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History · Kimball Township

Kimball Township dates to 1883, and 16% of its homes were built before 1940

Below: 1 old photo or paper, maps from 1979 on, and the census since 1890.

1883founded
0on the National Register
16%homes built before 1940
1old photo or paper
Add an old photoShare a memory
From Kimball Township’s archive · credits on each photo
Quick answers

How Kimball Township began

When was Kimball Township founded?

1883

Kimball Township dates its founding to 1883 (Wikidata and Wikipedia’s history agree). The census first counted it in 1890.

First census: 593 in 18902020 census: 55143 years
Founding year: Wikidata; Wikipedia’s history section gives the same year.The full story ↓

What stands out about Kimball 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 1 old photo is in the public archives. The rest are in attics and albums.Boom and bustPeaked at 1,111 in 1930; 572 people lived here in 2020.
★ What stands out · Help out

Start Kimball Township’s collection

The first neighbors to add old photos shape how Kimball 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 viewKimball, SD - Apr. 16, 1918: stand where they stood+15Share a family photoSign in to add one+10
People over time

Kimball Township, census by census

02004006008001,0001,2001900192019401960198020002020Peak: 1,111

Peaked at 1,111 in 1930; 572 people lived here in 2020.

14 censuses, 1890–2020.

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

The story

How Kimball Township came to be

From Wikipedia’s history of Kimball Township.

Read it all →

Kimball was first known as Stake 48 on the Chicago, Milwaukee and St. Paul Railroad line going west out of Mitchell. In 1880, the first homestead claims were made in the vicinity of Stake 48. Kimball was organized as a village in the spring of 1883. The town was named for J. W. Kimball, a railroad surveyor.

The 1895 Holy Trinity Church is on the National Register of Historic Places.

The two major fires that hit Kimball, South Dakota, were significant events in the town's history, both causing extensive damage to its downtown area.

Text from Wikipedia, licensed CC BY-SA 4.0.

Timeline

Kimball Township, 1883 to 1979

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

  1. 19th century
  2. 1883
    FoundingKimball Township is established
  3. 20th century
  4. 1918In the archiveKimball, SD - Apr. 16, 1918
  5. 1930CensusPopulation peaks at 1,111
  6. 1979On the mapFirst mapped by the U.S. Geological Survey
By decade

Kimball Township, decade by decade

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

1910s1 item
Kimball, SD - Apr. 16, 19181918Kimball, SD - Apr. 16, 1918
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
Today1 recent
SDMap-doton-Kimball2004SDMap-doton-Kimball
On the map

Kimball Township on the map, 1979 to 1986

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

Kimball Township on the 1979 USGS mapKimball Township on the 1986 USGS map1979Kimball South 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 Kimball 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.

Kimball, SD - Apr. 16, 1918
Retake this viewKimball, SD - Apr. 16, 1918, 1918

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

Retake this view · +15
Stories next door

History across the town line

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

Kimball1 historic placenot graded: under 1,000 residents or part of its townPlainfield TownshipIts storynot graded: under 1,000 residents or part of its townSmith TownshipIts storynot graded: under 1,000 residents or part of its townHighland TownshipIts storynot graded: under 1,000 residents or part of its townWaldro TownshipIts storynot graded: under 1,000 residents or part of its town

Questions about Kimball Township’s history

What year was Kimball Township founded?

In 1883, according to Wikidata and Wikipedia’s history of the town. the census of 1890 counted 593 people here.

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), Wikipedia, U.S. Geological Survey historical maps and U.S. Census counts (via Wikipedia). Archive images are copied here with their credits and licenses, shown on each photo’s page. Refreshed monthly.