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M. O. HANSON BUILDING, CASTLEWOOD, HAMLIN COUNTY, SDPhoto: JERRYE AND ROY KLOTZ MD · CC BY-SA 3.0
–Not graded
History · Castlewood Township

11% of Castlewood Township’s homes were built before 1940

Below: maps from 1969 on and the census since 1900.

0on the National Register
11%homes built before 1940
Add an old photoShare a memory
Photo: JERRYE AND ROY KLOTZ MD · CC BY-SA 3.0

What stands out about Castlewood 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 Castlewood Township are in the public archives yet. The rest are in attics and albums.
★ What stands out · Help out

Start Castlewood Township’s collection

The first neighbors to add old photos shape how Castlewood Township’s history is told.

Decades since 1900 with photos
00s10s20s30s40s50s60s70s80s90s
0 of 10 decades. The empty ones are waiting for someone’s album.
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The story

How Castlewood Township came to be

From Wikipedia’s history of Castlewood Township.

Read it all →

Castlewood was platted in 1881 when the railroad was extended to that point. The city was named Castlewood after a place mentioned in the 1857 novel The Virginians by William Makepeace Thackeray. A post office has been in operation in Castlewood since September 27, 1882.

A destructive EF2 tornado hit the town on May 12, 2022, destroying several structures, damaging homes, and injuring one person.

Text from Wikipedia, licensed CC BY-SA 4.0.

By decade

Castlewood Township, decade by decade

Today3 recent
EF2 damage Castlewood, South Dakota 20222022EF2 damage Castlewood, South Dakota 2022M. O. HANSON BUILDING, CASTLEWOOD, HAMLIN COUNTY, SD2013M. O. HANSON BUILDING, CASTLEWOOD, HAMLIN COUNTY, SDSDMap-doton-Castlewood2004SDMap-doton-Castlewood
On the map

Castlewood Township on the map, 1969 to 1985

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

Castlewood Township on the 1969 USGS mapCastlewood Township on the 1985 USGS map1969Watertown SE sheet · 1:24,000

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

People over time

Castlewood Township, census by census

01002003004005006007001900192019401960198020002020Peak: 698

Between 430 and 698 people in every census since 1900.

13 censuses, 1900–2020.

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

Places that used to be

Old corners and places now gone

Old hamlets and crossroads still carry their names on the map.

Hamlets and corners on the map
Kones Corner
Gone or out of use
German Lutheran Churchchurch

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.

Castlewood1 historic placenot graded: under 1,000 residents or part of its townFlorence Township1 historic placenot graded: under 1,000 residents or part of its townOxford TownshipIts storynot graded: under 1,000 residents or part of its townSheridan Township1 historic placenot graded: under 1,000 residents or part of its townHamlin Township1 historic placenot graded: under 1,000 residents or part of its town

Questions about Castlewood Township’s history

Memory lane

What the archives can’t tell you, neighbors can.

Town Square →
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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 (3), Wikidata (1), 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.