Welcome to Belle Fourche ...
The city of Belle Fourche is located in Butte County<1> and is the County Seat for Butte County.
The location of Belle Fourche has been provided by the Geographic Names Information System (ie- the GNIS).<2>
The pronunciation of Belle Fourche: bel -- FOOSH<3>
While we don't have a date for the founding of Belle Fourche, you might get a feel for it by knowing that during our research the earliest mention that we found (so far) was in a book dated 1895.
From the Census Estimates for 2019, Belle Fourche has a population of 5,682 people<4> (see below for details).
Belle Fourche is 3,020 feet [920 m] above sea level.<5> In other words, the elevation of Belle Fourche is about ½ mile above sea level.
Time Zone: Belle Fourche lies in the Mountain Time Zone (MST/MDT) and observes daylight saving time
The area code for Belle Fourche: (605)
Population Details ...
Taken from the 2019 Census Estimates, Belle Fourche had an population of 5,682 people. This is an increase of 1.57% since the 2010 Census (or an increase of 24.47% since the 2000 Census).
At the time of the 2010 Census, Belle Fourche had a population of 5,594 people (or 55.33% of the total population of Butte County). This makes Belle Fourche the county's most populous community.
The population of Belle Fourche represents 0.69% of the population of South Dakota (which has 814,180 people), making it the state's 21st most populous community.
With a 2010 count of 5,594 people, the population of Belle Fourche increased 22.54% from the 2000 Census (which had a count of 4,565 people).
More information can be found on the Census Page for Belle Fourche.
Communities near Belle Fourche ...
We have created a list of 10 communities that are near Belle Fourche.
- Spearfish
(12 miles [19.3 km] to the south)- Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Spearfish have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Spearfish
- Spearfish is located in Lawrence County
- Population from the 2020 Census: 11,900 people
- Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Spearfish <6>
- North Spearfish
(11 miles [17.7 km] to the south)- Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for North Spearfish have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for North Spearfish
- North Spearfish is located in Lawrence County
- Population from the 2010 Census: 2,221 people
- Whitewood
(17 miles [27.4 km] to the southeast)- Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Whitewood have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Whitewood
- Whitewood is located in Lawrence County
- Population from the 2020 Census: 999 people
- Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Whitewood <6>
- Saint Onge
(10 miles [16.1 km] to the southeast)- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Saint Onge
- Saint Onge is located in Lawrence County
- Estimated population in 2014: 342 people
- Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Saint Onge <6>
- Nisland
(14 miles [22.5 km] to the east)- Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Nisland have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Nisland
- Nisland is located in Butte County
- Population from the 2020 Census: 227 people
- Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Nisland <6>
- Fruitdale
(7 miles [11.3 km] to the east)- Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Fruitdale have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Fruitdale
- Fruitdale is located in Butte County
- Population from the 2020 Census: 68 people
- Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Fruitdale <6>
- Beulah
(14 miles [22.5 km] to the southwest)- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Beulah
- Beulah is located in Crook County (WY)
- Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Beulah <6>
- Aladdin
(16 miles [25.7 km] to the west)- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Aladdin
- Aladdin is located in Crook County (WY)
- Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Aladdin <6>
- Carbonate ‑ Historic
(18 miles [29 km] to the south) - Crook City
(18 miles [29 km] to the southeast)- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Crook City
- Crook City is located in Lawrence County
To Help With Your Genealogy Research ...
We have a couple of sections for those tracing their genealogy.
We created a list of cemeteries that are in the area around Belle Fourche. Our list includes the location of those cemeteries and we provide an overhead view. See our Cemetery List for Belle Fourche.
Using the information from an 1895 Atlas, we've created a list of communities that were in the area of Belle Fourche. Our list includes information such as whether the 1895 community had a post office or railroad service. See our List of 1890's Communities around Belle Fourche.
We also have a detailed list of newspapers that have been published in the area around Belle Fourche. Our list includes 14 papers. See our Newspapers Page for Belle Fourche.
TripAdvisor Tourism Pages for Belle Fourche ...
Looking for more information about Belle Fourche? A wonderful source is the TripAdvisor website. We always start with the TripAdvisor Tourism page, where you can read an overview with links that will help you find lodging, restaurants and attractions.
In addition to the Tourism page for Belle Fourche, there are neighboring communities that also have Tourism pages. More information about those communities can be found on our TripAdvisor Page for Belle Fourche.
Adding Belle Fourche to Our Gazetteer ...
We originally found mention of Belle Fourche in both the FIPS-55 and the GNIS. For more information, see the FIPS and GNIS Codes sections on our Miscellaneous Page.
From our notes, the earliest published mention we've found for Belle Fourche was in the book titled Business Atlas and Shippers' Guide (1895).
We also found Belle Fourche on a map titled Rand McNally Map of South Dakota (1937).
For more details, see References and Mentions for Belle Fourche.
Off-the-Road Links ...
Unfortunately, we don't know of a website for Belle Fourche. If you can help, please contact us through our Feedback Page.
The official website for State of South Dakota: sd.gov/
Footnotes ...
| <1> | If you're interested in how the shape of South Dakota's counties, including Butte, have changed over time, we recommend the Atlas of Historical County Boundaries. |
| <2> | The location has been supplied by the Geographic Names Information System - which is maintained by the U.S. Geological Survey (USGS). While these values should be definitive, we found that accuracy can vary and you should double-check the location if accuracy is required. |
| <3> | The pronunciation we've provided is our attempt to give a phonetic pronunciation for Belle Fourche. While it might not be exactly right, hopefully it will be close. If we have it wrong or there's a better way to pronounce the name, please contact us through our Feedback Page. |
| <4> | Population counts have been provided by the U.S. Census Bureau. For more detail, please visit our Census Page for Belle Fourche. |
| <5> | The elevation is an estimate for the area around Belle Fourche - it will be higher in some places and lower in others. |
| <6> | While we're fans and frequent users of TripAdvisor, you should know that we're also members of the TripAdvisor affiliate program. |