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Pactola

Ghost town · Pennington County, South Dakota

Pactola Dam quadrangle, USGS topographic map (1954, 1:24,000)
Pactola Dam quadrangle, USGS topographic map (1954, 1:24,000) · U.S. Geological Survey, Historical Topographic Map Collection · Public domain

Pactola is a ghost town in Pennington County, South Dakota. It is one of 15 former communities in Pennington County on the federal names register. That ranks the county 2nd among the 26 South Dakota counties with a vanished settlement on record.

The U.S. Geological Survey lists Pactola as a historical populated place on the Pactola Dam topographic quadrangle: the name is no longer in official use for a community, whether the settlement was abandoned, absorbed into a neighbouring town or renamed. The recorded location is 44.0736° N, 103.4838° W.

Key facts

USGS quadranglePactola Dam
Elevation4,474 ft
Nearest living townJohnson Siding, SD
Distance to it2.4 miles
GNIS feature ID1267038
Coordinates44.07360, -103.48380

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What's there now

Pactola is no longer a community in its own right. The nearest living town is Johnson Siding, SD (population 671), about 2.4 miles away in a straight line, and the site sits at roughly 4,474 feet above sea level. Much of the land around former townsites is private; check access before you visit.

Nearby places

Questions

Where is Pactola?

Pactola is in Pennington County, South Dakota, at 44.0736, -103.4838.

How many ghost towns are in Pennington County?

Pennington County, South Dakota has 15 ghost towns on record at Wayfarrow.

Sources and licences

Facts marked "approximately" carry an uncertain date in the source. Text on this page is generated from the sources above; no encyclopedia prose is copied. Last updated 2026-11-05.