This group of settlers was later joined by another group the following spring, and, eventually, more settlers migrated toward this general area, currently known as Columbia, South Dakota. The first group of Euro-American settlers to reach the area that is now Brown County was a party of four people, three horses, two mules, fifteen cattle, and two wagons. The first 'settlers' of this region were the Arikara Indians, but they would later be joined by others. Europeans entered the region for business, founding fur trading posts during the 1820s these trading posts operated until the mid-1830s. Aberdeen is home of Northern State University.īefore Aberdeen or Brown County was inhabited by European settlers, it was inhabited by the Sioux Indians from approximately 1700 to 1879. The city population was 28,495 at the 2020 census, making it the third most populous city in the state after Sioux Falls and Rapid City. Aberdeen ( Lakota: Ablíla ) is a city in and the county seat of Brown County, South Dakota, United States, located approximately 125 miles (201 km) northeast of Pierre.
