Guest, Sign inJoin

Post to Alexandria

We’ll email a one-tap link to publish your post. No password, and nothing is public until you click it.
Already a member? Sign in
–Not graded
History · Alexandria

Alexandria’s post office opened in 1880, and 31% of its homes were built before 1940

Below: 1 old photo or paper from 1902 on.

1880first post office
0on the National Register
31%homes built before 1940
1old photo or paper
2famous people
Add an old photoShare a memory
From Alexandria’s archive · credits on each photo
Quick answers

How Alexandria began

When was Alexandria founded?

1880

The Alexandria post office opened in 1880, the earliest record of the town by name. Another post office, Hanson (1884), opened inside today’s city and later closed.

2020 census: 649146 years
Founding year: the first Alexandria post office (Blevins & Helbock, CC0).The full story ↓

What stands out about Alexandria’s past

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

A history waiting to be writtenOnly 1 old photo is in the public archives. The rest are in attics and albums.
★ What stands out · Help out

Start Alexandria’s collection

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

Decades since 1900 with photos
00s10s20s30s40s50s60s70s80s90s
1 of 10 decades. The empty ones are waiting for someone’s album.
Retake an old viewPioneers of Alexandria South Dakota 188…: stand where they stood+15Share a family photoSign in to add one+10
The story

How Alexandria came to be

From Wikipedia’s history of Alexandria.

Read it all →

In 1879, the community was founded with the name Clarksville. Its post office was established in 1880, and the city later incorporated in 1885 as Alexandria. The city was named after Alexander Mitchell.

Text from Wikipedia, licensed CC BY-SA 4.0.

Timeline

Alexandria, 1880 to 1902

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

  1. 19th century
  2. 1880Born hereAlexander is born here
  3. 1880Post officeThe Alexandria post office opens
  4. 1884Post officeThe Hanson post office opens
  5. 1887Post officeThe Hanson post office closes
  6. 20th century
  7. 1902In the archivePioneers of Alexandria South Dakota 1880-82
By decade

Alexandria, decade by decade

One decade in the archive so far: the 1900s. Scroll each row; tap a photo for its story.

1900s1 item
Pioneers of Alexandria South Dakota 1880-821902Pioneers of Alexandria South Dakota 1880-82
1910s–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
Today1 recent
SDMap-doton-Alexandria2004SDMap-doton-Alexandria
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.

Pioneers of Alexandria South Dakota 1880-82
Retake this viewPioneers of Alexandria South Dakota 1880-82, 1902

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

Retake this view · +15
Famous people

2 famous people were born in Alexandria

Writers, athletes, leaders and more, ranked by how widely they’re known.

See all →
AlexanderMagician · b. 1880
T
Tony KayserAmerican politician
Places that used to be

Lost post offices and burying grounds

Alexandria’s post office has been open since 1880. Another post office, Hanson, opened and closed inside today’s town.

Alexandria
1880–today
Hanson
1884–1887
18801950today
1cemetery inside Alexandria
Saint Marys

US Post Offices dataset (Blevins & Helbock, CC0). Places and cemeteries from the USGS Geographic Names Information System (2021).

Questions about Alexandria’s history

What year was Alexandria founded?

The Alexandria post office opened in 1880, the earliest record of the town by name (U.S. post office records).

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 (2), 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.