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History · Clear Lake

Half of Clear Lake’s homes were built after 1979

Most of Clear Lake was built recently: 0.0% of its homes predate 1940 and the median home dates from 1979. Below: maps from 1970 on.

0on the National Register
0.0%homes built before 1940
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What stands out about Clear Lake’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 Clear Lake are in the public archives yet. The rest are in attics and albums.
★ What stands out · Help out

Start Clear Lake’s collection

The first neighbors to add old photos shape how Clear Lake’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 so far

Clear Lake, in brief

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

Clear Lake is an unincorporated community and census-designated place (CDP) in Marshall County, South Dakota, United States, surrounding a natural lake of the same name. Within the Lake Traverse Indian Reservation, it was first listed as a CDP prior to the 2020 census. The population was 170 at the 2020 census. It is in the southeast part of the county, bordered to the northeast by South Dakota Highway 10, which leads northwest 4 miles (6 km) to Lake City and southeast 16 miles (26 km) to Sisseton.

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

By decade

No old photos in the archives yet

Weddings on Main Street, storms, parades, school pictures, the old store. If it’s in your family album, it belongs here.

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On the map

Clear Lake on the map in 1970

The U.S. Geological Survey’s map of Clear Lake.

Clear Lake on the 1970 USGS map1970South Red Iron Lake 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 Clear Lake.

Famous people

Famous people close to Clear Lake

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

See all →
H
Henry A. LardyProfessor of biochemistry · b. 1917
Myron FlorenAmerican accordionist · b. 1919
Leonard C. HansonAmerican football player · b. 1900
L
Logan StorleyAmerican mixed martial arts (MMA) fighter and f… · b. 1992
O
O. W. WilsonAmerican police chief · b. 1900

Questions about Clear Lake’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 U.S. Geological Survey historical maps. Archive images are copied here with their credits and licenses, shown on each photo’s page. Refreshed monthly.