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History · Bridgewater Township

50% of Bridgewater Township’s homes were built before 1940

Below: 4 old photos and papers, maps from 1899 on, and the census since 1890.

0on the National Register
50%homes built before 1940
4old photos & papers
Add an old photoShare a memory
From Bridgewater Township’s archive · credits on each photo

What stands out about Bridgewater Township’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 4 old photos are in the public archives. The rest are in attics and albums.On the map since 18993 editions of the USGS map, 1899 to 1985. Watch Bridgewater Township change.Boom and bustPeaked at 976 in 1920; 511 people lived here in 2020.Old housesHalf of Bridgewater Township’s homes were built before 1940.
★ What stands out · Help out

Start Bridgewater Township’s collection

The first neighbors to add old photos shape how Bridgewater Township’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 viewMain St. looking south: stand where they stood+15Share a family photoSign in to add one+10
On the map

Bridgewater Township on the map, 1899 to 1985

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

Bridgewater Township on the 1899 USGS mapBridgewater Township on the 1973 USGS mapBridgewater Township on the 1985 USGS map1899Alexandria sheet · 1:125,000

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

People over time

Bridgewater Township, census by census

02004006008001,0001900192019401960198020002020Peak: 976

Peaked at 976 in 1920; 511 people lived here in 2020.

14 censuses, 1890–2020.

U.S. Census Bureau decennial counts, from the census table on Bridgewater Township’s Wikipedia page.

The story

How Bridgewater Township came to be

From Wikipedia’s history of Bridgewater Township.

Read it all →

Originally named Nation, the present name recalls an episode when water had to be carried to the town site for the railroad. A post office called Nation was established in 1880, and the name was changed that same year to Bridgewater.

Text from Wikipedia, licensed CC BY-SA 4.0.

Timeline

Bridgewater Township, 1899 to 1920

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

  1. 19th century
  2. 1899On the mapFirst mapped by the U.S. Geological Survey
  3. 20th century
  4. 1909In the archiveMain St. looking south
  5. 1920CensusPopulation peaks at 976
By decade

Bridgewater Township, decade by decade

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

1900s4 items
Main St. looking south1909Main St. looking southHigh School1909High SchoolMain St. looking north1909Main St. looking northBirdseye view of Bridgewater, S. Dak1909Birdseye view of Bridgewater, S. Dak
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
Today4 recent
Bridgewater SD, 5th Street2014Bridgewater SD, 5th StreetBridgewater SD Main Street2014Bridgewater SD Main StreetBridgewater Emery Elementary School2014Bridgewater Emery Elementary SchoolSDMap-doton-Bridgewater2004SDMap-doton-Bridgewater
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.

Main St. looking south
Retake this viewMain St. looking south, 1909

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

Retake this view · +15
Stories next door

History across the town line

Each neighbor’s History grade, on the same three inputs.

Jefferson TownshipIts storynot graded: under 1,000 residents or part of its townBridgewater1 historic placenot graded: under 1,000 residents or part of its townTaylor TownshipIts storynot graded: under 1,000 residents or part of its townUnion TownshipIts storynot graded: under 1,000 residents or part of its town

Questions about Bridgewater Township’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 Wikimedia Commons (4), the Library of Congress (4), Wikipedia, U.S. Geological Survey historical maps, U.S. Census counts (via Wikipedia) 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.