Spink Township, Union County, South Dakota

Spink Township
Street in Spink
Street in Spink
Spink Township is located in South Dakota
Spink Township
Spink Township
Location within the state of South Dakota
Coordinates: 42°51′07″N 96°44′49″W / 42.85194°N 96.74694°W / 42.85194; -96.74694
CountryUnited States
StateSouth Dakota
CountyUnion
Population
 (2000)
 • Total245
Time zoneUTC-6 (Central (CST))
 • Summer (DST)UTC-5 (CDT)

Spink Township is a township in Union County, South Dakota, United States. Its population was 245 at the 2000 census.[1]

Located in western Union County, Spink Township borders the following other townships:[2]

A community, also named Spink, was established in the township in 1871. At its peak, the community was strong enough to compete for the title of county seat.[3]

Toward the end of the 20th century only a few business remained in the community of Spink. The Spink Cafe was the center of life in the township and was still a place where farmers would gather. Gary's Repair was a place where people could get the truck or tractor a little work and the old Co-Op that went by the name of Spink Oil was the town's gas station. Spink Oil closed in 1997 and the Spink Cafe was destroyed in a fire in 2019. Today a few homes remain, along with storage facilities for the Union County Dept. of Transportation and a Valley Ag plant and distributor.

A proposed refinery by Hyperion Refining, LLC is now working to build the nation's first new oil refinery in years in the United States, this proposed refinery has created a large split in the corn and bean farmers of Union County. A few family farms were given money for options on the land that makes up the family farms that have been a part of the county since the late 19th century. This split lead to the formation of the save union county group and attracted a lot of media attention.

  1. ^ "Subcounty population estimates: South Dakota 2000-2007" (CSV). United States Census Bureau, Population Division. March 18, 2009. Retrieved April 4, 2009.
  2. ^ Official map by the United States Census Bureau; Union County listed on page 7
  3. ^ Spink Settlement, Union County Historical Society. Accessed July 27, 2009.