Brookings County

Population: 28,220
Square Miles: 804

The county was mapped by John C. Fremont, cartographer with Nicollet exploration party in 1838. The first settlement in South Dakota was started at Medary, a few miles south of Brookings, in 1857, by the Dakota Land Company. Some of the first settlers in this area were a party of Norwegians named Trystad, Jermstad and Baltrud. Settlement at Oakwood Lakes started in 1870 when Sam Mortimer, a trapper, with his Indian wife, settled there. Land for the town of Brookings was donated to the railroad and was platted in October 1879. In May of 1881, Brookings became a village and on November 4, 1879, won the county seat over its contenders, Volga and Aurora.