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History · Interior Township

Interior Township dates to 1907, and 50% of its homes were built before 1940

1 place in town is on the National Register, among them a historic district with 2 buildings. Below: 2 old photos and papers, maps from 1960 on, and the census since 1930.

1907founded
1on the National Register
50%homes built before 1940
2old photos & papers
Add an old photoShare a memory
Quick answers

How Interior Township began

When was Interior Township founded?

1907

Interior Township dates its founding to 1907 (Wikidata). The census first counted it in 1930.

First census: 144 in 19302020 census: 59119 years
Founding year: Wikidata.The full story ↓

What stands out about Interior 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 2 old photos are in the public archives. The rest are in attics and albums.Boom and bustPeaked at 182 in 1940; 65 people lived here in 2020.
★ What stands out · Help out

Start Interior Township’s collection

The first neighbors to add old photos shape how Interior Township’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 viewUnknown Correspondent, Interior, South …: stand where they stood+15Share a family photoSign in to add one+10
People over time

Interior Township, census by census

010020019401960198020002020Peak: 182

Peaked at 182 in 1940; 65 people lived here in 2020.

10 censuses, 1930–2020.

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

The story

How Interior Township came to be

From Wikipedia’s history of Interior Township.

Read it all →

Norwegian immigrants George and Louis Johnson moved from Chamberlain, South Dakota to the banks of the White River just north of the Pine Ridge Reservation in 1883 to establish a way-station for freighting between Chamberlain and the Black Hills. In 1886, the area was connected by rail to Gordon, Nebraska. In 1891, the former way-station was called Black, with Mary Johnson as its first postmaster. In 1893, the town was renamed "Interior" by George Johnson because he did not think the name "Black" fit the description of the White River that surrounded the town. In 1907 and 1908, the town was moved two miles and half northwest along the White River to meet the Milwaukee Railroad. The former location of the town became known as "old Interior".

Text from Wikipedia, licensed CC BY-SA 4.0.

Timeline

Interior Township, 1907 to 1960

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

  1. 20th century
  2. 1907
    FoundingInterior Township is established
  3. 1913In the archiveUnknown Correspondent, Interior, South Dakota, to J.J. Dunken [Duncan]
  4. 1940CensusPopulation peaks at 182
  5. 1960On the mapFirst mapped by the U.S. Geological Survey
By decade

Interior Township, decade by decade

One decade in the archive so far: the 1910s. Scroll each row; tap a photo for its story.

1910s2 items
Unknown Correspondent, Interior, South Dakota, to J.J. Dunken [Duncan]1913Unknown Correspondent, Interior, South Dakota, to J.J…J.J. Duncan to L.E. Squire, Interior, South Dakota1915J.J. Duncan to L.E. Squire, Interior, South Dakota
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
Today10 recent
Interior Township, SD, USA - panoramio - Idawriter (15)2010Interior Township, SD, USA - panoramio - Idawriter (1…Interior Township, SD, USA - panoramio - Idawriter (13)2010Interior Township, SD, USA - panoramio - Idawriter (1…Interior Township, SD, USA - panoramio - Idawriter (12)2010Interior Township, SD, USA - panoramio - Idawriter (1…Interior Township, SD, USA - panoramio - Idawriter (11)2010Interior Township, SD, USA - panoramio - Idawriter (1…Interior Township, SD, USA - panoramio - Idawriter (10)2010Interior Township, SD, USA - panoramio - Idawriter (1…Interior Business District2010Interior Business DistrictCowboy Corner2010Cowboy CornerApproaching2010ApproachingYellowstone 0822009Yellowstone 082Interior SD2006Interior SD
On the map

Interior Township on the map, 1960 to 1980

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

Interior Township on the 1960 USGS mapInterior Township on the 1980 USGS map1960Cottonwood SW 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 Interior Township.

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.

Unknown Correspondent, Interior, South Dakota, to J.J. Dunken [Duncan]
Retake this viewUnknown Correspondent, Interior, South Dakota, to J.J. Dunken [Duncan], 1913

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

Retake this view · +15
On the National Register

1 historic place in Interior Township

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

place listed
1
National Historic Landmarks
0
none yet
historic buildings protected
2
each building in a district counts
first listed
1974
Prairie Homestead
Prairie Homestead
Districts
Prairie HomesteadDistrict

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

Places that used to be

Places now gone

Gone or out of use
Badlands AirfieldairportLanding Fieldairport

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.

Castle Butte TownshipIts storynot graded: under 1,000 residents or part of its townWeta TownshipIts storynot graded: under 1,000 residents or part of its town

Questions about Interior Township’s history

What year was Interior Township founded?

In 1907, according to Wikidata. the census of 1930 counted 144 people here.

What is on the National Register in Interior Township?

One place: the Prairie Homestead (listed 1974).

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 (12), the National Register of Historic Places (1), 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.