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History · Flandreau Township

Flandreau Township dates to 1902, and 30% of its homes were built before 1940

Its Register listings are the Japanese Gardens Dance Pavilion and the First Presbyterian Church and Cemetery. Below: 5 old photos and papers, maps from 1972 on, and the census since 1880.

1902founded
2on the National Register
30%homes built before 1940
5old photos & papers
Add an old photoShare a memory
From Flandreau Township’s archive · credits on each photo
Quick answers

How Flandreau Township began, and where its name came from

When was Flandreau Township founded?

1902

Flandreau Township dates its founding to 1902 (Wikidata). The census first counted it in 1880.

First census: 471 in 18802020 census: 360124 years

How did Flandreau Township get its name?

Flandreau Township was named in honor of Charles Eugene Flandrau, a judge in the territory and state of Minnesota.

Founding year: Wikidata. Name: Wikipedia, licensed CC BY-SA 4.0.
The story so far

Flandreau Township, in brief

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

Flandreau FLAN-droo is a city in and county seat of Moody County, South Dakota, United States. The population was 2,372 at the 2020 census. It was named in honor of Charles Eugene Flandrau, a judge in the territory and state of Minnesota. He is credited with saving the community of New Ulm, Minnesota, from destruction during conflict with the Sioux tribe in 1862. In 2015, the nearby federally recognized Flandreau Indian Reservation of Santee Sioux had planned to open the nation's first recreational marijuana lounge in a former bowling alley, close to its existing Royal River Casino and Hotel. Any tourists or non-tribal members using marijuana on tribal land risked state prosecution, so they…

Flandreau Township was established in 1902. Between the 2010 and 2020 censuses its population fell from 372 to 360 (-3%).

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

Timeline

Flandreau Township, 1880 to 1972

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

  1. 19th century
  2. 1880In the archive1940 Census Enumeration District Maps - South Dakota - Moody County - Flandreau - ED 51-9
  3. 20th century
  4. 1902
    FoundingFlandreau Township is established
  5. 1919BuiltJapanese Gardens Dance Pavilion is built
  6. 1972On the mapFirst mapped by the U.S. Geological Survey
By decade

Flandreau Township, decade by decade

One decade in the archive so far: the 1880s. Scroll each row; tap a photo for its story.

1880s5 items
1940 Census Enumeration District Maps - South Dakota - Moody County - Flandreau - ED 51-918801940 Census Enumeration District Maps - South Dakota …1940 Census Enumeration District Maps - South Dakota - Moody County - Flandreau - ED 51-918801940 Census Enumeration District Maps - South Dakota …1940 Census Enumeration District Maps - South Dakota - Moody County - Flandreau - ED 51-918801940 Census Enumeration District Maps - South Dakota …Bird's eye view of Flandreau, county seat of Moody Co., Dakota 18831883Bird's eye view of Flandreau, county seat of Moody Co…Flandreau SD 18831883Flandreau SD 1883
1890s–1990snothing yet
Nothing in the archives for these yearsWeddings on Main Street, storms, parades, school pictures, the old store. If it’s in your family album, it belongs here.
Add from your album
On the map

Flandreau Township on the map, 1972 to 1985

Every edition of the U.S. Geological Survey’s map of Flandreau Township. Tap a year, or press play to watch the town change.

Flandreau Township on the 1972 USGS mapFlandreau Township on the 1985 USGS map1972Flandreau 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 Flandreau 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.

1940 Census Enumeration District Maps - South Dakota - Moody County - Flandreau - ED 51-9
Retake this view1940 Census Enumeration District Maps - South Dakota - Moody County - Flandreau - ED 51-9, 1880

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

Retake this view · +15
On the National Register

2 historic places in Flandreau Township

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

places listed
2
National Historic Landmarks
0
none yet
historic buildings protected
3
each building in a district counts
first listed
1994
Japanese Gardens Dance Pavilion
Japanese Gardens Dance Pavilion, built 1919First Presbyterian Church and Cemetery
Buildings

Architectural styles listings

Bungalow/Craftsman1
Japanese Gardens Dance PavilionBungalow/Craftsman · Built 1919
All 2 listings
First Presbyterian Church and CemeteryBuilding · listed 2017

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

People over time

Flandreau Township, census by census

05001,0001,5002,0002,50018801900192019401960198020002020Peak: 2,376

Between 471 and 2,376 people in every census since 1880.

15 censuses, 1880–2020.

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

Places that used to be

Old burying grounds

3cemeteries and burying grounds inside Flandreau Township
Clay HillFirst PresbyterianOld Catholic

Places and cemeteries from the USGS Geographic Names Information System (2021).

Help out

Finish Flandreau Township’s story

Most archives stop around 1920. The photos from after that are in family albums, not libraries.

Decades since 1900 with photos
00s10s20s30s40s50s60s70s80s90s
0 of 10 decades. The empty ones are waiting for someone’s album.
Retake an old view1940 Census Enumeration District Maps -…: stand where they stood+15Share a family photoSign in to add one+10
Stories next door

History across the town line

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

Spring Creek TownshipIts storynot graded: under 1,000 residents or part of its townGrovena TownshipIts storynot graded: under 1,000 residents or part of its townUnion TownshipIts storynot graded: under 1,000 residents or part of its townClare TownshipIts storynot graded: under 1,000 residents or part of its town

Questions about Flandreau Township’s history

What year was Flandreau Township founded?

In 1902, according to Wikidata. the census of 1880 counted 471 people here.

What is on the National Register in Flandreau Township?

Two places: the Japanese Gardens Dance Pavilion (listed 1994) and the First Presbyterian Church and Cemetery (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 (5), the National Register of Historic Places (2), U.S. Geological Survey historical maps, U.S. Census counts (via Wikipedia) 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.