The story so far
Bates Township, in brief
Wikipedia doesn’t have a history of Bates Township yet. The photos, dates and memories neighbors add here are how it gets written.
Between the 2010 and 2020 censuses its population fell from 42 to 37 (-12%).
–Not graded
History · Bates Township
Half of Bates Township’s homes were built after 1980
Most of Bates Township was built recently: 0.0% of its homes predate 1940 and the median home dates from 1980. Below: 1 old photo or paper and maps from 1895 on.
0on the National Register
0.0%homes built before 1940
1old photo or paper
What stands out about Bates 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 Bates Township’s collection
The first neighbors to add old photos shape how Bates Township’s history is told.
Decades since 1900 with photos
00s10s20s30s40s50s60s70s80s90s
0 of 10 decades. The empty ones are waiting for someone’s album.On the map
Bates Township on the map, 1895 to 1985
Every edition of the U.S. Geological Survey’s map of Bates Township. Tap a year, or press play to watch the town change.
1895Aberdeen sheet · 1:125,000U.S. Geological Survey historical topographic maps (public domain), via Esri’s collection of the scans. The red ring marks the center of Bates Township.
By decade
Bates Township, decade by decade
One decade in the archive so far: the 1890s. Scroll each row; tap a photo for its story.
1890s1 item
18921900s–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 albumThen & 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.
Retake this viewHand County, South Dakota (1892), 1892
Find the spot, match the angle, and add your photo. It becomes the first then-and-now pair on Bates Township’s page.
Retake this view · +15Stories next door
History across the town line
Each neighbor’s History grade, on the same three inputs.
Scotland TownshipIts storynot graded: under 1,000 residents or part of its townVerdonIts storynot graded: under 1,000 residents or part of its townEast Hanson Township1 historic placenot graded: under 1,000 residents or part of its townGarden Prairie TownshipIts storynot graded: under 1,000 residents or part of its townConde TownshipIts storynot graded: under 1,000 residents or part of its town
Questions about Bates 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 Wikimedia Commons (1), 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.