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History · Grenville

Grenville’s post office opened in 1901, and 85% of its homes were built before 1940

Below: maps from 1970 on and the census since 1930.

1901first post office

0on the National Register

85%homes built before 1940

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Quick answers

How Grenville began

When was Grenville founded?

1901

The Grenville post office opened in 1901, the earliest record of the town by name.

First census: 247 in 19302020 census: 48125 years

Founding year: the first Grenville post office (Blevins & Helbock, CC0).

What stands out about Grenville’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 Grenville are in the public archives yet. The rest are in attics and albums.Old housesHalf of Grenville’s homes were built before 1938.

★ What stands out · Help out

Start Grenville’s collection

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

Decades since 1900 with photos

00s10s20s30s40s50s60s70s80s90s

0 of 10 decades. The empty ones are waiting for someone’s album.

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The story so far

Grenville, in brief

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

Grenville is a town in Day County, South Dakota, United States. The population was 48 at the 2020 census. Grenville was laid out in 1914, and named for the greenery of the original town site.

Its first post office opened in 1901. Between the 2010 and 2020 censuses its population fell from 54 to 48 (-11%).

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

By decade

Grenville, decade by decade

Today1 recent

2004SDMap-doton-Grenville

On the map

Grenville on the map, 1970 to 1985

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

1970Roslyn 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 Grenville.

People over time

Grenville, census by census

Between 48 and 260 people in every census since 1930.

10 censuses, 1930–2020.

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

Famous people

Famous people close to Grenville

Nobody well known was born in Grenville itself, so here are the best known from just nearby.

See all →

Henry A. LardyProfessor of biochemistry · b. 1917

Myron FlorenAmerican accordionist · b. 1919

Logan StorleyAmerican mixed martial arts (MMA) fighter and f… · b. 1992

Questions about Grenville’s history

What year was Grenville founded?

The Grenville post office opened in 1901, the earliest record of the town by name (U.S. post office records).

Memory lane

What the archives can’t tell you, neighbors can.

Town Square →

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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 (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.

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