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B−History
History · Elk Point

Elk Point’s post office opened in 1860, and 18% of its homes were built before 1940

More historic than 52% of U.S. towns. What drives it

Its Register listing is the Charles Murtha House and Brick Yard. Below: maps from 1883 on and the census since 1900.

1860first post office
1on the National Register
18%homes built before 1940
2famous people
Add an old photoShare a memory
Quick answers

How Elk Point began

When was Elk Point founded?

1860

The Elk Point post office opened in 1860, the earliest record of the town by name.

First census: 1,081 in 19002020 census: 2,149166 years

How historic is Elk Point?

B−

More historic than 52% of U.S. towns, on its age, its old homes and the National Register.

What drives the grade ↓
Founding year: the first Elk Point post office (Blevins & Helbock, CC0).The full story ↓
History grade

What drives Elk Point’s History grade

On its age, its old homes and the National Register, Elk Point is more historic than 52% of U.S. towns. Its share of homes from before 1940 holds the grade up; its age pulls it down.

B−
HistoryA character grade: shown, never part of Elk Point’s overall grade.
Founding era1860, from the first post office: founded 1850–1899, an older era than 37% of U.S. townsC+Homes built before 194017.5% of homes (±7.6) · typical SD town 10.4% · U.S. 8.4%BNational Register1 listing, 2 historic buildings, 7.9 per 10,000 residents · typical SD town 37.3 · U.S. 2.4B−
All U.S. towns we grade (21,289)Ahead of 52%
NewerOlder

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 Elk Point’s 7.9 sits near the middle of its state (40% of South Dakota towns have fewer) while its 2 historic buildings outnumber those of 60% of U.S. towns.

How sure. Graded on any two of the three inputs instead, the letter would range from C to B. The pre-1940 share is a Census survey estimate (±7.6 points). The founding year is the first post office, not a stated founding date.

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 Elk Point’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 Elk Point are in the public archives yet. The rest are in attics and albums.Mapped building by building6 fire insurance maps, 1883 to 1917, drew every building in Elk Point.
★ What stands out · Help out

Start Elk Point’s collection

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

Decades since 1900 with photos
00s10s20s30s40s50s60s70s80s90s
0 of 10 decades. The empty ones are waiting for someone’s album.
Share a family photoSign in to add one+10
Every building

Elk Point, building by building, 1883–1917

Fire insurance maps drew every building, what it was made of and what it was used for, so insurers could price the risk of fire. Pick a year, then a sheet.

Elk Point fire insurance map, 1883, sheet 11883Sheet 1 of 1
Edition
Sheets
BrickWoodStone

Sanborn Map Company, via the Library of Congress. Editions published in 1930 or earlier, which are in the public domain.

The story

How Elk Point came to be

From Wikipedia’s history of Elk Point.

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.

Timeline

Elk Point, 1860 to 1963

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

  1. 19th century
  2. 1860Post officeThe Elk Point post office opens
  3. 1892Born hereHarry Webber is born here
  4. 20th century
  5. 1917Born hereChuck Tollefson is born here
  6. 1963On the mapFirst mapped by the U.S. Geological Survey
By decade

Elk Point, decade by decade

Today6 recent
Elk 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 on the map in 1963

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

Elk Point 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.

On the National Register

1 historic place in Elk Point

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

place listed
1
National Historic Landmarks
0
none yet
historic buildings protected
2
each building in a district counts
first listed
1982
Charles Murtha House and Brick Yard
Charles Murtha House and Brick Yard
Buildings
Charles Murtha House and Brick YardBuilding

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

People over time

Elk Point, 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’s Wikipedia page.

Famous people

2 famous people were born in Elk Point

Writers, athletes, leaders and more, ranked by how widely they’re known.

See all →
C
Chuck TollefsonAmerican football player · b. 1917
H
Harry WebberAmerican football player · b. 1892

Questions about Elk Point’s history

What year was Elk Point founded?

The Elk Point post office opened in 1860, the earliest record of the town by name (U.S. post office records).

How does Elk Point rank for history?

Elk Point is more historic than 52% 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.

What is on the National Register in Elk Point?

One place: the Charles Murtha House and Brick Yard (listed 1982).

How old are the homes in Elk Point?

18% of Elk Point’s homes were built before 1940 (Census estimate, ±7.6 points), against a typical 10% for a South Dakota town; the median home was built in 1991.

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).

From Wikimedia Commons (6), the National Register of Historic Places (1), Wikipedia, Wikidata and Wikipedia for famous people, U.S. Geological Survey historical maps, U.S. Census counts (via Wikipedia), the US Post Offices dataset (Blevins & Helbock), the USGS Geographic Names Information System and Sanborn fire insurance maps (Library of Congress). Archive images are copied here with their credits and licenses, shown on each photo’s page. Refreshed monthly.