Welcome to Spearfish ...
The city of Spearfish is located in Lawrence County<1>.
The location of Spearfish has been provided by the Geographic Names Information System (ie- the GNIS).<2>
From the Census Estimates for 2019, Spearfish has a population of 11,792 people<3> (see below for details).
Spearfish was established in 1876.
The community of Spearfish is 3,750 feet [1,143 m] above sea level.<4> In other words, the elevation of Spearfish is about ¾ mile [or ~1¼ km] above sea level.
Time Zone: Spearfish lies in the Mountain Time Zone (MST/MDT) and observes daylight saving time
The telephone area code for Spearfish: (605)
Websites for Spearfish ...
Official Website: www.city.spearfish.sd.us/
Population Details ...
Taken from the 2019 Census Estimates, Spearfish had an population of 11,792 people. This is an increase of 12.37% since the 2010 Census (or an increase of 37.02% since the 2000 Census).
At the time of the 2010 Census, Spearfish had a population of 10,494 people (or 43.55% of the total population of Lawrence County). This makes Spearfish the county's most populous community.
The population of Spearfish represents 1.29% of the total population of South Dakota (which has 814,180 people), making it the state's 13th most populous community.
With a 2010 count of 10,494 people, the population of Spearfish increased 21.94% from the 2000 Census (with a count of 8,606 people).
More information can be found on the Census Page for Spearfish.
Communities near Spearfish ...
We have created a list of 10 communities that are near Spearfish.
- Sturgis [Meade County]
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Sturgis
- Sturgis [Meade County] lies 17 miles [27.4 km]<5> to the east of Spearfish
- Population from the 2020 Census: 6,978 people
- Jump to Google Maps centered on Sturgis
- Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Sturgis<6>
- Belle Fourche [Butte County]
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Belle Fourche
- Belle Fourche [Butte County] lies 12 miles [19.3 km]<5> to the north of Spearfish
- Population from the 2020 Census: 5,742 people
- Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Belle Fourche have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
- Jump to Google Maps centered on Belle Fourche
- Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Belle Fourche<6>
- Lead [Lawrence County]
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Lead
- Lead [Lawrence County] lies 10 miles [16.1 km]<5> to the southeast of Spearfish
- Population from the 2020 Census: 2,947 people
- Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Lead have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
- Jump to Google Maps centered on Lead
- Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Lead<6>
- Deadwood [Lawrence County]
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Deadwood
- Deadwood [Lawrence County] lies 9 miles [14.5 km]<5> to the southeast of Spearfish
- Population from the 2020 Census: 1,294 people
- Jump to Google Maps centered on Deadwood
- Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Deadwood<6>
- Continue List (6 more) ...
- Whitewood [Lawrence County]
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Whitewood
- Whitewood [Lawrence County] lies 10 miles [16.1 km]<5> to the east of Spearfish
- Population from the 2020 Census: 999 people
- Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Whitewood have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
- Jump to Google Maps centered on Whitewood
- Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Whitewood<6>
- Trojan [Lawrence County]
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Trojan
- Trojan [Lawrence County] lies 10 miles [16.1 km]<5> to the south of Spearfish
- Estimated population in 2014: 627 people
- Jump to Google Maps centered on Trojan
- Tinton [Lawrence County] - Historic
- Lancaster City [Lawrence County] - Historic
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Lancaster City
- Lancaster City [Lawrence County] was located 8 miles [12.9 km]<5> to the southeast of Spearfish
- Estimated population in 2014: 419 people
- Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Lancaster City have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
- Saint Onge [Lawrence County]
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Saint Onge
- Saint Onge [Lawrence County] lies 7 miles [11.3 km]<5> to the northeast of Spearfish
- Estimated population in 2014: 342 people
- Jump to Google Maps centered on Saint Onge
- Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Saint Onge<6>
- Nisland [Butte County]
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Nisland
- Nisland [Butte County] lies 19 miles [30.6 km]<5> to the northeast of Spearfish
- Population from the 2020 Census: 227 people
- Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Nisland have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
- Jump to Google Maps centered on Nisland
- Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Nisland<6>
- Whitewood [Lawrence County]
To Help With Your Genealogy Research ...
We have a couple of sections for those tracing their genealogy.
We created a list of cemeteries that are in the area around Spearfish. Our list includes the location of those cemeteries and we provide an overhead view. See our Cemetery List for Spearfish.
Using the information from an 1895 Atlas, we've created a list of communities that were in the area of Spearfish. Our list includes information such as whether the 1895 community had a post office or railroad service. See our List of 1890's Communities around Spearfish.
We also have a detailed list of newspapers that have been published in the area around Spearfish. Our list includes 8 papers. See our Newspapers Page for Spearfish.
TripAdvisor Tourism Pages for Spearfish ...
Looking for more information about Spearfish? A wonderful source is the TripAdvisor website. We always start with the TripAdvisor Tourism page, where you can read an overview with links that will help you find lodging, restaurants and attractions.
In addition to the Tourism page for Spearfish, there are neighboring communities that also have Tourism pages. More information about those communities can be found on our TripAdvisor Page for Spearfish.
Adding Spearfish to Our Gazetteer ...
We originally found mention of Spearfish in both the FIPS-55 and the GNIS. For more information, see the FIPS and GNIS Codes sections on our Miscellaneous Page.
In addition, our notes show that the earliest dated mention that we've found for Spearfish was in the Business Atlas and Shippers' Guide (1895).
For more details about the above, see References and Mentions for Spearfish on our Genealogy Page.
Other Roadside Stops ...
Visit our Community Index for South Dakota
Off-the-Road Links ...
The official website for Spearfish: www.city.spearfish.sd.us/
The official website for Lawrence County: www.lawrence.sd.us/
The official website for State of South Dakota: sd.gov/
Footnotes ...
| <1> | If you're interested in how the shape of South Dakota's counties, including Lawrence, have changed over time, we recommend the Atlas of Historical County Boundaries. |
| <2> | The location has been supplied by the Geographic Names Information System - which is maintained by the U.S. Geological Survey (USGS). While these values should be definitive, we have found that accuracy can vary and you should double-check the location if accuracy is required. |
| <3> | Population counts have been provided by the U.S. Census Bureau. For more detail, please visit our Census Page for Spearfish. |
| <4> | The elevation is an estimate for the area around Spearfish - it will be higher in some places and lower in others. |
| <5> | Our distances are not driving distances, but are calculated as a 'point-to-point' distance. A straight line distance ignores obstructions like rivers, canyons, lakes, et cetera - it's truly a line drawn from Point A (ie- Spearfish) to Point B.If you need the driving distance, we recommend that you use one of the Mapping Services listed on our Map Page for Spearfish. Since we usually use Google Maps for our own planning, we've provided the following link for your convenience: Google Map and Driving Directions starting from SpearfishOur distance measurements begin at a specific point in Spearfish. The point we use is located at these GPS coordinates - Latitude: 44.4889, Longitude: -103.8477 In this case, the coordinates for Spearfish have been provided by the Geographic Names Information System (GNIS). |
| <6> | While we're fans and frequent users of TripAdvisor, you should know that we're also members of the TripAdvisor affiliate program. |