Vermillion, South Dakota

Vermillion, South Dakota
City
Location in Clay County and the state of South Dakota
Country	United States
State	South Dakota
County	Clay
Government
• Mayor	Dan Christopherson
Area
• Total	3.8 sq mi (9.9 km2)
• Land	3.8 sq mi (9.9 km2)
• Water	0 sq mi (0 km2)
Elevation	1,224 ft (373 m)
Population  (2000)
• Total	9,765
• Density	2,569.7/sq mi (986.4/km2)
Time zone	UTC-6 (Central (CST))
• Summer (DST)	UTC-5 (CDT)
ZIP code	57069
Area code	605
FIPS code	46-66700Template:GR
GNIS feature ID	1258745Template:GR

Vermillion is a city in and the county seat of Clay County,Template:GR in the southeastern corner of the U.S. state of South Dakota, and the tenth largest city in the state. Vermillion lies atop a bluff on the Missouri River.

French fur traders first visited in the late 1700s, and Vermillion was founded in 1859 and incorporated in 1873. The name refers to the Lakota name: "wa sa wak pa'la", meaning "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, boasting the state's only law and medical school,the state's only AACSB accredited business school, and several well-regarded academic departments. Major farm products include corn, soybeans, and alfalfa. The population was 9,765 at the 2000 census.

Vermillion is also home to the National Music Museum.

Geography

Vermillion is located at 42°46′52″N 96°55′37″W (42.780981, -96.926911)¹.

According to the United States Census Bureau, the city has a total area of 3.8 square miles (9.9 km²), all of it land.

Vermillion has been assigned the ZIP code 57069 and the FIPS place code 66700.

The elevation of the city is 1,221 feet.

Demographics

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 2,549.3 people per square mile (984.4/km²). There were 3,967 housing units at an average density of 1,035.6/sq mi (399.9/km²). 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.

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.

Education

Vermillion has six schools, three of which are elementary, one of which is a middle school, one of which is a high school, and one of which is a college. The two public elementary schools are Austin School (~275 students), which educates Kindergarten through first grade classes, and Jolley School (~305 students), which educates second to fifth grade classes. The third elementary school, St. Agnes Catholic School (~142 students), offers a parochial education from preschool through fifth grade. The Vermillion Middle School (~343 students) educates sixth through eighth grade classes. The Vermillion High School (~422 students) educates ninth through twelfth grade classes.

The University of South Dakota (8,641 students) has a compact campus, with the majority of the buildings within a 6 block area. The University of South Dakota is home to the state's only medical school and law school, the only AACSB accredited Business School (renamed the Beacom School of Business in 2006) in South Dakota, as well as the only accredited School of Fine Arts in South Dakota. The University is also affiliated with the W.H. Over Museum, which sells a variety of prints by Oscar Howe, who was named Assistant Professor of Fine Arts, Artist-in-Residence and Assistant Director of the University Museum at USD in 1957. The historic Old Main building, located on campus, houses an extensive collection of Howe paintings. Vermillion is also home to the only sports dome in South Dakota, the 10,000+ seat Dakota Dome.

Religion

Vermillion contains many churches of several different denominations including (listed alphabetically): Assemblies of God, The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, Concordia Lutheran Church (LCMS), Faith Fellowship (an Open Bible Church), the First United Methodist Church of Vermillion (UMC), Grace Baptist Church (SBC), Hillside Community Church (part of the Christian and Missionary Alliance), Jehovah's Witnesses, the Newman Center (Catholic Church), Providence Reformed Church, (RCUS), St. Agnes Catholic Church, St. Paul's Episcopal Church, Trinity Lutheran (ELCA), the Unitarian Universalists of Vermillion, and the United Church of Christ (UCC).

Major Employers

Company	Employees (est.)	Location
Hy-Vee	135	525 W Cherry St
Jones' Food Center	90	812 Cottage Ave
Military Veterans Affairs SD (730th Medical Center)	96	603 Princeton St
Polaris Industries	120	1997 Polaris Pkwy
Sioux Valley Regional Health	233	20 S Plum St
Sioux Valley Vermillion Care	90	125 S Walker St
University of South Dakota	800	414 E Clark St
Vermillion City	157	25 Center St
Vermillion School District 13-1	225	1001 E Main St
Wal-Mart	100	1207 Princeton St

Parks

Prentis Park includes two swimming pools (one kiddie pool, and one full size with a waterslide and diving boards), as well as a variety of playground equipment wide open green space. Additionally the park features a snack bar (next to the pool area), several basketball hoops, a baseball diamond (Home of the Vermillion Red Sox, of the South Dakota Amateur Baseball Association), and a disc golf course.

Notable Natives

• Carl Gunderson South Dakota's eleventh governor.
• Abby Whiteside Piano teacher and theorist
• Arthur Whittemore (of duo-pianists Whittemore and Lowe)
• Shawn Colvin Acclaimed folk singer
• Mitchell Olson contestant of Survivor
• Ben Leber Minnesota Vikings linebacker
• Rachael Bella actress
• Tim Johnson U.S. Senator
• Doug Dickey a member of the College Football Hall of Fame.

Trivia

• Lewis and Clark camped at the mouth of the Vermillion River near the present day town on August 24, 1804.
• John James Audubon visited the Vermillion ravine to view the bird life in 1843.
• The original town was entirely located below the bluffs on the banks of the Missouri River, and three-quarters of the town was washed away in the great flood of 1881.
• William Jennings Bryan visited and spoke in Vermillion on September 28, 1908, and William Howard Taft on the next day.
• U.S. Congressman from South Dakota John L. Jolley (and former Vermillion mayor) died in Vermillion in 1926 and is buried at Bluff View Cemetery.
• South Dakota's third governor Andrew E. Lee, and its first democratic (Populist) Governor (and former Vermillion mayor), died in Vermillion on March 19, 1934 and is buried at Bluff View Cemetery.
• Joe Foss graduated from the University of South Dakota (in Vermillion) in 1940.
• On March 24, 1967; Thomas James White Hawk and William Stands murdered Vermillion jeweler James Yeado and raped his wife.
• Donald Opperman's car parked illegally on the streets on December 10, 1973 leads to U.S. Supreme Court case South Dakota v. Opperman decided March 29, 1976.
• Tom Brokaw went to the University of South Dakota (in Vermillion).
• Allen Neuharth, founder of USA Today, attended the University of South Dakota. The Neuharth Media Center, where all the news and media organizations of the University as well as South Dakota Public Broadcasting's studios and offices are located, is named after him.
• Pat O'Brien, sportscaster, attended the University of South Dakota.
• Ratingen, Germany is the sister city of Vermillion. Because of this relationship, there is a street called "Ratingen Strasse" (formerly known as Apple Street) which runs along side the DakotaDome.
• Located approximately 10 miles from the proposed site of a Hyperion Refinery (formerly known as the Gorilla Project), which will be one of the 10 biggest refineries in the United States.

External links

• City of Vermillion government website
• Vermillion EMS
• Vermillion Plain Talk - local newspaper
• University of South Dakota
• Volante - The award winning student newspaper of The University of South Dakota