Brookings’ post office opened in 1879, and 13% of its homes were built before 1940
More historic than 72% of U.S. towns · #10 of 35 in South Dakota. What drives it
27 places in town are on the National Register, among them four historic districts with 481 buildings between them. Below: 6 old photos and papers, maps from 1884 on, and the census since 1890.
Founding year: the first Brookings post office (Blevins & Helbock, CC0).The full story ↓
History grade
What drives Brookings’ History grade
On its age, its old homes and the National Register, Brookings is more historic than 72% of U.S. towns, #10 of 35 in South Dakota. Its National Register listings hold the grade up; its age pulls it down.
B+
HistoryA character grade: shown, never part of Brookings’ overall grade.
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 Brookings’ 210 sits above most of its state (94% of South Dakota towns have fewer) while its 504 historic buildings outnumber those of 97% of U.S. towns.
How sure. Graded on any two of the three inputs instead, the letter would range from C+ to A−. The pre-1940 share is a Census survey estimate (±3.1 points). The founding year is the first post office, not a stated founding date.
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 →
What stands out about Brookings’ past
Read from the archive, the National Register and the record. The page puts what stands out first.
National Park Service, National Register of Historic Places. Photos from Wikimedia Commons, credited on each place’s page.
Every building
Brookings, building by building, 1884–1916
Fire insurance maps drew every building, what it was made of and what it was used for, so insurers could price the risk of fire. Pick a year, then a sheet.
1884Sheet 1 of 1
Edition
Sheets
BrickWoodStone
Sanborn Map Company, via the Library of Congress. Editions published in 1930 or earlier, which are in the public domain.
The county and city were both named after one of South Dakota's pioneer promoters, Wilmot Brookings. Brookings set out for the Dakota Territory in June 1857. He arrived at Sioux Falls on August 27, 1857, and became one of the first settlers there. He and his group represented the Western Town Company. After a time in Sioux Falls, Brookings and a companion set out for the Yankton area to locate a town in an area that was soon to be ceded by the Native Americans. This trip began in January 1858, and the two soon encountered a blizzard that froze Brookings's feet, which both had to be amputated.
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.
The Brookings post office opened in 1879, the earliest record of the town by name (U.S. post office records).
How does Brookings rank for history?
Brookings is more historic than 72% of U.S. towns, #10 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.
What is on the National Register in Brookings?
27 listings: 18 buildings, among them the Chicago and Northwestern Railroad Depot (listed 1976, the first), 4 historic districts with 481 contributing buildings, and 5 structures. 504 historic buildings in all.
How old are the homes in Brookings?
13% of Brookings’ homes were built before 1940 (Census estimate, ±3.1 points), against a typical 10% for a South Dakota town; the median home was built in 1986.
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 (3), the Library of Congress (3), Wikidata (5), the National Register of Historic Places (27), Wikipedia, Wikidata and Wikipedia for famous people, U.S. Geological Survey historical maps, U.S. Census counts (via Wikipedia), the US Post Offices dataset (Blevins & Helbock), the USGS Geographic Names Information System and Sanborn fire insurance maps (Library of Congress). Archive images are copied here with their credits and licenses, shown on each photo’s page. Refreshed monthly.
1898
1898
1898
