Guest, Sign inJoin

Post to Elk Point Township

We’ll email a one-tap link to publish your post. No password, and nothing is public until you click it.
Already a member? Sign in
–Not graded
History · Elk Point Township

Elk Point Township dates to 1873, and 11% of its homes were built before 1940

Below: 1 old photo or paper, maps from 1963 on, and the census since 1900.

1873founded
0on the National Register
11%homes built before 1940
1old photo or paper
Add an old photoShare a memory
From Elk Point Township’s archive · credits on each photo
Quick answers

How Elk Point Township began

When was Elk Point Township founded?

1873

Elk Point Township dates its founding to 1873 (Wikipedia’s history). The census first counted it in 1900.

First census: 1,081 in 19002020 census: 258153 years
Founding year: Wikipedia.The full story ↓

What stands out about Elk Point Township’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.
★ What stands out · Help out

Start Elk Point Township’s collection

The first neighbors to add old photos shape how Elk Point Township’s history is told.

Decades since 1900 with photos
00s10s20s30s40s50s60s70s80s90s
0 of 10 decades. The empty ones are waiting for someone’s album.
Date a photo1 archive item has no date. Guess the decade.+2Retake an old viewUnion County Courthouse, Courthouse Squ…: stand where they stood+15Share a family photoSign in to add one+10
The story

How Elk Point Township came to be

From Wikipedia’s history of Elk Point Township.

Read it all →

The British established a Hudson's Bay Company trading post in 1755 near present-day Elk Point. Elk Point was so named on account of the abundant elk in the area. The town was incorporated in 1873.

Text from Wikipedia, licensed CC BY-SA 4.0.

By decade

Elk Point Township, decade by decade

Date unknown1 to date
Union County Courthouse, Courthouse SquareDate?Union County Courthouse, Courthouse Square
Today12 recent
Spink, South Dakota2012Spink, South DakotaElk Point, South Dakota2012Elk Point, South DakotaElk Point, South Dakota2012Elk Point, South DakotaElk Point, South Dakota2012Elk Point, South DakotaElk Point, South Dakota2012Elk Point, South DakotaElk Point, South Dakota2012Elk Point, South DakotaElk Point, South Dakota2012Elk Point, South DakotaElk Point, South Dakota2012Elk Point, South DakotaOdd Fellows Hall2007Odd Fellows HallFirst National Bank and Masonic Hall2007First National Bank and Masonic HallDowntown2007DowntownSDMap-doton-ElkPoint2004SDMap-doton-ElkPoint
On the map

Elk Point Township on the map in 1963

The U.S. Geological Survey’s map of Elk Point Township.

Elk Point Township on the 1963 USGS map1963Elk Point 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 Elk Point Township.

Then & now

Stand where they stood

No then-and-now pairs yet. Take a photo from the same spot as an old one and they appear here side by side.

Union County Courthouse, Courthouse Square
Retake this viewUnion County Courthouse, Courthouse Square

Find the spot, match the angle, and add your photo. It becomes the first then-and-now pair on Elk Point Township’s page.

Retake this view · +15
People over time

Elk Point Township, census by census

05001,0001,5002,0001900192019401960198020002020Peak: 2,149

Between 1,081 and 2,149 people in every census since 1900.

13 censuses, 1900–2020.

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

Stories next door

History across the town line

Each neighbor’s History grade, on the same three inputs.

Brule Township2 historic placesnot graded: under 1,000 residents or part of its townJefferson TownshipIts storyCCivil Bend TownshipIts storynot graded: under 1,000 residents or part of its townFairview Township1 historic placenot graded: under 1,000 residents or part of its town

Questions about Elk Point Township’s history

What year was Elk Point Township founded?

In 1873, according to Wikipedia’s history of the town. the census of 1900 counted 1,081 people here.

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 (12), the Library of Congress (1), Wikidata (1), Wikipedia, U.S. Geological Survey historical maps and U.S. Census counts (via Wikipedia). Archive images are copied here with their credits and licenses, shown on each photo’s page. Refreshed monthly.