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History · Eden

Eden’s post office opened in 1903, and 20% of its homes were built before 1940

Below: maps from 1970 on and the census since 1920.

1903first post office
0on the National Register
20%homes built before 1940
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Quick answers

How Eden began

When was Eden founded?

1903

The Eden post office opened in 1903, the earliest record of the town by name. Wikidata gives 1914. Another post office, Luffman (1900), opened inside today’s town and later closed.

First census: 209 in 19202020 census: 94123 years
Founding year: the first Eden post office (Blevins & Helbock, CC0). Wikidata: 1914.

What stands out about Eden’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 Eden are in the public archives yet. The rest are in attics and albums.
★ What stands out · Help out

Start Eden’s collection

The first neighbors to add old photos shape how Eden’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

Eden, in brief

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

Eden is a town in Marshall County, South Dakota, United States. The population was 94 at the 2020 census. Eden was originally called Eden Park, and under the latter name was laid out in 1915. It is the home of current South Dakota State Representative and 2022 Democratic candidate for Lieutenant Governor Jennifer Healy Keintz.

Its first post office opened in 1903. Between the 2010 and 2020 censuses its population grew from 89 to 94 (+6%).

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

Timeline

Eden, 1900 to 1970

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

  1. 20th century
  2. 1900Post officeThe Luffman post office opens
  3. 1903Post officeThe Eden post office opens
  4. 1914Post officeThe Luffman post office closes
  5. 1970On the mapFirst mapped by the U.S. Geological Survey
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.

Be the first to add onePhotograph a print flat, in daylight, no flash.
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On the map

Eden on the map in 1970

The U.S. Geological Survey’s map of Eden.

Eden on the 1970 USGS map1970Eden 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 Eden.

People over time

Eden, census by census

0100200192019401960198020002020Peak: 209

Between 89 and 209 people in every census since 1920.

11 censuses, 1920–2020.

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

Famous people

Famous people close to Eden

Nobody well known was born in Eden 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
L
Logan StorleyAmerican mixed martial arts (MMA) fighter and f… · b. 1992
Places that used to be

Lost post offices

Eden’s post office has been open since 1903. Another post office, Luffman, opened and closed inside today’s town.

Luffman
1900–1914
Eden
1903–today
19001960today

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

Questions about Eden’s history

What year was Eden founded?

The Eden post office opened in 1903, the earliest record of the town by name (U.S. post office records). Wikidata gives 1914.

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 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.