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History · Geddes

Geddes’ post office opened in 1900, and 38% of its homes were built before 1940

1 place in town is on the National Register, among them a historic district. Below: maps from 1986 on and the census since 1910.

1900first post office
1on the National Register
38%homes built before 1940
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Quick answers

How Geddes began

When was Geddes founded?

1900

The Geddes post office opened in 1900, the earliest record of the town by name.

First census: 701 in 19102020 census: 156126 years
Founding year: the first Geddes post office (Blevins & Helbock, CC0).

What stands out about Geddes’ 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 Geddes are in the public archives yet. The rest are in attics and albums.Old housesHalf of Geddes’ homes were built before 1952.
★ What stands out · Help out

Start Geddes’s collection

The first neighbors to add old photos shape how Geddes’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
The story so far

Geddes, in brief

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

Geddes is a city in central Charles Mix County, South Dakota, United States. The population was 156 at the 2020 census. Geddes was laid out in 1900.

Its first post office opened in 1900. Between the 2010 and 2020 censuses its population fell from 208 to 156 (-25%).

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

By decade

Geddes, decade by decade

Today4 recent
Geddes, South Dakota, building W side Main between 4 and 52016Geddes, South Dakota, building W side Main between 4 …Geddes, South Dakota, Struve Block from SE 12016Geddes, South Dakota, Struve Block from SE 1Geddes, South Dakota, Main Street, W side, S of 3rd Street 12016Geddes, South Dakota, Main Street, W side, S of 3rd S…SDMap-doton-Geddes2004SDMap-doton-Geddes
On the map

Geddes on the map in 1986

The U.S. Geological Survey’s map of Geddes.

Geddes on the 1986 USGS map1986Lake Andes sheet · 1:100,000

U.S. Geological Survey historical topographic maps (public domain), via Esri’s collection of the scans. The red ring marks the center of Geddes.

On the National Register

1 historic place in Geddes

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

place listed
1
National Historic Landmarks
0
none yet
historic buildings protected
1
each building in a district counts
first listed
1973
Geddes Historic District (Additional Documentio…
Geddes Historic District (Additional Documention)
Districts

Architectural styles listings

Romanesque1
Greek1
Victorian1
All 1 listings
Geddes Historic District (Additional Documention)District · listed 1973

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

People over time

Geddes, census by census

0100200300400500600700192019401960198020002020Peak: 701

Between 156 and 701 people in every census since 1910.

12 censuses, 1910–2020.

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

Stories next door

History across the town line

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

Rhoda TownshipIts storynot graded: under 1,000 residents or part of its townJackson TownshipIts storynot graded: under 1,000 residents or part of its town

Questions about Geddes’ history

What year was Geddes founded?

The Geddes post office opened in 1900, the earliest record of the town by name (U.S. post office records).

What is on the National Register in Geddes?

One place: the Geddes Historic District (Additional Documention) (listed 1973).

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 (4), the National Register of Historic Places (1), 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.