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Humboldt, South Dakota 5Photo: Jon Platek · CC BY-SA 3.0
–Not graded
History · Humboldt Township

16% of Humboldt Township’s homes were built before 1940

Below: maps from 1964 on and the census since 1920.

0on the National Register
16%homes built before 1940
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Photo: Jon Platek · CC BY-SA 3.0

What stands out about Humboldt 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 writtenNo old photos of Humboldt Township are in the public archives yet. The rest are in attics and albums.
★ What stands out · Help out

Start Humboldt Township’s collection

The first neighbors to add old photos shape how Humboldt Township’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

How Humboldt Township came to be

From Wikipedia’s history of Humboldt Township.

Read it all →

The first settlement at Humboldt was made in 1877. The town was named from its location in Humboldt Township. A post office called Humboldt has been in operation since 1889.

Text from Wikipedia, licensed CC BY-SA 4.0.

By decade

No old photos in the archives yet

Weddings on Main Street, storms, parades, school pictures, the old store. If it’s in your family album, it belongs here.

Be the first to add onePhotograph a print flat, in daylight, no flash.
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On the map

Humboldt Township on the map, 1964 to 1985

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

Humboldt Township on the 1964 USGS mapHumboldt Township on the 1985 USGS map1964Grass Lake 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 Humboldt Township.

People over time

Humboldt Township, census by census

0100200300400500600192019401960198020002020Peak: 589

Between 411 and 589 people in every census since 1920.

11 censuses, 1920–2020.

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

Places that used to be

Old burying grounds

3cemeteries and burying grounds inside Humboldt Township
Humboldt PublicOur Lady of LourdesSaint Ann's

Places and cemeteries from the USGS Geographic Names Information System (2021).

Stories next door

History across the town line

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

Greenland TownshipIts storynot graded: under 1,000 residents or part of its townClear Lake TownshipIts storynot graded: under 1,000 residents or part of its townWellington TownshipIts storynot graded: under 1,000 residents or part of its townHartford TownshipIts storynot graded: under 1,000 residents or part of its town

Questions about Humboldt Township’s history

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 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.