Most of Fort Pierre was built recently: 6% of its homes predate 1940 and the median home dates from 1993. 8 places in town are on the National Register, among them 2 National Historic Landmarks. Below: 6 old photos and papers, maps from 1903 on, and the census since 1880.
From Fort Pierre’s archive · credits on each photo
Quick answers
How Fort Pierre began
When was Fort Pierre founded?
1877
The Fort Pierre post office opened in 1877, the earliest record of the town by name. Another post office, Coulson (1885), opened inside today’s city and later closed.
First census: 287 in 18802020 census: 2,115149 years
How historic is Fort Pierre?
B−
More historic than 47% of U.S. towns, on its age, its old homes and the National Register.
Founding year: the first Fort Pierre post office (Blevins & Helbock, CC0).The full story ↓
History grade
What drives Fort Pierre’s History grade
On its age, its old homes and the National Register, Fort Pierre is more historic than 47% of U.S. towns. Its National Register listings hold the grade up; its share of homes from before 1940 pulls it down.
B−
HistoryA character grade: shown, never part of Fort Pierre’s overall grade.
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 Fort Pierre’s 33.2 sits above most of its state (68% of South Dakota towns have fewer) while its 8 listings outnumber those of 74% 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 (±4.7 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 Fort Pierre’s past
Read from the archive, the National Register and the record. The page puts what stands out first.
National Park Service, National Register of Historic Places. Photos from Wikimedia Commons, credited on each place’s page.
Every building
Fort Pierre, building by building, 1903–1915
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.
1903Sheet 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.
On March 30, 1743, Francois and Louis-Joseph Gaultier de La Vérendrye reached the area of present-day Fort Pierre during an expedition west from Quebec, a French colony in present-day Canada. They left a lead plate buried in a hill in what is now the city to claim the land for the King of France. In the 1803 Louisiana Purchase, the United States acquired this area and the remainder of France's vast territory west of the Mississippi River.
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.
The Fort Pierre post office opened in 1877, the earliest record of the town by name (U.S. post office records).
How does Fort Pierre rank for history?
Fort Pierre is more historic than 47% 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 Fort Pierre?
8 listings, 2 of them National Historic Landmarks: 6 buildings and 2 sites.
How old are the homes in Fort Pierre?
6% of Fort Pierre’s homes were built before 1940 (Census estimate, ±4.7 points), against a typical 10% for a South Dakota town; the median home was built in 1993.
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 Library of Congress (1), Wikidata (5), the National Register of Historic Places (8), 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.
★ Landmark
★ Landmark
1905
1906
2005
