Aberdeen dates to 1880, and 20% of its homes were built before 1940
More historic than 74% of U.S. towns · #7 of 35 in South Dakota. What drives it
23 places in town are on the National Register, among them three historic districts with 134 buildings between them. Below: 5 old photos and papers, maps from 1884 on, and the census since 1890.
Founding year: Wikidata. First post office: 1881.The full story ↓
History grade
What drives Aberdeen’s History grade
On its age, its old homes and the National Register, Aberdeen is more historic than 74% of U.S. towns, #7 of 35 in South Dakota. Its National Register listings hold the grade up; its age pulls it down.
B+
HistoryA character grade: shown, never part of Aberdeen’s overall grade.
South Dakota towns list more on the Register than most of the country (a typical South Dakota town has 37.3 per 10,000 residents, the U.S. 2.4), so Aberdeen’s 55.7 sits above most of its state (80% of South Dakota towns have fewer) while its 157 historic buildings outnumber those of 92% of U.S. towns.
How sure. Graded on any two of the three inputs instead, the letter would range from B− to A. The pre-1940 share (±2.7 points) is firm at this size. Two sources give 1880.
Founding year: Wikidata (other dates in Quick answers). Homes: Census ACS 2020–24. National Register: National Park Service, May 2026 list; each listing counted once (boundary changes and added documentation belong to their listing), and a historic district counts its contributing buildings. How TownRatings grades history →
What stands out about Aberdeen’s past
Read from the archive, the National Register and the record. The page puts what stands out first.
National Park Service, National Register of Historic Places. Photos from Wikimedia Commons, credited on each place’s page.
Every building
Aberdeen, building by building, 1884–1923
Fire insurance maps drew every building, what it was made of and what it was used for, so insurers could price the risk of fire. Pick a year, then a sheet.
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.
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.
In 1880, according to Wikidata. Aberdeen’s post office opened in 1881, and the census of 1890 counted 3,182 people here.
How does Aberdeen rank for history?
Aberdeen is more historic than 74% of U.S. towns, #7 of 35 in South Dakota. The History grade combines the town’s founding era, the share of homes built before 1940 and its National Register listings. It’s a character grade, so it isn’t part of the overall grade. How it works.
What is on the National Register in Aberdeen?
23 listings: 20 buildings, among them the Easton's Castle (listed 1973, the first), and 3 historic districts, the Aberdeen Commercial Historic District, the Aberdeen Highlands Historic District and the Aberdeen Historic District, with 134 contributing buildings. 157 historic buildings in all.
How old are the homes in Aberdeen?
20% of Aberdeen’s homes were built before 1940 (Census estimate, ±2.7 points), against a typical 10% for a South Dakota town; the median home was built in 1972.
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).
From Wikimedia Commons (4), the Library of Congress (1), Wikidata (1), the National Register of Historic Places (23), Wikipedia, Wikidata and Wikipedia for famous people, U.S. Geological Survey historical maps, U.S. Census counts (via Wikipedia), the US Post Offices dataset (Blevins & Helbock), the USGS Geographic Names Information System and Sanborn fire insurance maps (Library of Congress). Archive images are copied here with their credits and licenses, shown on each photo’s page. Refreshed monthly.
1882
1883
1888
