Guest, Sign inJoin

Post to Chancellor

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 · Chancellor

Chancellor’s post office opened in 1895, and 43% of its homes were built before 1940

Below: maps from 1897 on and the census since 1910.

1895first post office
0on the National Register
43%homes built before 1940
Add an old photoShare a memory
Photo: Jon Platek · CC BY-SA 3.0
Quick answers

How Chancellor began

When was Chancellor founded?

1895

The Chancellor post office opened in 1895, the earliest record of the town by name.

First census: 160 in 19102020 census: 300131 years
Founding year: the first Chancellor post office (Blevins & Helbock, CC0).

What stands out about Chancellor’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 Chancellor are in the public archives yet. The rest are in attics and albums.On the map since 18974 editions of the USGS map, 1897 to 1985. Watch Chancellor change.Old housesHalf of Chancellor’s homes were built before 1961.
★ What stands out · Help out

Start Chancellor’s collection

The first neighbors to add old photos shape how Chancellor’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

Chancellor on the map, 1897 to 1985

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

Chancellor on the 1897 USGS mapChancellor on the 1900 USGS mapChancellor on the 1964 USGS mapChancellor on the 1985 USGS map1897Canton sheet · 1:125,000

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

The story so far

Chancellor, in brief

Wikipedia doesn’t have a history of Chancellor yet. The photos, dates and memories neighbors add here are how it gets written.

Chancellor is a town in Turner County, South Dakota, United States. The population was 300 at the 2020 census. The community was named for Otto von Bismarck, Chancellor of the German Empire.

Its first post office opened in 1895. Between the 2010 and 2020 censuses its population grew from 264 to 300 (+14%).

Intro from Wikipedia. Population: U.S. Census Bureau.

By decade

Chancellor, decade by decade

Today1 recent
Chancellor, South Dakota 52010Chancellor, South Dakota 5
People over time

Chancellor, census by census

0100200300192019401960198020002020Peak: 328

Between 160 and 328 people in every census since 1910.

12 censuses, 1910–2020.

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

Famous people

Famous people close to Chancellor

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

See all →
Alvin HansenAmerican economist · b. 1887
V
Vivien AlcockEnglish author of children's books · b. 1924
Connie O'ConnorAmerican basketball player · b. 1923
Emmett NelsonMajor League Baseball pitcher · b. 1905
C
Crystal JohnsonAmerican attorney
E
Eldon NygaardAmerican politician · b. 1946

Questions about Chancellor’s history

What year was Chancellor founded?

The Chancellor post office opened in 1895, the earliest record of the town by name (U.S. post office records).

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), 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.