Clark camped at the mouth of the Vermillion River near the present-day town on August 24, 1804. The previous day, they had killed their first bison; the next day, they climbed Spirit Mound. By the 1820s the Missouri River had become a key route for fur traders and the Columbia Fur Company built a post near where the Vermillion River met the Missouri River's old channel just south of the bluffs.[8] In May 1843, John James Audubon visited the Vermillion ravine to view the bird life.
The town of Vermillion was founded in 1859 soon after a treaty with the Yankton Sioux allowed settlement in the southeast Dakota Territory west of the Big Sioux river. The first schoolhouse in the Dakota Territory was built in Vermillion in 1860.[9] In 1862, Vermillion residents lobbied to move the capital of the Dakota territories from Yankton to Vermillion, but instead the territorial legislature promised to put the territorial university there, though they did not provide the necessary funding. Over the next few years, Vermillion became the county seat of Clay County, was made headquarters of First Judicial District of the Dakota Territory, and was given a federal land office. By 1870, Clay County's population had grown to 2,621,[10] and Vermillion was formally incorporated in 1873.[11] The town was considered for the site of South Dakota's first mental institution (now the Human Services Center) in 1873, but the hospital was eventually awarded to nearby Yankton.
In the 1870s, Vermillion's commerce was buoyed by military roads connecting Sioux City with Fort Randall including bridges crossing the Big Sioux, Vermillion, and James rivers, a telegraph line in 1870, a railroad stop for the Dakota Southern Railroad in 1872, wagon trains for the Black Hills Gold Rush, and a shift in the main channel of the Missouri River to the Dakota side in 1878.[12] [13]
The original town was entirely below the bluffs on the banks of the Missouri River,and March and April of 1881, melting snow and ice after the Hard Winter of 1880-81 triggered the Great Flood of 1881, which washed away most of the town.
The flood transformed Vermillion in three ways. First, within a few weeks the residents voted to rebuild the town on top of the bluff. Second, the flooding shifted the Missouri river's flow to be several miles south of the town, reducing commerce from river traffic. Third, to help the town recover, the Dakota Territory legislature finally appropriated funding to construct the University of Dakota so it could begin classes in 1882.
William Jennings Bryan and William Howard Taft—candidates for the U.S. presidency in the 1908 election—spoke in Vermillion on September 28 and 29, 1908, respectively. Along with Eugene Chafin, they toured South Dakota by train, including stops in Mitchell, Tripp, Yankton, and Elk Point.[14]
John Philip Sousa conducted the Sousa Band on October 26, 1926, at the facility that in 1929 became known as Slagle Auditorium.[15]
According to the United States Census Bureau, the city has an area of 4.03sqmi, all land.[16] The elevation of the city is 1221feet.
Vermillion operates under the council-manager form of government. Its governing body has nine members. Eight City Council members are elected from four wards, with two members representing each ward.[17] The Mayor is elected at-large and presides over City Council meetings. The mayor may vote on all matters coming before the governing body. With the consent of the City Council, the mayor appoints individuals to serve on the Library Board and Planning Commission. The Library Board oversees the operations of the Vermillion Public Library and appoints a Library Director. All services and programs provided by the library are overseen by the board. The Planning Commission is charged with overseeing the long-range planning of the community, including zoning issues, subdivisions and formulation of the Comprehensive Plan. The Planning Commission serves a vital role in recommending major policy changes to the governing body for the development of the community.
As of the 2020 census, Vermillion had a population of 11,695, with 4,226 households (including 1,771 families) residing in the city. The population density was 2623.1PD/sqmi, and there were 4,631 housing units.[18]
Of the households, 22.1% had children under the age of 18 living in them, 31.6% were married-couple households, 27.0% had a male householder with no spouse or partner present, 33.0% had a female householder with no spouse or partner present, 38.1% were composed of individuals, and 9.9% 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 2.90.[18]
There were 4,631 housing units, of which 8.7% were vacant. The homeowner vacancy rate was 2.0% and the rental vacancy rate was 8.1%.[18]
The median age was 23.0 years; 15.9% of residents were under the age of 18, 41.1% were between the ages of 18 and 24, 20.7% were from 25 to 44, 14.4% were from 45 to 64, and 10.4% were 65 years of age or older. For every 100 females there were 86.0 males, and for every 100 females age 18 and over there were 82.2 males.[18]
99.7% of residents lived in urban areas, while 0.3% lived in rural areas.[19]
| 9,694 | 82.9% | ||
| 229 | 2.0% | ||
| 571 | 4.9% | ||
| 351 | 3.0% | ||
| 3 | 0.0% | ||
| Some other race | 151 | 1.3% | |
| 696 | 6.0% | ||
| Hispanic or Latino (of any race) | 428 | 3.7% |
As of the census of 2000, there were 9,765 people, 3,647 households, and 1,801 families residing in the city. The population density was 2549.3sp=usNaNsp=us. There were 3,967 housing units at an average density of 1035.6sp=usNaNsp=us. The racial makeup of the city was 90.95% White, 1.29% African American, 3.37% Native American, 2.46% Asian, 0.01% Pacific Islander, 0.37% from other races, and 1.56% from two or more races. 1.07% of the population were Hispanic or Latino of any race.
There were 3,647 households, out of which 25.8% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 37.5% were married couples living together, 9.2% had a female householder with no husband present, and 50.6% were non-families. 34.1% of all households were made up of individuals, and 7.8% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 2.24 and the average family size was 2.90.
