Each edition grades its towns against each other only.
More historic than 17% of U.S. towns · #28 of 35 in South Dakota. What drives it
Most of Blackhawk was built recently: 3% of its homes predate 1940 and the median home dates from 1985. Below: 11 old photos and papers, maps from 1953 on, and the census since 1980.
The Blackhawk post office opened in 1887, the earliest record of the town by name.
More historic than 17% of U.S. towns, on its age, its old homes and the National Register.
On its age, its old homes and the National Register, Blackhawk is more historic than 17% of U.S. towns, #28 of 35 in South Dakota. Its age holds the grade up; its National Register listings pull it down.
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 Blackhawk’s 0.0 sits below most of its state (15% of South Dakota towns have fewer) while its 0 listings outnumber those of 23% of U.S. towns.
Founding year: the first post office (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 →
Read from the archive, the National Register and the record. The page puts what stands out first.
The first neighbors to add old photos shape how Blackhawk’s history is told.
From Wikipedia’s history of Blackhawk.
Black Hawk was platted in 1887. It took its name from a nearby creek which was named for Black Hawk, a Sauk chief. In May 2020, Black Hawk experienced a large sinkhole into an abandoned gypsum mine which displaced some twelve families.
Text from Wikipedia, licensed CC BY-SA 4.0.
Date?Ellsworth Air Force Base, Warehouse, 789 Twining Stre…
Date?Ellsworth Air Force Base, Airmen's Dormitory, 1392 El…
Date?Ellsworth Air Force Base, Airmen's Dormitory, 1470 Lu…
Date?Ellsworth Air Force Base, Recreation Building, 1190 C…
Date?Ellsworth Air Force Base, Administration Office, 2704…
Date?Ellsworth Air Force Base, Airmen's Dormitory, 1339 El…
Date?Ellsworth Air Force Base, Airmen's Dormitory, 1472 Lu…
Date?Ellsworth Air Force Base, Well House No. 3, Menoher R…
Date?Ellsworth Air Force Base, Airmen's Dormitory, 1529 El…
Date?Ellsworth Air Force Base, Waste Water Treatment Plant…
Date?Ellsworth Air Force Base, Readiness Building, 810 Ken…Every edition of the U.S. Geological Survey’s map of Blackhawk. Tap a year, or press play to watch the town change.
U.S. Geological Survey historical topographic maps (public domain), via Esri’s collection of the scans. The red ring marks the center of Blackhawk.
No then-and-now pairs yet. Take a photo from the same spot as an old one and they appear here side by side.
Find the spot, match the angle, and add your photo. It becomes the first then-and-now pair on Blackhawk’s page.
Retake this view · +15Between 1,608 and 3,026 people in every census since 1980.
5 censuses, 1980–2020.
U.S. Census Bureau decennial counts, from the census table on Blackhawk’s Wikipedia page.
Nobody well known was born in Blackhawk itself, so here are the best known from just nearby.
Each neighbor’s History grade, on the same three inputs.
The Blackhawk post office opened in 1887, the earliest record of the town by name (U.S. post office records).
Blackhawk is more historic than 17% of U.S. towns, #28 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.
3% of Blackhawk’s homes were built before 1940 (Census estimate, ±4.5 points), against a typical 10% for a South Dakota town; the median home was built in 1985.
What the archives can’t tell you, neighbors can.
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 (1), the Library of Congress (11), Wikipedia, U.S. Geological Survey historical maps, U.S. Census counts (via Wikipedia), 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.
2004
