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History · Hermosa

Hermosa’s post office opened in 1886, and 13% of its homes were built before 1940

Its Register listing is the Hermosa Masonic Lodge. Below: 1 old photo or paper, maps from 1953 on, and the census since 1890.

1886first post office
1on the National Register
13%homes built before 1940
1old photo or paper
Add an old photoShare a memory
From Hermosa’s archive · credits on each photo
Quick answers

How Hermosa began

When was Hermosa founded?

1886

The Hermosa post office opened in 1886, the earliest record of the town by name. Two smaller post offices, Battle River (1879) and Strater (1883), opened inside today’s town and later closed.

First census: 172 in 18902020 census: 382140 years
Founding year: the first Hermosa post office (Blevins & Helbock, CC0).The full story ↓

What stands out about Hermosa’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 1 old photo is in the public archives. The rest are in attics and albums.Shrank, then grewLost half of its people between 1890 and 1920, then grew 5-fold.Lost villages2 post offices opened and closed inside today’s Hermosa.
★ What stands out · Help out

Start Hermosa’s collection

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

Decades since 1900 with photos
00s10s20s30s40s50s60s70s80s90s
1 of 10 decades. The empty ones are waiting for someone’s album.
Retake an old viewHermosa Church. Attended by President &…: stand where they stood+15Share a family photoSign in to add one+10
People over time

Hermosa, census by census

01002003004001900192019401960198020002020172 in 1890Low: 74

Lost half of its people between 1890 and 1920, then grew 5-fold.

14 censuses, 1890–2020.

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

Places that used to be

Lost post offices

Hermosa’s post office has been open since 1886. Two other post offices opened and closed inside today’s town.

Battle River
1879–1886
Strater
1883–1885
Hermosa
1886–today
18701950today

US Post Offices dataset (Blevins & Helbock, CC0). Places and cemeteries from the USGS Geographic Names Information System (2021).

The story

How Hermosa came to be

From Wikipedia’s history of Hermosa.

Read it all →

Hermosa was developed by the Fremont, Elkhorn and Missouri Valley Railroad, later acquired by the Chicago and North Western Railway, and was platted in 1886. It was given its name, the Spanish for "beautiful", for its views of the Black Hills and the grasslands; the railroad located it a mile uphill from an existing stagecoach stop. A post office has been in operation in Hermosa since 1886.

A Titan missile silo was located near Hermosa from the early 1960s.

Text from Wikipedia, licensed CC BY-SA 4.0.

Timeline

Hermosa, 1879 to 2010

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

  1. 19th century
  2. 1879Post officeThe Battle River post office opens
  3. 1883Post officeThe Strater post office opens
  4. 1885Post officeThe Strater post office closes
  5. 1886Post officeThe Battle River post office closes
  6. 1886Post officeThe Hermosa post office opens
  7. 20th century
  8. 1927In the archiveHermosa Church. Attended by President & Mrs. Coolidge
  9. 1953On the mapFirst mapped by the U.S. Geological Survey
  10. 21st century
  11. 2010CensusPopulation peaks at 398
By decade

Hermosa, decade by decade

One decade in the archive so far: the 1920s. Scroll each row; tap a photo for its story.

1920s1 item
Hermosa Church. Attended by President & Mrs. Coolidge1927Hermosa Church. Attended by President & Mrs. Coolidge
1930s–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
Today11 recent
South Dakota - panoramio (1)2010South Dakota - panoramio (1)Hermosa, SD 57744, USA2010Hermosa, SD 57744, USAEl Restaurante2010El RestauranteEast Custer, SD, USA - panoramio (9)2010East Custer, SD, USA - panoramio (9)East Custer, SD, USA - panoramio (7)2010East Custer, SD, USA - panoramio (7)East Custer, SD, USA - panoramio (6)2010East Custer, SD, USA - panoramio (6)East Custer, SD, USA - panoramio (5)2010East Custer, SD, USA - panoramio (5)East Custer, SD, USA - panoramio (22)2010East Custer, SD, USA - panoramio (22)East Custer, SD, USA - panoramio (19)2010East Custer, SD, USA - panoramio (19)Sundown near the Black Hills ghost town of Spokane, Looking W-SW, Custer Co., South Dakota2008Sundown near the Black Hills ghost town of Spokane, L…SDMap-doton-Hermosa2004SDMap-doton-Hermosa
On the map

Hermosa on the map, 1953 to 1971

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

Hermosa on the 1953 USGS mapHermosa on the 1971 USGS map1953Hermosa 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 Hermosa.

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.

Hermosa Church. Attended by President & Mrs. Coolidge
Retake this viewHermosa Church. Attended by President & Mrs. Coolidge, 1927

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

Retake this view · +15
On the National Register

1 historic place in Hermosa

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
2009
Hermosa Masonic Lodge
Hermosa Masonic Lodge
Buildings

Architectural styles listings

False Front1
Hermosa Masonic LodgeFalse Front

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

Famous people

Famous people close to Hermosa

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

See all →
Lawrence LessigAmerican academic, political activist · b. 1961
Becky HammonAmerican-Russian basketball player and coach · b. 1977
Tomi LahrenAmerican political commentator · b. 1992
R
Randy LewisOlympic wrestler · b. 1959
Michael Owen JackelsAmerican Roman Catholic archbishop · b. 1954
Walter Dale MillerAmerican politician (Republican) 1925-2015 · b. 1925

Questions about Hermosa’s history

What year was Hermosa founded?

The Hermosa post office opened in 1886, the earliest record of the town by name (U.S. post office records).

What is on the National Register in Hermosa?

One place: the Hermosa Masonic Lodge (listed 2009).

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 (11), the Library of Congress (1), the National Register of Historic Places (1), Wikipedia, 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.