Hot Springs’ post office opened in 1883, and 46% of its homes were built before 1940
More historic than 89% of U.S. towns · #2 of 35 in South Dakota. What drives it
8 places in town are on the National Register, among them the Battle Mountain Sanitarium, National Home For Disabled Volunteer Soldiers, a National Historic Landmark, and three historic districts with 160 buildings between them. Below: 5 old photos and papers, maps from 1891 on, and the census since 1890.
Founding year: the first Hot Springs post office (Blevins & Helbock, CC0).The full story ↓
History grade
What drives Hot Springs’ History grade
On its age, its old homes and the National Register, Hot Springs is more historic than 89% of U.S. towns, #2 of 35 in South Dakota. Its share of homes from before 1940 holds the grade up; its age pulls it down.
A
HistoryA character grade: shown, never part of Hot Springs’ overall grade.
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 Hot Springs’ 468 sits above most of its state (98% of South Dakota towns have fewer) while its 166 historic buildings outnumber those of 92% of U.S. towns.
How sure. Graded on any two of the three inputs instead, the letter would range from B+ to A+. The pre-1940 share is a Census survey estimate (±7.7 points). The founding year is the first post office, not a stated founding date.
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 →
What stands out about Hot Springs’ past
Read from the archive, the National Register and the record. The page puts what stands out first.
The country’s official list of buildings and places worth saving. One is a National Historic Landmark, the highest tier. Boundary changes and added documentation are counted with their listing.
The Sioux and Cheyenne people had long frequented the area, appreciating its warm springs. According to several accounts, including a ledger art piece by the Oglala Lakota artist Amos Bad Heart Bull, Native Americans considered the springs sacred.
European settlers arrived in the second half of the 19th century. They first named the city "Minnekahta" after its Lakota name. It was renamed Hot Springs in 1882, which is a translation of the Native American name. A variety of health resorts were built on the tourism offered by the springs.
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.
Every edition of the U.S. Geological Survey’s map of Hot Springs. Tap a year, or press play to watch the town change.
1950Hot Springs 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 Hot Springs.
Every building
Hot Springs, building by building, 1891–1915
Fire insurance maps drew every building, what it was made of and what it was used for, so insurers could price the risk of fire. Pick a year, then a sheet.
The Hot Springs post office opened in 1883, the earliest record of the town by name (U.S. post office records).
How does Hot Springs rank for history?
Hot Springs is more historic than 89% of U.S. towns, #2 of 35 in South Dakota. 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.
What is on the National Register in Hot Springs?
8 listings: 5 buildings, among them the Hot Springs High School (listed 1980, the first), and 3 historic districts, the Battle Mountain Sanitarium, National Home For Disabled Volunteer Soldiers, the Log Cabin Tourist Camp and the Hot Springs Historic District, with 160 contributing buildings. 166 historic buildings in all.
How old are the homes in Hot Springs?
46% of Hot Springs’ homes were built before 1940 (Census estimate, ±7.7 points), against a typical 10% for a South Dakota town; the median home was built in 1946.
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 Wikimedia Commons (5), Wikidata (1), the National Register of Historic Places (8), Wikipedia, 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), the USGS Geographic Names Information System and Sanborn fire insurance maps (Library of Congress). Archive images are copied here with their credits and licenses, shown on each photo’s page. Refreshed monthly.
★ Landmark
1889
1891
1891
