Hughes County, South Dakota Hughes County, South Dakota Hughes County is a county located in the U.S. state of South Dakota. As of the 2010 census, the population was 17,022, making it the least populous capital county in the nation, and the twelfth-most populous county in South Dakota. Its county seat is Pierre, the state capital. The county was created in 1873 and organized in 1880. It was named for Alexander Hughes, a legislator. Hughes County is part of the Pierre, SD Micropolitan Statistical Area. According to the U.S. Census Bureau, the county has a total area of , of which is land and
Merritt, South Dakota Merritt, South Dakota Merritt is a ghost town in Lawrence County and Pennington County, South Dakota, United States of America. Merritt was a small logging community that once included a school, post office, and a ranger station. It provided fuel and wood for the mines near Lead and Deadwood. It has since been abandoned. In the 1970s, all that remained of the town was a trout ranch. The old site is located on the county line between Pennington and Lawrence Counties in the US state of South Dakota, on the west side of US 385. Merritt is inside of the