Cresbard, South Dakota
Encyclopedia
Cresbard is a town in Faulk County
, South Dakota
, United States
. The population was 104 at the 2010 census.
According to the United States Census Bureau
, the town has a total area of 0.4 square miles (1 km²), all of it land.
Cresbard has been assigned the ZIP code
57435 and the FIPS place code 14580.
of 2000, there were 143 people, 72 households, and 47 families residing in the town. The population density
was 340.6 people per square mile (131.5/km²). There were 89 housing units at an average density of 212.0 per square mile (81.8/km²). The racial makeup of the town was 98.60% White, 0.70% Asian, and 0.70% from two or more races.
There were 72 households out of which 13.9% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 59.7% were married couples
living together, 4.2% had a female householder with no husband present, and 34.7% were non-families. 33.3% of all households were made up of individuals and 20.8% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 1.99 and the average family size was 2.47.
In the town the population was spread out with 12.6% under the age of 18, 4.2% from 18 to 24, 16.8% from 25 to 44, 37.8% from 45 to 64, and 28.7% who were 65 years of age or older. The median age was 55 years. For every 100 females there were 101.4 males. For every 100 females age 18 and over, there were 92.3 males.
The median income for a household in the town was $35,625, and the median income for a family was $44,250. Males had a median income of $27,500 versus $17,500 for females. The per capita income
for the town was $18,241. There were none of the families and 3.7% of the population living below the poverty line, including no under eighteens and 12.2% of those over 64.
The railway was abandoned by 1940 and State Highway 20 served as the town's main link to the outside world. Following a nationwide population upswing after World War II
the agriculture-based economy of the area began to show a decreasing population. The population of the school fell from a high of 350 in the 60s and 70s to less than 100 students by the late 1990s.
Because of dwindling high school population (16 at last count http://www.city-data.com/city/Cresbard-South-Dakota.html) citizens of Cresbard spent several years exploring their options. In 2004 the town's total population fell to 121 and the decision was made to redistrict the schools. The high school http://www.cresbardsd.com/school_building.htm closed and was offered for sale on the internet the following year at a price calculated to attract outside business. It was purchased to serve as the corporate headquarters of Keenspot
Entertainment by Chris Crosby
and Chris's mother Terri, Keenspot's co-owner. Keenspot Entertainment is a growing publisher of more than 50 online comics and related materials including a number of Crosby's own projects such as the pseudo-autobiographical Superosity which briefly was set in a fictionalized Cresbard during the story arcs "Back in the Green"http://www.superosity.com/d/20051128.html and "South Dakotan Christmas"http://www.superosity.com/d/20051212.html in which the high school was parodied as an abandoned mental hospital. In keeping with his wacky, satirical style, Crosby's comic characters fled from South Dakota following a fictionalized version of the Blizzard of November 28–29, 2005 http://www.crh.noaa.gov/fsd/?n=blizzard20051128.
As of 2007, the primary non-agricultural commercial venture in the town of Cresbard and surrounding areas is services related to the recreational hunting of pheasant, ducks, geese, deer, and buffalo http://www.dakotatraditions.com/.
Cresbard is also the home of an hotel and restaurant, museum, auto shop, oil supply company, insurance agency, a branch of Dacotah Bank, Senior Citizens center, two churches, and a local fire and rescue. It is surrounded by farmland.
Among the businesses that closed due to the decrease in population were a grocery store, drug store, hardware store, small movie theater, laundromat, and farm implement dealership. The town no longer operates the grain elevator or lumberyard http://www.cresbardsd.com/community_profile.htm. The services these businesses represent can now be found in neighboring towns, such as Aberdeen, South Dakota
which is 40 miles away.
Ruth Wood, a retired school teacher and farm wife characterizes Cresbard as "a place where we cannot lie about our age, our background or our school pranks. There will always be someone around who remembers all of the facts (or will supply them anyway). There is no need to put on airs or pretense." http://www.cresbardsd.com/community_profile.htm
Faulk County, South Dakota
As of the census of 2000, there were 2,640 people, 1,014 households, and 708 families residing in the county. The population density was 3 people per square mile . There were 1,235 housing units at an average density of 1 per square mile...
, South Dakota
South Dakota
South Dakota is a state located in the Midwestern region of the United States. It is named after the Lakota and Dakota Sioux American Indian tribes. Once a part of Dakota Territory, South Dakota became a state on November 2, 1889. The state has an area of and an estimated population of just over...
, United States
United States
The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
. The population was 104 at the 2010 census.
Geography
Cresbard is located at 45°10′14"N 98°56′53"W (45.170570, -98.947921).According to the United States Census Bureau
United States Census Bureau
The United States Census Bureau is the government agency that is responsible for the United States Census. It also gathers other national demographic and economic data...
, the town has a total area of 0.4 square miles (1 km²), all of it land.
Cresbard has been assigned the ZIP code
ZIP Code
ZIP codes are a system of postal codes used by the United States Postal Service since 1963. The term ZIP, an acronym for Zone Improvement Plan, is properly written in capital letters and was chosen to suggest that the mail travels more efficiently, and therefore more quickly, when senders use the...
57435 and the FIPS place code 14580.
Demographics
As of the censusCensus
A census is the procedure of systematically acquiring and recording information about the members of a given population. It is a regularly occurring and official count of a particular population. The term is used mostly in connection with national population and housing censuses; other common...
of 2000, there were 143 people, 72 households, and 47 families residing in the town. The population density
Population density
Population density is a measurement of population per unit area or unit volume. It is frequently applied to living organisms, and particularly to humans...
was 340.6 people per square mile (131.5/km²). There were 89 housing units at an average density of 212.0 per square mile (81.8/km²). The racial makeup of the town was 98.60% White, 0.70% Asian, and 0.70% from two or more races.
