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A−History
History · Huron

Huron’s post office opened in 1880, and 29% of its homes were built before 1940

More historic than 80% of U.S. towns · #5 of 35 in South Dakota. What drives it

9 places in town are on the National Register, among them a historic district with 72 buildings. Below: 10 old photos and papers, maps from 1884 on, and the census since 1880.

1880first post office
9on the National Register
29%homes built before 1940
10old photos & papers
26famous people
Add an old photoShare a memory
From Huron’s archive · credits on each photo
Quick answers

How Huron began

When was Huron founded?

1880

The Huron post office opened in 1880, the earliest record of the town by name. Wikidata gives 1883.

First census: 164 in 18802020 census: 14,263146 years

How historic is Huron?

A−

More historic than 80% of U.S. towns, on its age, its old homes and the National Register.

What drives the grade ↓
Founding year: the first Huron post office (Blevins & Helbock, CC0). Wikidata: 1883.The full story ↓
History grade

What drives Huron’s History grade

On its age, its old homes and the National Register, Huron is more historic than 80% of U.S. towns, #5 of 35 in South Dakota. Its National Register listings hold the grade up; its age pulls it down.

A−
HistoryA character grade: shown, never part of Huron’s overall grade.
Founding era1880, from the first post office: founded 1850–1899, an older era than 37% of U.S. townsC+Homes built before 194028.7% of homes (±4.0) · typical SD town 10.4% · U.S. 8.4%A−National Register9 listings, 82 historic buildings, 57.0 per 10,000 residents · typical SD town 37.3 · U.S. 2.4A−
All U.S. towns we grade (21,289)Ahead of 80%
NewerOlder
South Dakota towns of 2,500+ (35)Ahead of 88%

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 Huron’s 57.0 sits above most of its state (81% of South Dakota towns have fewer) while its 82 historic buildings outnumber those of 88% 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 (±4.0 points). The founding year is the first post office, not a stated founding date; Wikidata’s 1883 falls in the same era, so the grade doesn’t depend on which one is used.

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 Huron’s past

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

A historic districtThe Campbell Park Historic District of Huron takes in 72 historic buildings.Mapped building by building7 fire insurance maps, 1884 to 1916, drew every building in Huron.On the map since 18984 editions of the USGS map, 1898 to 1985. Watch Huron change.Landmarks on the Register9 places on the National Register.
★ What stands out · On the National Register

9 listings protect 82 historic buildings

The country’s official list of buildings and places worth saving.

places listed
9
National Historic Landmarks
0
none yet
historic buildings protected
82
each building in a district counts
first listed
1974
Campbell Park Historic District of Huron
Pyle House, built 1894Grace Episcopal ChurchHattie O. and Henry Drake Octagon HouseChicago and North Western RoundhouseFaye Bowden House-Agnus Saunders, built 1949Campbell Park Historic District of HuronDairy Building, built 1913Jefferson SchoolHabicht & Habicht Department Store
BuildingsDistricts

Architectural styles listings

Late Queen Anne1
Late Gothic Revival1
Octagon Mode1
Vernacular Industrial1
Lustron Westchester1
Queen Anne1
Pyle HouseLate Queen Anne · Built 1894
Grace Episcopal ChurchLate Gothic Revival
Hattie O. and Henry Drake Octagon HouseOctagon Mode
Chicago and North Western RoundhouseVernacular Industrial
Faye Bowden House-Agnus SaundersLustron Westchester · Built 1949
All 9 listings
Campbell Park Historic District of HuronDistrict · listed 1974Dairy BuildingBuilding · listed 1990Jefferson SchoolBuilding · listed 2019Habicht & Habicht Department StoreBuilding · listed 2020

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

Every building

Huron, building by building, 1884–1916

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.

Huron fire insurance map, 1884, sheet 11884Sheet 1 of 3
Edition
BrickWoodStone

Sanborn Map Company, via the Library of Congress. Editions published in 1930 or earlier, which are in the public domain.

On the map

Huron on the map, 1898 to 1985

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

Huron on the 1898 USGS mapHuron on the 1957 USGS mapHuron on the 1974 USGS mapHuron on the 1985 USGS map1898Huron 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 Huron.

The story

How Huron came to be

From Wikipedia’s history of Huron.

