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History · Groton Township

Groton Township dates to 1881

Most of Groton Township was built recently: 0.0% of its homes predate 1940 and the median home dates from 1974. Below: 3 old photos and papers, maps from 1895 on, and the census since 1890.

1881founded
0on the National Register
0.0%homes built before 1940
3old photos & papers
Add an old photoShare a memory
From Groton Township’s archive · credits on each photo
Quick answers

How Groton Township began

When was Groton Township founded?

1881

Groton Township dates its founding to 1881 (Wikipedia’s history). The census first counted it in 1890.

First census: 684 in 18902020 census: 128145 years
Founding year: Wikipedia.The full story ↓

What stands out about Groton Township’s past

Read from the archive, the National Register and the record. The page puts what stands out first.

A history waiting to be writtenOnly 3 old photos are in the public archives. The rest are in attics and albums.On the map since 18954 editions of the USGS map, 1895 to 1985. Watch Groton Township change.
★ What stands out · Help out

Start Groton Township’s collection

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

Decades since 1900 with photos
00s10s20s30s40s50s60s70s80s90s
2 of 10 decades. The empty ones are waiting for someone’s album.
Retake an old viewCircle Pines Motel, Groton, South Dakot…: stand where they stood+15Share a family photoSign in to add one+10
On the map

Groton Township on the map, 1895 to 1985

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

Groton Township on the 1895 USGS mapGroton Township on the 1954 USGS mapGroton Township on the 1978 USGS mapGroton Township on the 1985 USGS map1895Aberdeen sheet · 1:125,000

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

The story

How Groton Township came to be

From Wikipedia’s history of Groton Township.

Read it all →

Groton was platted in 1881. The city was named after Groton, Massachusetts. A post office has been in operation at Groton since 1881.

Text from Wikipedia, licensed CC BY-SA 4.0.

Timeline

Groton Township, 1881 to 1940

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

  1. 19th century
  2. 1881
    FoundingGroton Township is established
  3. 1895On the mapFirst mapped by the U.S. Geological Survey
  4. 20th century
  5. 1930In the archiveCircle Pines Motel, Groton, South Dakota (84244)
  6. 1940In the archiveRailroad into Groton, South Dakota
By decade

Groton Township, decade by decade

2 decades in the archive, from the 1930s to the 1940s. Scroll each row; tap a photo for its story.

1930s–1940s3 items
Circle Pines Motel, Groton, South Dakota (84244)c. 1930Circle Pines Motel, Groton, South Dakota (84244)Railroad into Groton, South Dakota1940Railroad into Groton, South DakotaCountry road, railroad, and highway leading into Groton, South Dakota1940Country road, railroad, and highway leading into Grot…
1950s–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
Today4 recent
Trinity Episcopal2024Trinity EpiscopalMcKenzie-Cassels House2024McKenzie-Cassels HouseFirst presvyterian2024First presvyterianSDMap-doton-Groton2004SDMap-doton-Groton
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.

Circle Pines Motel, Groton, South Dakota (84244)
Retake this viewCircle Pines Motel, Groton, South Dakota (84244), c. 1930

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

Retake this view · +15
People over time

Groton Township, census by census

02004006008001,0001,2001,4001,6001900192019401960198020002020Peak: 1,458

Between 684 and 1,458 people in every census since 1890.

14 censuses, 1890–2020.

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

Stories next door

History across the town line

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

Riverside TownshipIts storynot graded: under 1,000 residents or part of its townAndover TownshipIts storynot graded: under 1,000 residents or part of its townEast Hanson Township1 historic placenot graded: under 1,000 residents or part of its townHenry TownshipIts storynot graded: under 1,000 residents or part of its town

Questions about Groton Township’s history

What year was Groton Township founded?

In 1881, according to Wikipedia’s history of the town. the census of 1890 counted 684 people here.

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 Library of Congress (2), Wikidata (1), Wikipedia, U.S. Geological Survey historical maps and U.S. Census counts (via Wikipedia). Archive images are copied here with their credits and licenses, shown on each photo’s page. Refreshed monthly.