Clark County, South Dakota Genealogy

United States South Dakota Clark County

Guide to Clark County, South Dakota ancestry, genealogy and family history, birth records, marriage records, death records, census records, family history, and military records.

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County Courthouse
Clark County Courthouse PO Box 294 Clark, SD 57225 Phone: 605.532.5363 Register of Deeds has marriage records from 1884, birth and death records from 1905, burial records from 1941, military discharge from 1919 and land records; Clerk of Courts has divorce, probate and court records

Clark County, South Dakota Record Dates

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 * width="84%" bgcolor="#e4d8e5" align="center" colspan="7" | Beginning Dates for Major County Records
 * width="12%" bgcolor="#e4d8e5" align="center" | Birth*
 * width="12%" bgcolor="#e4d8e5" align="center" | Marriage
 * width="12%" bgcolor="#e4d8e5" align="center" | Death*
 * width="12%" bgcolor="#e4d8e5" align="center" | Court
 * width="12%" bgcolor="#e4d8e5" align="center" | Land
 * width="12%" bgcolor="#e4d8e5" align="center" | Probate
 * width="12%" bgcolor="#e4d8e5" align="center" | Census
 * width="12%" align="center" |1883
 * width="12%" align="center" |1883
 * width="12%" align="center" |
 * width="12%" align="center" |
 * width="12%" align="center" |1881
 * width="12%" align="center" |1882
 * width="12%" align="center" |1880
 * colspan="7"|
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 * width="12%" align="center" |1880
 * colspan="7"|
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Record Loss
There is no known history of courthouse disasters in this county.

Boundary Changes
County seat: Clark
 * 1873--Clark County was created 8 January 1873 from Hanson County.
 * Interactive Formation Boundary Map of North Dakota - shows boundary changes for South Dakota Counties
 * South Dakota Historical Boundary Changes - list of all boundary changes by county provided by Newberry Library

Populated Places
The following are locations in the county

Cities

Clark

Willow Lake

Towns

Bradley

Garden City

Naples

Raymond

Vienna

Census-designated place

Crocker

Unincorporated communities

Carpenter

Elrod

Townships


 * Ash
 * Blaine
 * Collins
 * Cottonwood
 * Darlington
 * Day
 * Eden
 * Elrod
 * Fordham
 * Foxton
 * Garfield
 * Hague
 * Lake
 * Lincoln
 * Logan
 * Maydell
 * Merton
 * Mount Pleasant
 * Pleasant
 * Raymond
 * Richland
 * Rosedale
 * Spring Valley
 * Thorp
 * Warren
 * Washington
 * Woodland




 * }

State Census Records

 * 1885 South Dakota, Territorial Census, 1885 at Ancestry ($)
 * 1895 South Dakota, State Census, 1895 at Ancestry ($)

Federal Census Records
Federal Censuses were taken for South Dakota starting in 1910. For links to Federal census indexes, see South Dakota Census.

Church Records
Lutheran


 * Records of Our Savior's Lutheran Church, Clark County, in Evangelical Lutheran Church in America database at Archives.com ($).

Land and Property Records
Online Land Records


 * Land Patent Search - index to federal patents and homesteads on the Bureau of Land Management website, some images available
 * 1796 - 1907 - U.S. General Land Office Records, 1796-1907 at Ancestry - index, info taken from Bureau of Land Management website
 * 1861 - 1936 - U.S. Homestead Records 1861-1936 at Ancestry.com - ($), index and images

Local Histories

 * A history of southern Clark County and Spirit Lake. 2015. Salt Lake City : Digitized by the Genealogical Society of Utah. Online at:.
 * A history of the city of Clark and of the men who made it and now possess it. 2013. By S.J. Conklin. Salt Lake City : Digitized by the Genealogical Society of Utah. Online at:.
 * Southern Clark County, South Dakota, history 1976. 1976. Online at:;.
 * Sparks from many camp fires. 1989. By Earle R. Hubbard. New Haven, Connecticut : Microfilmed by Yale University Library. Online at:;.

Maps and Gazetteers

 * Interactive Formation Boundary Map of South Dakota - shows boundary changes for South Dakota Counties
 * Historical Maps and Atlases of South Dakota - maps and atlases of South Dakota
 * Family Maps of Clark County, South Dakota (land patent maps) at HistoryGeo.com ($). Free surname search.

Military Records
Civil War World War I
 * 1861 - 1941 South Dakota, Grand Army of the Republic Membership Records, 1861-1941 at FamilySearch
 * 1861 -1865 at FamilySearch.
 * 1890 at FamilySearch.
 * 1917 - 1918 Roster of the men and women who served in the army or naval service (including the Marine Corps) of the United States or its allies from the state of North Dakota in the World War, 1917-1918, Vols. 1-4 at Ancestry ($)
 * For further information see North Dakota Military Records.

Naturalization and Citizenship

 * 1904 - 1928 South Dakota, Federal Naturalization Records, 1904-1928 at Ancestry — index and images ($)
 * 1865 - 1972 at FamilySearch — images
 * South Dakota Naturalization Records Index:First Papers — index
 * South Dakota Naturalization Records Index:Second Papers — index
 * Name Index to Naturalization Records from Dakota Territory and South Dakota at National Archives, Kansas City — index

Newspapers
 South Dakota Newspapers Online South Dakota Newspaper Catalogs
 * GenealogyBank - ($), contains images of South Dakota newspapers
 * Newspaper Archive - ($), contains images of South Dakota newspapers
 * Chronicling America - contains images of some South Dakota newspapers; searching tips
 * Elephind - Free; search engine that retrieves newspaper images from other free newspaper websites
 * U.S. Newspaper Directory, 1690-Present on Chronicling America - contains a list of all known newspapers and the dates they cover; once you locate a newspaper name, contact the local library to see if they have copies of the newspaper.

Probate Records
Online Records
 * 1800 – 1985 North Dakota and South Dakota Wills and Probate Records 1800-1985 at Ancestry.com — index and images $

School Records

 * 1879 - 1970 at FamilySearch — index
 * 1879 - 1970 South Dakota, School Records,1879-1970 at Ancestry — images

Birth

 * 1843 - 1914 at FamilySearch  — index
 * 1856 - 1950 South Dakota, Birth Index, 1856-1915 at Ancestry  — index ($)
 * Birth Record Search Site For South Dakota Birth Records With Birth Dates Over 100 Years — index

Marriage

 * 1950 - 2014  — index
 * 1905 - 2013 South Dakota, Marriages, 1905-2013 at Ancestry — index and images ($)

Death

 * 1879 - 1955 South Dakota, Death Index, 1879-1955 at Ancestry — index($)

Societies
Clark County Historical Society 208 N Idaho Clark, SD 57225 Telephone: 605-532-3769 Website 

Websites

 * USGenWeb project. May have maps, name indexes, history or other information for this county. Select the state, then the county.