Read it all →

The first settlement at Huron was established in 1880. Huron is the site of the South Dakota State Fair and of a statue called the World's Largest Pheasant.

Huron was founded during railroad and land booms in the 1880s. The early history of the town is closely linked with the Chicago and Northwestern Railway. At the direction of Marvin Hughitt, general manager of the railroad, the west bank of the James River was selected as the railway's division headquarters. The company gained title to 880 acres (3.6 km2) of land at that location. Huron was named for the Huron Indians.

Text from Wikipedia, licensed CC BY-SA 4.0.

Timeline

Huron, 1880 to 1954

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

  1. 19th century
  2. 1880Post officeThe Huron post office opens
  3. 1894BuiltPyle House is built
  4. 1898On the mapFirst mapped by the U.S. Geological Survey
  5. 20th century
  6. 1907Born hereJohn King Fairbank is born here
  7. 1909In the archiveDakota Ave
  8. 1910In the archiveSouth Dakota State fairgrounds
  9. 1912Born hereMuriel Humphrey is born here
  10. 1913BuiltDairy Building is built
  11. 1949BuiltFaye Bowden House-Agnus Saunders is built
  12. 1951Born hereCheryl Ladd is born here
  13. 1954Born hereMike Rounds is born here
By decade

Huron, decade by decade

2 decades in the archive, from the 1900s to the 1910s. Scroll each row; tap a photo for its story.

1900s8 items
Dakota Ave1909Dakota AveHuron College1909Huron CollegeHigh School1909High SchoolCentral part of Huron, S. Dak1909Central part of Huron, S. DakPublic Library Huron, S. Dak1909Public Library Huron, S. DakBusiness Center of Huron, S. Dak1909Business Center of Huron, S. DakM.W. Bridge & Dam1909M.W. Bridge & DamC & N.W. roundhouse1909C & N.W. roundhouse
1910s2 items
South Dakota State fairgrounds1910South Dakota State fairgroundsStock Parade at S. Dak. State Fair, 19121912Stock Parade at S. Dak. State Fair, 1912
1920s–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
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.

Dakota Ave
Retake this viewDakota Ave, 1909

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

Retake this view · +15
People over time

Huron, census by census

02,0004,0006,0008,00010,00012,00014,00016,00018801900192019401960198020002020Peak: 14,299

Between 164 and 14,299 people in every census since 1880.

15 censuses, 1880–2020.

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

Famous people

26 famous people were born in Huron

Writers, athletes, leaders and more, ranked by how widely they’re known.

See all →
Cheryl LaddAmerican actress, singer, and author · b. 1951
Mike RoundsUnited States Senator from South Dakota · b. 1954
Muriel HumphreyAmerican politician · b. 1912
John King FairbankAmerican sinologist · b. 1907
Gladys PyleAmerican politician · b. 1890
Candace HilligossAmerican actress · b. 1935
Help out

Finish Huron’s story

Most archives stop around 1920. The photos from after that are in family albums, not libraries.

Decades since 1900 with photos
00s10s20s30s40s50s60s70s80s90s
2 of 10 decades. The empty ones are waiting for someone’s album.
Retake an old viewDakota Ave: stand where they stood+15Share a family photoSign in to add one+10
Stories next door

History across the town line

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

Custer Township2 historic placesnot graded: under 1,000 residents or part of its townClyde TownshipIts storynot graded: under 1,000 residents or part of its townValley TownshipIts storynot graded: under 1,000 residents or part of its townTheresa TownshipIts storynot graded: under 1,000 residents or part of its townMorningsideIts storynot graded: under 1,000 residents or part of its town

Questions about Huron’s history

What year was Huron founded?

The Huron post office opened in 1880, the earliest record of the town by name (U.S. post office records). Wikidata gives 1883.

How does Huron rank for history?

Huron is more historic than 80% of U.S. towns, #5 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 Huron?

9 listings: 8 buildings and 1 historic district, the Campbell Park Historic District of Huron, with 72 contributing buildings. 82 historic buildings in all.

How old are the homes in Huron?

29% of Huron’s homes were built before 1940 (Census estimate, ±4.0 points), against a typical 10% for a South Dakota town; the median home was built in 1960.

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).

From the Library of Congress (10), Wikidata (1), the National Register of Historic Places (9), 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.