Town file
Spearfish, South Dakota
Spearfish, South Dakota (Lawrence County, South Dakota) is the town in one episode of Small Town Murder, the comedy true-crime podcast: episode 453, "Torture, Torment & Terror" (28 December 2023). Spearfish, South Dakota, sits in Lawrence County in the western part of the state, about twenty minutes from Deadwood and three hours from Pierre.
- Town
- Spearfish
- County
- Lawrence County
- State
- South Dakota
- Country
- USA
- Episodes
- 453
- Approximate location
- 44.491, -103.816
Episode 453 / 28 December 2023 / 173 min / full
Torture, Torment & Terror
"This is in Spearfish, South Dakota ... in western South Dakota ... This is in Lawrence County." about 0:05:22
The case: Murder of Chester Allan Pogue (March 12, 2000). Read the case file.
The figures, as told in 2023
- Population
- 12,031
- Median age
- about 37
- Median household income
- $52,258 a year
- Median home value
- $384,000
- Two-bedroom rent
- $860
- Cost of living
- 94
- Religious
- 43%
- Property crime
- ▲ a little bit above the national average
- Violent crime
- ▼ about half the national average
History, in brief
- The town was originally called Queen City before it was changed to Spearfish. about 0:06:59
- Before the gold rush of 1876 the area was home to the Sioux tribes. about 0:07:10
- After the 1876 gold rush Spearfish and Deadwood popped up as gold towns, and Spearfish supplied the mining camps with food, mining equipment, booze and women. about 0:07:22
- Market gardening still occurs in the vicinity of Spearfish. about 0:07:47
- In the 20th century Spearfish built its identity on the short mining period, much like Deadwood. about 0:08:37
- Frank Lloyd Wright visited in 1935 and called the area unique and unparalleled elsewhere in the country for its beauty, asking why he had heard so little of it compared with the Grand Canyon. about 0:08:58
- Chinook Days celebrates the world record temperature change of January 22nd, 1943, caused by a Chinook wind. about 0:21:01
The reviews read out
5 stars
"A quaint little town that is gorgeous to live in and fun to explore, with places to hike, eat, breweries and gift shops, and people who make the place enjoyable."about 0:09:38
4 stars
"The perfect size: easy to run into people but big enough to have food and shopping options."about 0:10:34
4 stars
"A small community with just enough."about 0:10:55
3 stars
"There's the good and there's the bad; the reviewer will not say which is which."about 0:11:18
2 stars
"Pros: hiking and biking trails, unexpectedly good restaurants, walkability, a surprising music scene, proximity to the Black Hills. Cons: people are fake and judgmental, hide their money and success, nobody shows up to do work, and there is no respect for others' safety with speeding and loose dogs."about 0:11:44
1 star
"An excellent place for beauty and low crime and ideal to raise kids, but if you are not in the in crowd or lack the right last name people will alienate you; the people are as fake as you can get."about 0:13:23
Nearest Small Town Murder towns
- Whitewood, South Dakota9.0 miles
- Belle Fourche, South Dakota12 miles
- Hill City, South Dakota41 miles
- Lemmon, South Dakota128 miles
- Sheridan, Wyoming156 miles
- Pierre, South Dakota173 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.