Wolsey, South Dakota

Episode 37 / 27 September 2017 / 105 min / full

A Deviously Hypocritical Killer

"This is Wolsey, South Dakota, in Beadle County, in the eastern central part of the state." about 0:06:13

The case: Murder of Sharon Guthrie (May 1999). Read the case file.

The figures, as told in 2017

Population

about 398

Median age

about 40

Median household income

$52,500

Median home value

$61,500

Cost of living

79

Religious

62%

Property crime

very average

Violent crime

▼ very average, slightly below the national average

Murders in Beadle County

the first in six years

History, in brief

• Beadle County was created by the Dakota Territory legislature in 1879. about 0:10:01
• The county was organised in 1880; commissioners were appointed, Kevor was the first town and Huron was named the county seat. about 0:10:07
• Wolsey was first settled in 1882. about 0:10:28
• A post office was put in and has been in operation since 1883. about 0:10:33
• The township was organised in 1884 and named for Thomas Wolsey, an English cardinal. about 0:10:44
• Richard Warren Sears, who founded Sears Roebuck, began his retail career selling unclaimed watches at the railroad service station in Wolsey in the early 1880s. about 0:12:02
• By 1900 the population was up to 122. about 0:13:34
• Wolsey began holding annual goat races around that time, a weekend summer event that brought hundreds of people from miles around. about 0:13:42
• The goat races stopped in 1983. about 0:14:12
• In 2008 the goat races came back, run by the Lions Club at the softball field in the southeast part of town. about 0:21:48

Open the episode file