Guest, Sign inJoin

Post to Central City

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 · Central City

Central City’s post office opened in 1877, and 47% of its homes were built before 1940

Its Register listing is the St. Lawrence O'Toole Catholic Church. Below: maps from 1891 on and the census since 1880.

1877first post office
1on the National Register
47%homes built before 1940
Add an old photoShare a memory
Quick answers

How Central City began, and where its name came from

When was Central City founded?

1877

The Central City post office opened in 1877, the earliest record of the town by name.

First census: 1,008 in 18802020 census: 93149 years

How did Central City get its name?

Central City was named after Central City, Colorado, by a settler from that community.

Founding year: the first Central City post office (Blevins & Helbock, CC0). Name: Wikipedia, licensed CC BY-SA 4.0.The full story ↓

What stands out about Central City’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 Central City are in the public archives yet. The rest are in attics and albums.On the map since 19004 editions of the USGS map, 1900 to 1971. Watch Central City change.Mapped building by building3 fire insurance maps, 1891 to 1909, drew every building in Central City.Old housesHalf of Central City’s homes were built before 1948.
★ What stands out · Help out

Start Central City’s collection

The first neighbors to add old photos shape how Central City’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
On the map

Central City on the map, 1900 to 1971

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

Central City on the 1900 USGS mapCentral City on the 1915 USGS mapCentral City on the 1961 USGS mapCentral City on the 1971 USGS map1900Spearfish 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 Central City.

Every building

Central City, building by building, 1891–1909

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.

Central City fire insurance map, 1891, sheet 11891Sheet 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 story

How Central City came to be

From Wikipedia’s history of Central City.

Read it all →

Central City was founded in 1877. It was named after Central City, Colorado, by a settler from that community. It began as a mining town during the Black Hills Gold Rush days. There was once a quarrel over mining boundaries that resulted in a deliberate explosion of the nearby Comstock Mine and the death of one man. A miners' sit-down strike occurred and a cavalry unit from Fort Meade led by Seth Bullock was called in to end it.

Text from Wikipedia, licensed CC BY-SA 4.0.

Timeline

Central City, 1877 to 1971

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

  1. 19th century
  2. 1877Post officeThe Central City post office opens
  3. 20th century
  4. 1900On the mapFirst mapped by the U.S. Geological Survey
  5. 1971Post officeThe Central City post office closes
By decade

Central City, decade by decade

Today1 recent
SDMap-doton-CentralCity2004SDMap-doton-CentralCity
On the National Register

1 historic place in Central City

The country’s official list of buildings and places worth saving.

place listed
1
National Historic Landmarks
0
none yet
historic buildings protected
1
each building in a district counts
first listed
2003
St. Lawrence O'Toole Catholic Church
St. Lawrence O'Toole Catholic Church
Buildings
St. Lawrence O'Toole Catholic ChurchBuilding

National Park Service, National Register of Historic Places. Photos from Wikimedia Commons, credited on each place’s page.

People over time

Central City, census by census

02004006008001,00018801900192019401960198020002020Peak: 1,008

Between 93 and 1,008 people in every census since 1880.

15 censuses, 1880–2020.

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

Famous people

Famous people close to Central City

Nobody well known was born in Central City itself, so here are the best known from just nearby.

See all →
Lawrence LessigAmerican academic, political activist · b. 1961
Becky HammonAmerican-Russian basketball player and coach · b. 1977
Amy HillAmerican character actress · b. 1953
Dorothy ProvineAmerican singer, dancer, and actress · b. 1935
John MiljanAmerican actor · b. 1892
Larry RhodenAmerican politician · b. 1959
Places that used to be

Lost post offices

Central City had its own post office from 1877 to 1971.

Central City
1877–1971
18701950today

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

Questions about Central City’s history

What year was Central City founded?

The Central City post office opened in 1877, the earliest record of the town by name (U.S. post office records).

What is on the National Register in Central City?

One place: the St. Lawrence O'Toole Catholic Church (listed 2003).

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 (1), the National Register of Historic Places (1), Wikipedia, 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.