In the city, the population was spread out, with 17.5% under the age of 18, 36.2% from 18 to 24, 24.5% from 25 to 44, 13.4% from 45 to 64, and 8.4% who were 65 years of age or older. The median age was 24 years. For every 100 females, there were 91.6 males. For every 100 females age 18 and over, there were 89.9 males.
As of 2000 the median income for a household in the city was $24,095, and the median income for a family was $40,109. Males had a median income of $28,180 versus $20,975 for females. The per capita income for the city was $13,909. 26.2% of the population and 16.2% of families were below the poverty line. Out of the total people living in poverty, 19.0% are under the age of 18 and 14.8% are 65 or older.
For the population 25 years and over, 90.7% have a high school education or higher; 45.4% have a bachelor's degree or higher; and 21.2% have a graduate or professional degree.
For ancestries, 36% claim German ancestry; 14.2% Norwegian; 13.4% Irish; 6.6% English; 5.5% Dutch; and 4% Swedish.
| Company | Employees (est.)[21] | Location |
|---|---|---|
| Dakota Care Center of Vermillion | 90 | 125 S Walker St |
| Cafe Brule | 70 | 24 W. Main St |
| Eagle Creek Software Services | 50 | 1215 W. Cherry St |
| Hy-Vee | 135 | 525 W Cherry St |
| Polaris Industries | 120 | 1997 Polaris Pkwy |
| Sanford Health Network | 233 | 20 S Plum St |
| Sesdac Inc | 130 | 1314 E Cherry St |
| South Dakota Department of Military & Veterans Affairs | 96 | PO Box B434 |
| University of South Dakota | 800 | 414 E Clark St |
| Vermillion City | 157 | 25 Center St |
| Vermillion School District 13-1 | 170[22] | 17 Prospect St |
| Walmart | 100 | 1207 Princeton St |
Vermillion's nine parks, totaling, include several major city parks: Prentis Park, Cotton Park, Barstow Park, and Lions Park. Lions Park offers camping.[23] Prentis Park includes a new swimming pool opened in 2017, with a waterslide, diving board, shallow play area, "lazy river", and snack bar. The park also features a disc golf course and a baseball diamond which was the home of the Vermillion Grey Sox, of the South Dakota Amateur Baseball Association. The baseball field is currently home of the Vermillion High School, Post 1 American Legion, University of South Dakota club, and VFW teams. The city owns and operates The Bluffs Golf Course,[24] an 18-hole championship golf course that overlooks the river bluffs. Vermillion also offers a bike trail along the Vermillion River and several neighborhood parks: Bliss Park, JC Park, Ty Park, Bluffs Park, and Rotary Park.[25]
The University of South Dakota's National Music Museum (NMM) is accredited by the American Alliance of Museums in Washington, D.C., and is recognized as "A Landmark of American Music" by the National Music Council. It includes more than 15,000 American, European, and non-Western instruments.[26] The W.H. Over Museum was founded in 1883 and is South Dakota's oldest natural and cultural history museum. Its collections include fossils, botanical and biological specimens, and cultural items related to the history of inhabitants of South Dakota and the Upper Northern Plains.[27] The Austin–Whittemore House was originally built in 1884 and has since been transformed into a historic house museum. It also serves as the headquarters of the Clay County Historical Society. Built five years prior to South Dakota statehood, this house is one of the few surviving 19th century structures in the vicinity of Vermillion. Its builder, Horace J. Austin, came from one of the first groups of settlers to arrive in Dakota in 1859.[28]
Vermillion has five murals in the downtown business district, three of which are community-based. All three community murals are painted on the Coyote Twin Theater building; the first was painted in 2017, the second in 2019, and the third in 2020.[29] The first mural, "Painting the Town", was designed as the first mural for the Vermillion Community Mural Project by Amber Hansen, a painting professor at the University of South Dakota.[30]
In 2019 and 2020, Reyna Hernandez (Yankton Sioux Tribe of South Dakota) led the painting of two murals on the Coyote Twin Building that form a larger cohesive mural.[31] Hernandez, of the Yankton-Sioux Tribe, was assisted by Elizabeth Skye (Standing Rock Sioux Tribe). Inkpa Mani (Javier Lara-Ruiz[32]) led group discussions to help create imagery taken from Native American creation stories.[33]
The school district is Vermillion School District 13-1.[34]
University of South Dakota is in Vermillion.
| AM radio stations | ||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Frequency | Call sign | Name | Format | Owner | City | |
| 570 kHz | WNAX Radio 570 | Saga Communications | Yankton | |||
| 1450 kHz | Yankton's Home Team | Riverfront Broadcasting LLC | Yankton | |||
| 1570 kHz | 1570 "The Ticket" | 5 Star Communications | Vermillion | |||
| FM radio stations | ||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Frequency | Call sign | Name | Format | Owner | Target city/market | City of license |
| 89.7 MHz | South Dakota Public Broadcasting | SD Board of Directors for Educational Telecommunications | Yankton/Vermillion | Vermillion | ||
| 91.1 MHz | Coyote Radio 91.1 | The University of South Dakota | Yankton/Vermillion | Vermillion | ||
| 93.1 MHz | KK93 | Riverfront Broadcasting LLC | Yankton/Vermillion | Yankton | ||
| 94.3 MHz | The Current | Top-40 | Riverfront Broadcasting LLC | Yankton/Vermillion | Hartington | |
| 104.1 MHz | The Wolf 104.1 | Saga Communications | Yankton/Vermillion | Yankton | ||
| 106.3 MHz | Classic Hits 106.3 | 5 Star Communications | Yankton/Vermillion | Vermillion | ||
