Fatal Accidental Drowning in Minnehaha County, South Dakota, 1880-1939

Drowning is currently the second leading cause of injury-related death for children 1-4 years of age in the United States and is the leading cause of death worldwide for boys ages 5-14 years. The World Health Organization (WHO) classifies it as a public health threat and advocates for reducing drowning deaths by understanding geographical, cultural, and societal risk factors. To these three we added a fourth: historical studies. To that end, we analyzed accidental causes of death between January 1, 1880, and December 31, 1939, in Minnehaha County, South Dakota, based on interment records from the Mt. Pleasant Cemetery. From these six decades (1880-1939) of data, we classified 217 cases as accidental deaths. Drowning was the leading cause of accidental mortality, accounting for 50 accidental deaths (23%). Drowning deaths were analyzed by the decedents' age and date of death. We discuss specific historical drowning risk factors and hypothesize how they may have affected drowning deaths from 1880-1939 in Minnehaha County.