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History · Howard Township

Howard Township dates to 1881, and 35% of its homes were built before 1940

Below: 1 old photo or paper, maps from 1899 on, and the census since 1900.

1881founded
0on the National Register
35%homes built before 1940
1old photo or paper
Add an old photoShare a memory
From Howard Township’s archive · credits on each photo
Quick answers

How Howard Township began

When was Howard Township founded?

1881

Howard Township dates its founding to 1881 (Wikipedia’s history). The census first counted it in 1900.

First census: 588 in 19002020 census: 159145 years
Founding year: Wikipedia.The full story ↓

What stands out about Howard 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 1 old photo is in the public archives. The rest are in attics and albums.On the map since 18993 editions of the USGS map, 1899 to 1985. Watch Howard Township change.Boom and bustPeaked at 1,325 in 1920; 848 people lived here in 2020.Old housesHalf of Howard Township’s homes were built before 1953.
★ What stands out · Help out

Start Howard Township’s collection

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

Decades since 1900 with photos
00s10s20s30s40s50s60s70s80s90s
0 of 10 decades. The empty ones are waiting for someone’s album.
Retake an old viewTornado1884: stand where they stood+15Share a family photoSign in to add one+10
On the map

Howard Township on the map, 1899 to 1985

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

Howard Township on the 1899 USGS mapHoward Township on the 1973 USGS mapHoward Township on the 1985 USGS map1899Alexandria 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 Howard Township.

People over time

Howard Township, census by census

02004006008001,0001,2001,4001900192019401960198020002020Peak: 1,325

Peaked at 1,325 in 1920; 848 people lived here in 2020.

13 censuses, 1900–2020.

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

The story

How Howard Township came to be

From Wikipedia’s history of Howard Township.

Read it all →

The city of Howard was established in 1881, shortly after the Southern Minnesota Railway was extended to that point. The city was named for Howard Farmer, the son of the townsite owner, J. D. Farmer. In 1883, when Miner and Sanborn counties were organized, the town was named the county seat of Miner County.

One of the first known photographs of a tornado is an image of the 1884 Howard, South Dakota, tornado.

The first public library in Dakota Territory was the Howard Public Library, chartered in 1886.

Howard became the first municipality in South Dakota to own and operate its own wind turbines in 2001.

Since 2001, over 200 new jobs have been created in the community. From 1996 to 2008, the city's sales tax revenues increased 123%.

Text from Wikipedia, licensed CC BY-SA 4.0.

Timeline

Howard Township, 1881 to 1920

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

  1. 19th century
  2. 1881
    FoundingHoward Township is established
  3. 1884In the archiveTornado1884
  4. 1899On the mapFirst mapped by the U.S. Geological Survey
  5. 20th century
  6. 1920CensusPopulation peaks at 1,325
By decade

Howard Township, decade by decade

One decade in the archive so far: the 1880s. Scroll each row; tap a photo for its story.

1880s1 item
Tornado18841884Tornado1884
1890s–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
Today2 recent
Free Workshop Aug 16 in Miner Co., SD - Cover Crops-Soil Quality-Native Grasses2012Free Workshop Aug 16 in Miner Co., SD - Cover Crops-S…SDMap-doton-Howard2004SDMap-doton-Howard
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.

Tornado1884
Retake this viewTornado1884, 1884

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

Retake this view · +15
Stories next door

History across the town line

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

VilasIts storynot graded: under 1,000 residents or part of its townRoswell TownshipIts storynot graded: under 1,000 residents or part of its townAdams TownshipIts storynot graded: under 1,000 residents or part of its townCanova TownshipIts storynot graded: under 1,000 residents or part of its townClearwater Township1 historic placenot graded: under 1,000 residents or part of its town

Questions about Howard Township’s history

What year was Howard Township founded?

In 1881, according to Wikipedia’s history of the town. the census of 1900 counted 588 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 (3), Wikipedia, U.S. Geological Survey historical maps, U.S. Census counts (via Wikipedia) 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.