Pierre, South Dakota Pierre, South Dakota Pierre (; Lakota: "čhúŋkaške", "fort") is the state capital of the U.S. state of South Dakota, and the county seat of Hughes County. The population was 13,646 at the 2010 census, making it the second-least populous state capital in the United States after Montpelier, Vermont, and the eighth-most populous city in South Dakota. Founded in 1880 on the east bank of the Missouri River opposite Fort Pierre, Pierre has been the state capital since South Dakota gained statehood on November 2, 1889. It was challenged by Huron for the capital and won because of its location in
South Dakota Highway 52 until 1950, when U.S. Highway 18 was rerouted onto this road. In the early 1950s, there were two new, separate segments of SD 52. One was in the extreme southwest corner of the state. It began at U.S. 18 in Edgemont, and ran southerly to meet what is now South Dakota Highway 71 near Rumford. This road was renumbered as South Dakota Highway 471 in 1976. The second 1950's segment of SD 52 was the current alignment. South Dakota Highway 52 South Dakota Highway 52 (SD 52) is a state route that runs just north of the Missouri River, across