The story
Read it all →How Big Stone Township came to be
From Wikipedia’s history of Big Stone Township.
Big Stone Township was organized in 1879. It took its name from Big Stone Lake.
Text from Wikipedia, licensed CC BY-SA 4.0.
–Not graded
History · Big Stone Township
21% of Big Stone Township’s homes were built before 1940
Below: maps from 1953 on.
0on the National Register
21%homes built before 1940
What stands out about Big Stone Township’s past
Read from the archive, the National Register and the record. The page puts what stands out first.
★ What stands out · Help out
Start Big Stone Township’s collection
The first neighbors to add old photos shape how Big Stone Township’s history is told.
Decades since 1900 with photos
00s10s20s30s40s50s60s70s80s90s
0 of 10 decades. The empty ones are waiting for someone’s album.By decade
No old photos in the archives yet
Weddings on Main Street, storms, parades, school pictures, the old store. If it’s in your family album, it belongs here.
Be the first to add onePhotograph a print flat, in daylight, no flash.
Add from your albumOn the map
Big Stone Township on the map, 1953 to 1985
Every edition of the U.S. Geological Survey’s map of Big Stone Township. Tap a year, or press play to watch the town change.
1953Ortonville sheet · 1:62,500U.S. Geological Survey historical topographic maps (public domain), via Esri’s collection of the scans. The red ring marks the center of Big Stone Township.
Famous people
See all →Famous people close to Big Stone Township
Nobody well known was born in Big Stone Township itself, so here are the best known from just nearby.
D
Dan JurgensAmerican comics artist and writer · b. 1959D
Don GerhardtGridiron football player · b. 1944
M
Mary A. McClureAmerican politician in South Dakota · b. 1939S
Steve StreetAmerican politician · b. 1950
Places that used to be
Old corners, places now gone and burying grounds
Old hamlets and crossroads still carry their names on the map.
Hamlets and corners on the map
Lagoona Beach
Gone or out of use
School Number 21school
1cemetery inside Big Stone Township
Big Stone Baptist
Places and cemeteries from the USGS Geographic Names Information System (2021).
Stories next door
History across the town line
Each neighbor’s History grade, on the same three inputs.
Ortonville3 historic placesA−Otrey TownshipIts storynot graded: under 1,000 residents or part of its townAlmond Township1 historic placenot graded: under 1,000 residents or part of its townPrior TownshipIts storynot graded: under 1,000 residents or part of its townOrtonville TownshipIts storynot graded: under 1,000 residents or part of its town
Questions about Big Stone Township’s history
Memory lane
What the archives can’t tell you, neighbors can.
Start a conversation
Sources
Where this page comes from
Founding dates: Wikidata, Wikipedia, the U.S. post office records of Blevins & Helbock (CC0) and the Census. Homes by year built: Census ACS 2020–24. National Register of Historic Places: National Park Service (list of May 22, 2026). Old photos, postcards and papers: Wikimedia Commons, the Library of Congress and other public archives, credited on each item’s page. Maps: U.S. Geological Survey historical topographic maps (via Esri) and Sanborn fire-insurance maps (Library of Congress). History text and census tables: Wikipedia (CC BY-SA 4.0). Places that used to be: USGS Geographic Names Information System (2021). How TownRatings grades history →
From Wikipedia, U.S. Geological Survey historical maps and the USGS Geographic Names Information System. Archive images are copied here with their credits and licenses, shown on each photo’s page. Refreshed monthly.