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History · Jefferson Township

Half of Jefferson Township’s homes were built after 2002

Most of Jefferson Township was built recently: 6% of its homes predate 1940 and the median home dates from 2002. Below: maps from 1895 on and the census since 1880.

0on the National Register
6%homes built before 1940
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What stands out about Jefferson 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 Jefferson Township are in the public archives yet. The rest are in attics and albums.On the map since 18953 editions of the USGS map, 1895 to 1985. Watch Jefferson Township change.
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Start Jefferson Township’s collection

The first neighbors to add old photos shape how Jefferson 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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On the map

Jefferson Township on the map, 1895 to 1985

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

Jefferson Township on the 1895 USGS mapJefferson Township on the 1953 USGS mapJefferson Township on the 1985 USGS map1895Aberdeen 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 Jefferson Township.

The story

How Jefferson Township came to be

From Wikipedia’s history of Jefferson Township.

Read it all →

Jefferson was primarily settled by French-Canadians. By 1867 the town consisted of 25 or so French-Canadian families. During the winter of 1880–1, the town was ravaged by a smallpox epidemic, reported to have arrived in the area via Russian Mennonite emigrants en route to Yankton, in the Dakota Territory. The town was quarantined for several weeks, without railroad service or mail delivery. At least 150 cases of "black small pox" were reported by February 1881, resulting in more than 82 deaths.

Text from Wikipedia, licensed CC BY-SA 4.0.

By decade

Jefferson Township, decade by decade

Today2 recent
Flooding - Jefferson, S. D. , June 12, 2011 -- Members of the State Incident Management Team inspect flood conditions a…2011Flooding - Jefferson, S. D. , June 12, 2011 -- Member…SDMap-doton-Jefferson2004SDMap-doton-Jefferson
People over time

Jefferson Township, census by census

010020030040050060018801900192019401960198020002020Peak: 592

Between 90 and 592 people in every census since 1880.

15 censuses, 1880–2020.

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

Places that used to be

Old corners, places now gone and burying grounds

Old hamlets and crossroads still carry their names on the map.

Hamlets and corners on the map
Gallup
Gone or out of use
German Methodist Churchchurch
1cemetery inside Jefferson Township
Ashton

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.

Mellette TownshipIts storynot graded: under 1,000 residents or part of its townAthol TownshipIts storynot graded: under 1,000 residents or part of its townThree Rivers TownshipIts storynot graded: under 1,000 residents or part of its townGreat Bend TownshipIts storynot graded: under 1,000 residents or part of its townClifton TownshipIts storynot graded: under 1,000 residents or part of its town

Questions about Jefferson 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 Wikimedia Commons (2), 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.