The picturesque, gently rolling hills of northeastern South Dakota were formed by glaciers 20,000 years ago. A French cartographer first mapped the area in 1838, calling it Coteau des Prairies, -French for 'Hills of the Prairies.' On these hills sits Codington County, which got its name from the Reverend G.S. Codington, a traveling preacher based in Watertown. On August 7, 1878, Kampeska was named the first county seat. At the same time, railroad lines were extended from Minnesota into South Dakota, leading to a great influx of population known as the Great Dakota Boom. The rails only went as far as the Big Sioux River, which was east of Kampeska, so by the end of the year, the entire town up and moved to meet the railroad. With its new location came a new name: Watertown. An influx of German and Norwegian settlers in the early 1900s brought Codington County close to its current population of over 25,000

Includes entries for maps and atlases.

This massive reference work supplies the origins of all county (and parish) names in the United States. It is organized into 49 chapters, covering the 48 states with counties and the one state (Louisiana) with parishes (Alaska, with no comparable subdivisions, is omitted), each giving the counties in alphabetical order and ending with its own bibliography. Each entry, rich with historical details, explains the origins of its name. Among the diverse origins are such things as presidents, rivers, Indian tribes and military heroes. A general bibliography and full index complete this reference work.