Town file
Lemmon, South Dakota
Lemmon, South Dakota is the town in one episode of Small Town Murder, the comedy true-crime podcast: episode 506, "Twin Marrying Madness" (29 June 2024). Walter Gibbs was born on 10 August 1904 in Wahoo, Nebraska, the only child of Fred and Laura Gibbs, ranchers who moved to Morristown, near Lemmon, South Dakota, in 1910 to homestead.
- Town
- Lemmon
- State
- South Dakota
- Country
- USA
- Episodes
- 506
- Approximate location
- 45.938, -102.160
Episode 506 / 29 June 2024 / 71 min / express
Twin Marrying Madness
"James says they are going to Lemmon, South Dakota, 'l-e-m-m-o-n like the man', in the north-western part of the state, three blocks from North Dakota." about 0:03:28
The case: Murder of Walter Gibbs (March 31 to April 1, 1990). Read the case file.
The figures, as told in 2024
- Population
- 1,252
- Median household income
- $41,875
- Median home value
- $97,900
- Crime overall
- ▼ very low
History, in brief
- The town's motto is 'the cowboy capital' of the 1,200 people of the surrounding area. about 0:05:28
- The US government leased George Ed 'Boss Cowman' Lemmon about 800,000 acres of the Standing Rock Indian Reservation because he was a cattle rancher. about 0:05:38
- He bought the land for the town site and wanted his town to be the county seat, but it never became the county seat. about 0:06:13
- Railroad officials named the town after him, figuring he was a pain in the ass. about 0:06:20
- George Ed Lemmon died in Lemmon in 1945. about 0:06:30
- Some sources say Lemmon was a sundown town in the 1920s, but James could not find it in the official listings and thinks it may have been misreported. about 0:06:38
The reviews read out
4 stars
"Very warm and inviting; the only thing the reviewer would change is the availability of fun activities in town."about 0:07:05
"A small town of about 1,300 people, safe for families, with a very low crime rate and one public school, so sport matters a lot."about 0:07:18
4 stars
"The sports scene is amazing; with 1,200 people you can watch sophomores run around all day."about 0:07:54
4 stars
"Good for a small town though not comparable to a bigger town; there are several bars and they also serve food."about 0:08:02
3 stars
"Average but not excellent: the grocery store lacks a wide variety of fruit and vegetables, while the gas stations and pharmacy are well maintained."about 0:08:20
3 stars
"There are many jobs in Lemmon but most do not offer good hours or good pay, and there are no paramedics in town."about 0:09:46
Nearest Small Town Murder towns
- Dickinson, North Dakota73 miles
- Bismarck, North Dakota90 miles
- Menoken, North Dakota98 miles
- Belle Fourche, South Dakota121 miles
- Whitewood, South Dakota125 miles
- Spearfish, South Dakota128 miles
Everything here is as told in the episode, on the date it went out; figures and places may have changed since. Endings are covered: open an episode and use the spoiler switch to read them.