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History · Jefferson

Jefferson dates to 1859, and 28% 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: maps from 1963 on and the census since 1880.

1859founded
1on the National Register
28%homes built before 1940
2famous people
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Quick answers

How Jefferson began

When was Jefferson founded?

1859

Jefferson dates its founding to 1859 (Wikipedia’s history). The census first counted it in 1880.

First census: 90 in 18802020 census: 475167 years
Founding year: Wikipedia. First post office: 1861.The full story ↓

What stands out about Jefferson’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 are in the public archives yet. The rest are in attics and albums.Lost villages3 post offices opened and closed inside today’s Jefferson.
★ What stands out · Help out

Start Jefferson’s collection

The first neighbors to add old photos shape how Jefferson’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
Places that used to be

Lost post offices and burying grounds

Jefferson’s post office has been open since 1873. Three other post offices opened and closed inside today’s town.

Willow
1861–1869
Adelscat
1869–1873
Boreman
1873–1873
Jefferson
1873–today
18601940today
1cemetery inside Jefferson
Saint Peter's

US Post Offices dataset (Blevins & Helbock, CC0). Places and cemeteries from the USGS Geographic Names Information System (2021).

The story

How Jefferson came to be

From Wikipedia’s history of Jefferson.

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.

Timeline

Jefferson, 1859 to 1963

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

  1. 19th century
  2. 1859
    FoundingJefferson is established
  3. 1861Post officeThe Willow post office opens
  4. 1869Post officeThe Willow post office closes
  5. 1869Post officeThe Adelscat post office opens
  6. 1873Post officeThe Adelscat post office closes
  7. 1873Post officeThe Boreman post office opens
  8. 1873Post officeThe Boreman post office closes
  9. 20th century
  10. 1912Born hereDave Bernard is born here
  11. 1914Born hereJug Thesenga is born here
  12. 1963On the mapFirst mapped by the U.S. Geological Survey
By decade

Jefferson, 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
On the map

Jefferson on the map, 1963 to 1994

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

Jefferson on the 1963 USGS mapJefferson on the 1971 USGS mapJefferson on the 1994 USGS map1963Jefferson 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 Jefferson.

On the National Register

1 historic place in Jefferson

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
1989
St. Peter's Catholic Church
St. Peter's Catholic Church
Districts

Architectural styles listings

Nave Plan Church1
American Foursquare1
Late Victorian: Romanesque1
St. Peter's Catholic ChurchNave Plan Church

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

People over time

Jefferson, 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’s Wikipedia page.

Famous people

2 famous people were born in Jefferson

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

See all →
D
Dave BernardAmerican football player · b. 1912
J
Jug ThesengaAmerican baseball player · b. 1914

Questions about Jefferson’s history

What year was Jefferson founded?

In 1859, according to Wikipedia’s history of the town. Jefferson’s post office opened in 1861, and the census of 1880 counted 90 people here.

What is on the National Register in Jefferson?

One place: the St. Peter's Catholic Church (listed 1989).

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