Guest, Sign inJoin

Post to Bristol Township

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 · Bristol Township

100% of Bristol Township’s homes were built before 1940

Below: maps from 1942 on and the census since 1890.

0on the National Register
100%homes built before 1940
Add an old photoShare a memory

What stands out about Bristol 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 writtenNo old photos of Bristol Township are in the public archives yet. The rest are in attics and albums.Boom and bustPeaked at 675 in 1940; 288 people lived here in 2020.
★ What stands out · Help out

Start Bristol Township’s collection

The first neighbors to add old photos shape how Bristol Township’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
People over time

Bristol Township, census by census

01002003004005006007001900192019401960198020002020Peak: 675

Peaked at 675 in 1940; 288 people lived here in 2020.

14 censuses, 1890–2020.

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

The story so far

Bristol Township, in brief

Wikipedia doesn’t have a history of Bristol 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 36 to 34 (-6%).

Timeline

Bristol Township, 1883 to 1942

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

  1. 19th century
  2. 1883Post officeThe Protection post office opens
  3. 1883Post officeThe Protection post office closes
  4. 20th century
  5. 1940CensusPopulation peaks at 675
  6. 1942On the mapFirst mapped by the U.S. Geological Survey
By decade

Bristol Township, decade by decade

Today5 recent
Bristol South Dakota Post Office2020Bristol South Dakota Post OfficeBristol South Dakota Mural2020Bristol South Dakota MuralBristol South Dakota Haunted Warehouse2020Bristol South Dakota Haunted WarehouseBristol South Dakota Gas Station Signs2020Bristol South Dakota Gas Station SignsSDMap-doton-Bristol2007SDMap-doton-Bristol
On the map

Bristol Township on the map, 1942 to 1986

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

Bristol Township on the 1942 USGS mapBristol Township on the 1986 USGS map1942Crow Lake 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 Bristol Township.

Places that used to be

Lost post offices and places now gone

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

Gone or out of use
Protectionlocale

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

Stories next door

History across the town line

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

Firesteel TownshipIts storynot graded: under 1,000 residents or part of its townViola TownshipIts storynot graded: under 1,000 residents or part of its townBelford TownshipIts storynot graded: under 1,000 residents or part of its townPleasant Valley TownshipIts storynot graded: under 1,000 residents or part of its town

Questions about Bristol 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 (5), 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.