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History · Boulder Canyon

Half of Boulder Canyon’s homes were built after 1998

Most of Boulder Canyon was built recently: 0.0% of its homes predate 1940 and the median home dates from 1998. Below: maps from 1899 on.

0on the National Register
0.0%homes built before 1940
Add an old photoShare a memory

What stands out about Boulder Canyon’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 Boulder Canyon are in the public archives yet. The rest are in attics and albums.On the map since 18994 editions of the USGS map, 1899 to 1971. Watch Boulder Canyon change.
★ What stands out · Help out

Start Boulder Canyon’s collection

The first neighbors to add old photos shape how Boulder Canyon’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
On the map

Boulder Canyon on the map, 1899 to 1971

Every edition of the U.S. Geological Survey’s map of Boulder Canyon. Tap a year, or press play to watch the town change.

Boulder Canyon on the 1899 USGS mapBoulder Canyon on the 1915 USGS mapBoulder Canyon on the 1954 USGS mapBoulder Canyon on the 1971 USGS map1899Sturgis sheet · 1:62,500

U.S. Geological Survey historical topographic maps (public domain), via Esri’s collection of the scans. The red ring marks the center of Boulder Canyon.

The story so far

Boulder Canyon, in brief

Wikipedia doesn’t have a history of Boulder Canyon yet. The photos, dates and memories neighbors add here are how it gets written.

Boulder Canyon is an unincorporated area and census-designated place (CDP) in Lawrence County, South Dakota, United States. The population was 561 at the 2020 census. It was first listed as a CDP prior to the 2020 census. It is in the eastern part of the county, on the northern edge of the Black Hills. It sits at the head of Boulder Canyon, formed by Bear Butte Creek, which drains northeast to the Great Plains. U.S. Route 14A runs through the community, leading northeast down the canyon 6 miles (10 km) to Sturgis and west 7 miles (11 km) to Deadwood.

Intro from Wikipedia. Population: U.S. Census Bureau.

Timeline

Boulder Canyon, 1880 to 1899

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

  1. 19th century
  2. 1880Post officeThe Boulder post office opens
  3. 1887Post officeThe Boulder post office closes
  4. 1899On the mapFirst mapped by the U.S. Geological Survey
By decade

No old photos in the archives yet

Weddings on Main Street, storms, parades, school pictures, the old store. If it’s in your family album, it belongs here.

Be the first to add onePhotograph a print flat, in daylight, no flash.
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Famous people

Famous people close to Boulder Canyon

Nobody well known was born in Boulder Canyon itself, so here are the best known from just nearby.

See all →
Lawrence LessigAmerican academic, political activist · b. 1961
Becky HammonAmerican-Russian basketball player and coach · b. 1977
Amy HillAmerican character actress · b. 1953
Dorothy ProvineAmerican singer, dancer, and actress · b. 1935
John MiljanAmerican actor · b. 1892
Larry RhodenAmerican politician · b. 1959
Places that used to be

Lost post offices and places now gone

Another post office, Boulder, opened and closed inside today’s town.

Gone or out of use
Boulderlocale

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

Questions about Boulder Canyon’s history

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 U.S. Geological Survey historical maps, 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.