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History · Alcester

Alcester’s post office opened in 1883, and 26% of its homes were built before 1940

Its Register listing is the Hyden House.

1883first post office
1on the National Register
26%homes built before 1940
1famous people
Add an old photoShare a memory
Quick answers

How Alcester began

When was Alcester founded?

1883

The Alcester post office opened in 1883, the earliest record of the town by name.

2020 census: 820143 years
Founding year: the first Alcester post office (Blevins & Helbock, CC0).The full story ↓

What stands out about Alcester’s past

Read from the archive, the National Register and the record. The page puts what stands out first.

A history waiting to be writtenNo old photos of Alcester are in the public archives yet. The rest are in attics and albums.
★ What stands out · Help out

Start Alcester’s collection

The first neighbors to add old photos shape how Alcester’s history is told.

Decades since 1900 with photos
00s10s20s30s40s50s60s70s80s90s
0 of 10 decades. The empty ones are waiting for someone’s album.
Share a family photoSign in to add one+10
The story

How Alcester came to be

From Wikipedia’s history of Alcester.

Read it all →

Alcester was platted in 1879; early variant names were Linia and Irene. The present name honors Colonel Alcester of the British army. The weekly Alcester Union newspaper began publishing in 1888.

Text from Wikipedia, licensed CC BY-SA 4.0.

Timeline

Alcester, 1883 to 1923

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

  1. 19th century
  2. 1883Post officeThe Alcester post office opens
  3. 20th century
  4. 1909BuiltHyden House is built
  5. 1923Born hereRoger D. McKellips is born here
By decade

Alcester, decade by decade

Today4 recent
Hyden House (Alcester SD) from NW 12015Hyden House (Alcester SD) from NW 1Big Springs, South Dakota2012Big Springs, South DakotaBig Springs, South Dakota2012Big Springs, South DakotaSDMap-doton-Alcester2004SDMap-doton-Alcester
On the National Register

1 historic place in Alcester

The country’s official list of buildings and places worth saving.

place listed
1
National Historic Landmarks
0
none yet
historic buildings protected
1
each building in a district counts
first listed
1996
Hyden House
Hyden House, built 1909
Buildings

Architectural styles listings

Late Victorian: Queen Anne1
Hyden HouseLate Victorian: Queen Anne · Built 1909

National Park Service, National Register of Historic Places. Photos from Wikimedia Commons, credited on each place’s page.

Questions about Alcester’s history

What year was Alcester founded?

The Alcester post office opened in 1883, the earliest record of the town by name (U.S. post office records).

What is on the National Register in Alcester?

One place: the Hyden House (listed 1996).

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 (4), Wikidata (1), the National Register of Historic Places (1), Wikipedia, Wikidata and Wikipedia for famous people, the US Post Offices dataset (Blevins & Helbock) 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.