Each edition grades its towns against each other only.
More historic than 65% of U.S. towns. What drives it
4 places in town are on the National Register, among them a historic district with 1 buildings. Below: 3 old photos and papers, maps from 1955 on, and the census since 1890.
The Garretson post office opened in 1890, the earliest record of the town by name. Wikidata gives 1891.
More historic than 65% of U.S. towns, on its age, its old homes and the National Register.
On its age, its old homes and the National Register, Garretson is more historic than 65% of U.S. towns. Its share of homes from before 1940 holds the grade up; its age pulls it down.
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 Garretson’s 34.0 sits above most of its state (69% of South Dakota towns have fewer) while its 4 listings outnumber those of 68% of U.S. towns.
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 →
Read from the archive, the National Register and the record. The page puts what stands out first.
The first neighbors to add old photos shape how Garretson’s history is told.
The country’s official list of buildings and places worth saving.
National Park Service, National Register of Historic Places. Photos from Wikimedia Commons, credited on each place’s page.
Wikipedia doesn’t have a history of Garretson yet. The photos, dates and memories neighbors add here are how it gets written.
Garretson is a city in Minnehaha County, South Dakota, United States. The city had a population of 1,228 at the 2020 census.
Its first post office opened in 1890. Between the 2010 and 2020 censuses its population grew from 1,166 to 1,228 (+5%).
Intro from Wikipedia. Population: U.S. Census Bureau.
Woven from the archive, old maps, post office records, the National Register and the people born here.
BuiltBuilding at 529 North Main is built
In the archiveThe PalisadesBuiltSplit Rock Park Bridge is built
Born hereDennis Daugaard is born here
On the mapFirst mapped by the U.S. Geological SurveyOne decade in the archive so far: the 1910s. Scroll each row; tap a photo for its story.
Every edition of the U.S. Geological Survey’s map of Garretson. Tap a year, or press play to watch the town change.
U.S. Geological Survey historical topographic maps (public domain), via Esri’s collection of the scans. The red ring marks the center of Garretson.
No then-and-now pairs yet. Take a photo from the same spot as an old one and they appear here side by side.
Find the spot, match the angle, and add your photo. It becomes the first then-and-now pair on Garretson’s page.
Retake this view · +15Grew from 341 people in 1890 to 1,228 in 2020, 3 times over.
14 censuses, 1890–2020.
U.S. Census Bureau decennial counts, from the census table on Garretson’s Wikipedia page.
Writers, athletes, leaders and more, ranked by how widely they’re known.
The Garretson post office opened in 1890, the earliest record of the town by name (U.S. post office records). Wikidata gives 1891.
Garretson is more historic than 65% 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.
4 listings: 2 buildings, 1 historic district, the Split Rock Creek Park Historic District, with 1 contributing buildings, and 1 structure.
21% of Garretson’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 1973.
What the archives can’t tell you, neighbors can.
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 the Library of Congress (3), Wikidata (2), the National Register of Historic Places (4), 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) 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.
1911
1911