Founding year: the first Eagle Butte post office (Blevins & Helbock, CC0). Wikidata: 1911.
History grade
What drives Eagle Butte’s History grade
On its age, its old homes and the National Register, Eagle Butte is more historic than 15% of U.S. towns. Its share of homes from before 1940 holds the grade up; its age pulls it down.
C−
HistoryA character grade: shown, never part of Eagle Butte’s overall grade.
South Dakota towns list more on the Register than most of the country (a typical South Dakota town has 37.3 per 10,000 residents, the U.S. 2.4), so Eagle Butte’s 0.0 sits below most of its state (15% of South Dakota towns have fewer) while its 0 listings outnumber those of 23% of U.S. towns.
How sure. Graded on any two of the three inputs instead, the letter would range from D− to C−. The pre-1940 share is a Census survey estimate (±3.9 points). The founding year is the first post office, not a stated founding date; Wikidata’s 1911 falls in the same era, so the grade doesn’t depend on which one is used.
Founding year: the first post office (other dates in Quick answers). Homes: Census ACS 2020–24. National Register: National Park Service, May 2026 list; each listing counted once (boundary changes and added documentation belong to their listing), and a historic district counts its contributing buildings. How TownRatings grades history →
What stands out about Eagle Butte’s past
Read from the archive, the National Register and the record. The page puts what stands out first.
Wikipedia doesn’t have a history of Eagle Butte yet. The photos, dates and memories neighbors add here are how it gets written.
Eagle Butte is a city in Dewey and Ziebach counties in South Dakota, United States. The population was 1,258 at the 2020 census. It is adjacent to the North Eagle Butte CDP.
Its first post office opened in 1910. Between the 2010 and 2020 censuses its population fell from 1,318 to 1,258 (-5%).
Intro from Wikipedia. Population: U.S. Census Bureau.
The Eagle Butte post office opened in 1910, the earliest record of the town by name (U.S. post office records). Wikidata gives 1911.
How does Eagle Butte rank for history?
Eagle Butte is more historic than 15% of U.S. towns. The History grade combines the town’s founding era, the share of homes built before 1940 and its National Register listings. It’s a character grade, so it isn’t part of the overall grade. How it works.
How old are the homes in Eagle Butte?
10% of Eagle Butte’s homes were built before 1940 (Census estimate, ±3.9 points), against a typical 10% for a South Dakota town; the median home was built in 1991.
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).
From Wikimedia Commons (3), Wikidata (1), Wikidata and Wikipedia for famous people and the US Post Offices dataset (Blevins & Helbock). Archive images are copied here with their credits and licenses, shown on each photo’s page. Refreshed monthly.
2013
2013
2004