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History · Cow Creek

Half of Cow Creek’s homes were built after 1998

Most of Cow Creek was built recently: 0.0% of its homes predate 1940 and the median home dates from 1998. Below: maps from 1973 on.

0on the National Register
0.0%homes built before 1940
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What stands out about Cow Creek’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 Cow Creek are in the public archives yet. The rest are in attics and albums.
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Start Cow Creek’s collection

The first neighbors to add old photos shape how Cow Creek’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

Cow Creek, in brief

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

Cow Creek is an unincorporated community and census-designated place in Sully County, South Dakota, United States. As of the 2020 census, Cow Creek had a population of 52. The community is located on the eastern shore of Lake Oahe.

Between the 2010 and 2020 censuses its population grew from 30 to 52 (+73%).

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

Cow Creek on the map, 1973 to 1986

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

Cow Creek on the 1973 USGS mapCow Creek on the 1986 USGS map1973Okobojo SW 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 Cow Creek.

Questions about Cow Creek’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.