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Aurora County
Aurora County was created by an act of the Dakota Territory Legislature on February 22, 1879, and organized on August 8, 1881. The land had been parts of Hanson, what was later Davison, Jerauld and Cragin counties. The newly formed county was named “Aurora” for the Roman goddess of the dawn. Records indicate that Jacob “Jake” Breidenbach was the first white settler, coming to what is now Palatine Township in 1879. Although nomadic Native American tribes had apparently passed through the area along Firesteel Creek, there is no indication of any permanent Native settlements. Mrs. T.C. Granger was the first white woman to live in the County. The first child, born in the spring of 1880, was Dick Gibbs. In October of 1881, the first death registered was Lucy Brooks. The first marriage was in the fall of 1882, Peter McGovern to Blanche Brady. E.H. McIntosh, Charles Breidenbach and A.B. Smart were the first Commissioners, who held their initial meeting at the Chicago, Milwaukee, St. Paul Railroad depot in Plankinton on August 29, 1881. This formalized the organization of the County and named the town of Plankinton as the county seat. Their action was later ratified by a vote of the people in the November 1882 general election. C.J. Anderson was appointed as County Clerk, Auditor and Register of Deeds. Later meetings saw other officials appointed: Treasurer, Jackson Thorp; Sheriff, Joseph Stiffler; Judge, Jay H. Kibbee; Superintendent of Schools, Alden Brown; Coroner, S.H. Bakewell; and Surveyor, J.D. Miracle. Aurora County is divided into twenty townships -- each approximately six miles wide by 6 miles long -- equaling 721 square miles. The townships were organized and approved in 1884.
On June 12, 1883, a special election was held, bonding the County for $15,000.00 to build a courthouse and jail. The building was completed and occupied in 1884. A new courthouse was built and dedicated July 9, 1940 on the same site as the original courthouse, at a cost of approximately $100,000.00, with much of the labor and materials coming from the Work Progress Administration (WPA). The four story building, including a full basement, is made of crushed rock and poured concrete, with the inside partitions of brick finished in plaster. The woodwork is natural oak. Aurora County has three organized cities, Plankinton (originally named Merrill), White Lake (first Windsor, then York Town) and Stickney, as well as two unorganized villages, Storla (to the north) and Aurora Center (to the south).
Plankinton was home to the first Grain Palace in South Dakota in 1891, forerunner to the “World’s Only Corn Palace” in Mitchell, in 1892. The community is presently restoring its oldest landmark, the historic Sweep-Van Dyke hotel as a railroad museum and cultural heritage center
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