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History · Edgemont

Edgemont’s post office opened in 1892, and 37% of its homes were built before 1940

Its Register listings are the Bartlett-Myers Building and the Arthur and Ellen Colgan House. Below: 1 old photo or paper, maps from 1950 on, and the census since 1900.

1892first post office
2on the National Register
37%homes built before 1940
1old photo or paper
Add an old photoShare a memory
From Edgemont’s archive · credits on each photo
Quick answers

How Edgemont began

When was Edgemont founded?

1892

The Edgemont post office opened in 1892, the earliest record of the town by name. Another post office, Dudley (1890), opened inside today’s city and later closed.

First census: 479 in 19002020 census: 725134 years
Founding year: the first Edgemont post office (Blevins & Helbock, CC0).The full story ↓

What stands out about Edgemont’s past

Read from the archive, the National Register and the record. The page puts what stands out first.

A history waiting to be writtenOnly 1 old photo is in the public archives. The rest are in attics and albums.Boom and bustPeaked at 1,772 in 1960; 725 people lived here in 2020.Old housesHalf of Edgemont’s homes were built before 1953.
★ What stands out · Help out

Start Edgemont’s collection

The first neighbors to add old photos shape how Edgemont’s history is told.

Decades since 1900 with photos
00s10s20s30s40s50s60s70s80s90s
1 of 10 decades. The empty ones are waiting for someone’s album.
Retake an old viewDakota del Sur 1997 02: stand where they stood+15Share a family photoSign in to add one+10
People over time

Edgemont, census by census

02004006008001,0001,2001,4001,6001,8001900192019401960198020002020Peak: 1,772

Peaked at 1,772 in 1960; 725 people lived here in 2020.

13 censuses, 1900–2020.

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

The story

How Edgemont came to be

From Wikipedia’s history of Edgemont.

Read it all →

Edgemont had its start in 1890 with the building of the Burlington Railroad through that territory.

In 2012, the White Draw Fire burned eight miles northeast of Edgemont. On July 1, 2012, a Lockheed C-130 Hercules from the North Carolina Air National Guard fighting the fire crashed 7.44 mi Northeast of Edgemont on a Steep Ridge, killing four military personnel and injuring two.

On the morning of January 17, 2017, a BNSF Railway westbound train struck and killed two roadway workers, including the watchman/lookout. The accident occurred at milepost 477, on the Black Hills subdivision, in Edgemont.

Text from Wikipedia, licensed CC BY-SA 4.0.

Timeline

Edgemont, 1890 to 1997

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

  1. 19th century
  2. 1890Post officeThe Dudley post office opens
  3. 1892Post officeThe Dudley post office closes
  4. 1892Post officeThe Edgemont post office opens
  5. 20th century
  6. 1900BuiltArthur and Ellen Colgan House is built
  7. 1908BuiltBartlett-Myers Building is built
  8. 1950On the mapFirst mapped by the U.S. Geological Survey
  9. 1960CensusPopulation peaks at 1,772
  10. 1997In the archiveDakota del Sur 1997 02
By decade

Edgemont, decade by decade

One decade in the archive so far: the 1990s. Scroll each row; tap a photo for its story.

1990s1 item
Dakota del Sur 1997 021997Dakota del Sur 1997 02
Today3 recent
Fort Igloo-Abandoned US Army Munitions Plant - panoramio - QKC (2)2008Fort Igloo-Abandoned US Army Munitions Plant - panora…Fort Igloo-Abandoned US Army Munitions Plant - panoramio - QKC (1)2008Fort Igloo-Abandoned US Army Munitions Plant - panora…SDMap-doton-Edgemont2004SDMap-doton-Edgemont
On the map

Edgemont on the map in 1950

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

Edgemont on the 1950 USGS map1950Edgemont 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 Edgemont.

On the National Register

2 historic places in Edgemont

The country’s official list of buildings and places worth saving.

places listed
2
National Historic Landmarks
0
none yet
historic buildings protected
4
each building in a district counts
first listed
2006
Bartlett-Myers Building
Bartlett-Myers Building, built 1908Arthur and Ellen Colgan House, built 1900
Buildings

Architectural styles listings

Commercial Style1
Bartlett-Myers BuildingCommercial Style · Built 1908
Arthur and Ellen Colgan HouseBuilt 1900

National Park Service, National Register of Historic Places. Photos from Wikimedia Commons, credited on each place’s page.

Famous people

Famous people close to Edgemont

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

See all →
Jess ThomasAmerican opera singer · b. 1927
Leslie JensenAmerican politician · b. 1892
D
Dan DrydenAmerican politician · b. 1944
A
Alfred Beebe CaywoodCanadian aviator · b. 1910
C
Charles HargensAmerican artist · b. 1893
Gary BonerAmerican football player · b. 1940
Places that used to be

Lost post offices

Edgemont’s post office has been open since 1892. Another post office, Dudley, opened and closed inside today’s town.

Dudley
1890–1892
Edgemont
1892–today
18901960today

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

Questions about Edgemont’s history

What year was Edgemont founded?

The Edgemont post office opened in 1892, the earliest record of the town by name (U.S. post office records).

What is on the National Register in Edgemont?

Two places: the Bartlett-Myers Building (listed 2006) and the Arthur and Ellen Colgan House (2017).

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 (4), Wikidata (2), the National Register of Historic Places (2), Wikipedia, 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.