There were 72 households out of which 13.9% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 59.7% were married couples
Marriage
Marriage is a social union or legal contract between people that creates kinship. It is an institution in which interpersonal relationships, usually intimate and sexual, are acknowledged in a variety of ways, depending on the culture or subculture in which it is found...
living together, 4.2% had a female householder with no husband present, and 34.7% were non-families. 33.3% of all households were made up of individuals and 20.8% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 1.99 and the average family size was 2.47.
In the town the population was spread out with 12.6% under the age of 18, 4.2% from 18 to 24, 16.8% from 25 to 44, 37.8% from 45 to 64, and 28.7% who were 65 years of age or older. The median age was 55 years. For every 100 females there were 101.4 males. For every 100 females age 18 and over, there were 92.3 males.
The median income for a household in the town was $35,625, and the median income for a family was $44,250. Males had a median income of $27,500 versus $17,500 for females. The per capita income
Per capita income
Per capita income or income per person is a measure of mean income within an economic aggregate, such as a country or city. It is calculated by taking a measure of all sources of income in the aggregate and dividing it by the total population...
for the town was $18,241. There were none of the families and 3.7% of the population living below the poverty line, including no under eighteens and 12.2% of those over 64.
History
Cresbard celebrated its centennial in 2006. The town was founded in 1906 when the Minneapolis & St Louis Railway completed a line from Watertown, South Dakota, to LeBeau, South Dakota on the east bank of the Missouri River. It was incorporated in 1909. In its early years, it served as a grain and livestock center for the northern tier of Faulk County, South Dakota. Cresbard became a well known consolidated school district by the 1920s serving at least seven smaller communities in the surrounding area. The school's marching and concert band won national recognition in the 1950s and boys basketball and cross country teams won state titles.The railway was abandoned by 1940 and State Highway 20 served as the town's main link to the outside world. Following a nationwide population upswing after World War II
World War II
World War II, or the Second World War , was a global conflict lasting from 1939 to 1945, involving most of the world's nations—including all of the great powers—eventually forming two opposing military alliances: the Allies and the Axis...
the agriculture-based economy of the area began to show a decreasing population. The population of the school fell from a high of 350 in the 60s and 70s to less than 100 students by the late 1990s.
Because of dwindling high school population (16 at last count http://www.city-data.com/city/Cresbard-South-Dakota.html) citizens of Cresbard spent several years exploring their options. In 2004 the town's total population fell to 121 and the decision was made to redistrict the schools. The high school http://www.cresbardsd.com/school_building.htm closed and was offered for sale on the internet the following year at a price calculated to attract outside business. It was purchased to serve as the corporate headquarters of Keenspot
Keenspot
Keenspot is a webcomics portal founded in March 2000 by cartoonist Chris Crosby , Crosby's mother Teri, cartoonist Darren Bleuel , and Nathan Stone.-History:...
Entertainment by Chris Crosby
Chris Crosby
Christopher Charles Crosby is the co-founder of Keenspot along with Darren Bleuel and Nathan Stone. He draws and writes the webcomic Superosity and writes for Sore Thumbs, which Owen Gieni illustrates. He currently resides in Cresbard, SD.-Superosity:Superosity is a daily comic strip by Crosby...
and Chris's mother Terri, Keenspot's co-owner. Keenspot Entertainment is a growing publisher of more than 50 online comics and related materials including a number of Crosby's own projects such as the pseudo-autobiographical Superosity which briefly was set in a fictionalized Cresbard during the story arcs "Back in the Green"http://www.superosity.com/d/20051128.html and "South Dakotan Christmas"http://www.superosity.com/d/20051212.html in which the high school was parodied as an abandoned mental hospital. In keeping with his wacky, satirical style, Crosby's comic characters fled from South Dakota following a fictionalized version of the Blizzard of November 28–29, 2005 http://www.crh.noaa.gov/fsd/?n=blizzard20051128.
As of 2007, the primary non-agricultural commercial venture in the town of Cresbard and surrounding areas is services related to the recreational hunting of pheasant, ducks, geese, deer, and buffalo http://www.dakotatraditions.com/.
Cresbard is also the home of an hotel and restaurant, museum, auto shop, oil supply company, insurance agency, a branch of Dacotah Bank, Senior Citizens center, two churches, and a local fire and rescue. It is surrounded by farmland.
Among the businesses that closed due to the decrease in population were a grocery store, drug store, hardware store, small movie theater, laundromat, and farm implement dealership. The town no longer operates the grain elevator or lumberyard http://www.cresbardsd.com/community_profile.htm. The services these businesses represent can now be found in neighboring towns, such as Aberdeen, South Dakota
Aberdeen, South Dakota
Aberdeen is a city in and the county seat of Brown County, South Dakota, United States, about 125 mi northeast of Pierre. Settled in 1880, it was incorporated in 1882. The city population was 26,091 at the 2010 census. The American News is the local newspaper...
which is 40 miles away.
Ruth Wood, a retired school teacher and farm wife characterizes Cresbard as "a place where we cannot lie about our age, our background or our school pranks. There will always be someone around who remembers all of the facts (or will supply them anyway). There is no need to put on airs or pretense." http://www.cresbardsd.com/community_profile.htm