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
South Dakota State University FCS Division 1 stadiums. South Dakota State University has produced a number of the current members of South Dakota's state government and in Congress, including current Congresswoman Kristi Noem, who subsequently is the first-female Governor-elect of South Dakota, and current U.S. Senator Mike Rounds. Members of the South Dakota Supreme Court, current Chief Justice David Gilbertson and Associate Justice Mark Salter, attended the university for their undergraduate degrees. In the federal cabinet, Stephen Censky, current United States Deputy Secretary of Agriculture, and in federal foreign service, former Governor of South Dakota Dick Kneip served as United States Ambassador to Singapore.