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History · Iona Township

Iona Township’s post office opened in 1898, and 52% of its homes were built before 1940

Below: maps from 1940 on.

1898first post office
0on the National Register
52%homes built before 1940
Add an old photoShare a memory
Quick answers

How Iona Township began

When was Iona Township founded?

1898

The Iona Township post office opened in 1898, the earliest record of the town by name. Another post office, Rosebud Landing (1879), opened inside today’s town and later closed.

2020 census: 75128 years
Founding year: the first Iona Township post office (Blevins & Helbock, CC0).

What stands out about Iona 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 Iona Township are in the public archives yet. The rest are in attics and albums.Old housesHalf of Iona Township’s homes were built before 1938.
★ What stands out · Help out

Start Iona Township’s collection

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

Decades since 1900 with photos
00s10s20s30s40s50s60s70s80s90s
0 of 10 decades. The empty ones are waiting for someone’s album.
Share a family photoSign in to add one+10
The story so far

Iona Township, in brief

Wikipedia doesn’t have a history of Iona Township yet. The photos, dates and memories neighbors add here are how it gets written.

Iona is an unincorporated community in Lyman County, South Dakota, United States. Although not tracked by the Census Bureau, Iona has been assigned the ZIP code of 57542. Iona is a Native American name meaning "fire around".

Its first post office opened in 1898. Between the 2010 and 2020 censuses its population fell from 81 to 75 (-7%).

Intro from Wikipedia. Population: U.S. Census Bureau.

Timeline

Iona Township, 1879 to 1940

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

  1. 19th century
  2. 1879Post officeThe Rosebud Landing post office opens
  3. 1883Post officeThe Rosebud Landing post office closes
  4. 1898Post officeThe Iona post office opens
  5. 20th century
  6. 1940On the mapFirst mapped by the U.S. Geological Survey
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.
Add from your album
On the map

Iona Township on the map, 1940 to 1974

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

Iona Township on the 1940 USGS mapIona Township on the 1974 USGS map1940Iona sheet · 1:62,500

U.S. Geological Survey historical topographic maps (public domain), via Esri’s collection of the scans. The red ring marks the center of Iona Township.

Famous people

Famous people close to Iona Township

Nobody well known was born in Iona Township itself, so here are the best known from just nearby.

See all →
E
Eddie SpearsAmerican actor · b. 1982
Julia Anna GardnerAmerican geologist · b. 1882
Travis LutterAmerican mixed martial artist · b. 1973
E
Elizabeth ColborneAmerican printmaker, illustrator · b. 1885
B
Barry FrenchAmerican football player · b. 1922
Places that used to be

Lost post offices, old corners, places now gone and burying grounds

Another post office, Rosebud Landing, opened and closed inside today’s town.

Rosebud Landing
1879–1883
Iona
1898–today
18701950today
Hamlets and corners on the map
Iona
Gone or out of use
Bonds FerrylocaleBrule AgencylocaleIonalocaleRosebud LandinglocaleTrudeaus 1794 Camplocale
2cemeteries and burying grounds inside Iona Township
IonaSaint Columba Catholic

US Post Offices dataset (Blevins & Helbock, CC0). 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.

Oacoma TownshipIts storynot graded: under 1,000 residents or part of its townAmerica TownshipIts storynot graded: under 1,000 residents or part of its townDixon Township1 historic placenot graded: under 1,000 residents or part of its townBrule TownshipIts storynot graded: under 1,000 residents or part of its townLanding Creek TownshipIts storynot graded: under 1,000 residents or part of its town

Questions about Iona Township’s history

What year was Iona Township founded?

The Iona Township post office opened in 1898, the earliest record of the town by name (U.S. post office records).

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 U.S. Geological Survey historical maps, the US Post Offices dataset (Blevins & Helbock) 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.