Each edition grades its towns against each other only.
Its Register listings are the South Dakota Dept. of Transportation Bridge No. 58-010-376, the South Dakota Dept. of Transportation Bridge No. 58-021-400 and the South Dakota Dept. of Transportation Bridge No. 58-025-370. Below: maps from 1899 on and the census since 1950.
Buffalo Township dates its founding to 1909 (Wikipedia’s history). The census first counted it in 1950.
Buffalo Township was named for the large herds of bison (mistakenly called buffalo) that once roamed the area.
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 Buffalo Township’s history is told.
Every edition of the U.S. Geological Survey’s map of Buffalo Township. 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 Buffalo Township.
From Wikipedia’s history of Buffalo Township.
Buffalo was established in 1909. It was named for the large herds of bison (mistakenly called buffalo) that once roamed the area. It is about fifty miles west of Bison, South Dakota.
Text from Wikipedia, licensed CC BY-SA 4.0.
Woven from the archive, old maps, post office records, the National Register and the people born here.
On the mapFirst mapped by the U.S. Geological SurveyThe country’s official list of buildings and places worth saving.
National Park Service, National Register of Historic Places. Photos from Wikimedia Commons, credited on each place’s page.
Peaked at 652 in 1960; 346 people lived here in 2020.
8 censuses, 1950–2020.
U.S. Census Bureau decennial counts, from the census table on Buffalo Township’s Wikipedia page.
Each neighbor’s History grade, on the same three inputs.
In 1909, according to Wikipedia’s history of the town. the census of 1950 counted 380 people here.
Three places: the South Dakota Dept. of Transportation Bridge No. 58-010-376 (listed 1993), the South Dakota Dept. of Transportation Bridge No. 58-021-400 (1993) and the South Dakota Dept. of Transportation Bridge No. 58-025-370 (1993).
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). How TownRatings grades history →
From Wikimedia Commons (1), the National Register of Historic Places (3), 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.
2004