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History · Aberdeen Township

Aberdeen Township dates to 1880

Most of Aberdeen Township was built recently: 5% of its homes predate 1940 and the median home dates from 1990. Below: 9 old photos and papers, maps from 1960 on, and the census since 1890.

1880founded
0on the National Register
5%homes built before 1940
9old photos & papers
Add an old photoShare a memory
From Aberdeen Township’s archive · credits on each photo
Quick answers

How Aberdeen Township began

When was Aberdeen Township founded?

1880

Aberdeen Township dates its founding to 1880 (Wikidata). The census first counted it in 1890.

First census: 3,182 in 18902020 census: 935146 years
Founding year: Wikidata.The full story ↓
The story

How Aberdeen Township came to be

From Wikipedia’s history of Aberdeen Township.

Read it all →

Before Aberdeen or Brown County was inhabited by European settlers, it was inhabited by the Sioux Indians from approximately 1700 to 1879. Europeans entered the region for business, founding fur trading posts during the 1820s; these trading posts operated until the mid-1830s. The first "settlers" of this region were the Arikara Indians, but they would later be joined by others.

ChaptersSettlementCreation of the town

Text from Wikipedia, licensed CC BY-SA 4.0.

Timeline

Aberdeen Township, 1880 to 1960

Woven from the archive, old maps, post office records, the National Register and the people born here.

  1. 19th century
  2. 1880
    FoundingAberdeen Township is established
  3. 1882In the archivePioneer life in 1882
  4. 20th century
  5. 1901In the archiveJohn Lindstrom's Shipyard, Aberdeen, Washington, ca. 1901
  6. 1910In the archiveBirdseye view in Aberdeen, So. Dak. looking north east from roof Carben
  7. 1960On the mapFirst mapped by the U.S. Geological Survey
By decade

Aberdeen Township, decade by decade

3 decades in the archive, from the 1880s to the 1910s. Scroll each row; tap a photo for its story.

1880s–1900s5 items
Pioneer life in 18821882Pioneer life in 1882Birds eye view of Aberdeen, Dak1883Birds eye view of Aberdeen, DakSteamboat CRUISER at the landing, foot of F St., Aberdeen, Washington, 18881888Steamboat CRUISER at the landing, foot of F St., Aber…John Lindstrom's Shipyard, Aberdeen, Washington, ca. 1901c. 1901John Lindstrom's Shipyard, Aberdeen, Washington, ca. …Sports team, Aberdeen, Washington, ca. 1906c. 1906Sports team, Aberdeen, Washington, ca. 1906
1910s4 items
Birdseye view in Aberdeen, So. Dak. looking north east from roof Carben1910Birdseye view in Aberdeen, So. Dak. looking north eas…PostcardBirdseye view in Aberdeen, So. Dak. looking north east from roof Carben1910Birdseye view in Aberdeen, So. Dak. looking north eas…PostcardHagerty Block - Aberdeen, c. 19101910Hagerty Block - Aberdeen, c. 1910PostcardAberdeen, South Dakota 19101910Aberdeen, South Dakota 1910
1920s–1990snothing yet
Nothing in the archives for these yearsWeddings on Main Street, storms, parades, school pictures, the old store. If it’s in your family album, it belongs here.
Add from your album
On the map

Aberdeen Township on the map, 1960 to 1978

Every edition of the U.S. Geological Survey’s map of Aberdeen Township. Tap a year, or press play to watch the town change.

Aberdeen Township on the 1960 USGS mapAberdeen Township on the 1978 USGS map1960Aberdeen West sheet · 1:24,000

U.S. Geological Survey historical topographic maps (public domain), via Esri’s collection of the scans. The red ring marks the center of Aberdeen Township.

Then & now

Stand where they stood

No then-and-now pairs yet. Take a photo from the same spot as an old one and they appear here side by side.

Pioneer life in 1882
Retake this viewPioneer life in 1882, 1882

Find the spot, match the angle, and add your photo. It becomes the first then-and-now pair on Aberdeen Township’s page.

Retake this view · +15
People over time

Aberdeen Township, census by census

05,00010,00015,00020,00025,00030,000190019201940196019802000202028,495

Grew from 3,182 people in 1890 to 28,495 in 2020, 8 times over.

14 censuses, 1890–2020.

U.S. Census Bureau decennial counts, from the census table on Aberdeen Township’s Wikipedia page.

Places that used to be

Places now gone

Gone or out of use
Grand Crossing Post Officepost office

Places and cemeteries from the USGS Geographic Names Information System (2021).

Help out

Finish Aberdeen Township’s story

Most archives stop around 1920. The photos from after that are in family albums, not libraries.

Decades since 1900 with photos
00s10s20s30s40s50s60s70s80s90s
2 of 10 decades. The empty ones are waiting for someone’s album.
Retake an old viewPioneer life in 1882: stand where they stood+15Share a family photoSign in to add one+10
Stories next door

History across the town line

Each neighbor’s History grade, on the same three inputs.

Aberdeen23 historic placesB+Warner Township2 historic placesnot graded: under 1,000 residents or part of its townBath TownshipIts storynot graded: under 1,000 residents or part of its townMercier TownshipIts storynot graded: under 1,000 residents or part of its townLincoln TownshipIts storyCOrdway TownshipIts storynot graded: under 1,000 residents or part of its town

Questions about Aberdeen Township’s history

What year was Aberdeen Township founded?

In 1880, according to Wikidata. the census of 1890 counted 3,182 people here.

Memory lane

What the archives can’t tell you, neighbors can.

Town Square →
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 Wikimedia Commons (9), Wikidata (3), Wikipedia, U.S. Geological Survey historical maps, U.S. Census counts (via Wikipedia) 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.