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History · Lake Andes

Lake Andes’ post office opened in 1900, and 42% of its homes were built before 1940

Its Register listings are the Charles Mix County Courthouse, the Lake Andes Carnegie Library and the Engel Hotel. Below: 4 old photos and papers, maps from 1964 on, and the census since 1910.

1900first post office
3on the National Register
42%homes built before 1940
4old photos & papers
1famous people
Add an old photoShare a memory
From Lake Andes’ archive · credits on each photo
Quick answers

How Lake Andes began

When was Lake Andes founded?

1900

The Lake Andes post office opened in 1900, the earliest record of the town by name.

First census: 920 in 19102020 census: 710126 years
Founding year: the first Lake Andes post office (Blevins & Helbock, CC0).

What stands out about Lake Andes’ past

Read from the archive, the National Register and the record. The page puts what stands out first.

A history waiting to be writtenOnly 4 old photos are in the public archives. The rest are in attics and albums.Boom and bustPeaked at 1,851 in 1950; 710 people lived here in 2020.Old housesHalf of Lake Andes’ homes were built before 1953.
★ What stands out · Help out

Start Lake Andes’s collection

The first neighbors to add old photos shape how Lake Andes’s history is told.

Decades since 1900 with photos
00s10s20s30s40s50s60s70s80s90s
3 of 10 decades. The empty ones are waiting for someone’s album.
Retake an old viewFountain Artesian Well, at Lake Andes, …: stand where they stood+15Share a family photoSign in to add one+10
People over time

Lake Andes, census by census

05001,0001,5002,000192019401960198020002020Peak: 1,851

Peaked at 1,851 in 1950; 710 people lived here in 2020.

12 censuses, 1910–2020.

U.S. Census Bureau decennial counts, from the census table on Lake Andes’ Wikipedia page.

The story so far

Lake Andes, in brief

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

Lake Andes is a city in, and the county seat of, Charles Mix County, South Dakota, United States. The population was 710 at the 2020 census. The town took its name from Lake Andes which some say derives its name from a pioneer hunter named Handy, while others believe was named after Edward Andes, a fur company official. The town and the lake names translate to Bde Ihaƞke in Dakota language of the native Yankton Sioux Tribe.

Its first post office opened in 1900. Between the 2010 and 2020 censuses its population fell from 879 to 710 (-19%).

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

Timeline

Lake Andes, 1900 to 1964

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

  1. 20th century
  2. 1900Post officeThe Lake Andes post office opens
  3. 1908In the archiveFountain Artesian Well, at Lake Andes, S. Dak
  4. 1910BuiltEngel Hotel is built
  5. 1910In the archiveMain St
  6. 1911BuiltLake Andes Carnegie Library is built
  7. 1939In the archiveMain Street
  8. 1948Born hereFaith Spotted Eagle is born here
  9. 1950CensusPopulation peaks at 1,851
  10. 1964On the mapFirst mapped by the U.S. Geological Survey
By decade

Lake Andes, decade by decade

3 decades in the archive, from the 1900s to the 1930s. Scroll each row; tap a photo for its story.

1900s–1930s4 items
Fountain Artesian Well, at Lake Andes, S. Dak1908Fountain Artesian Well, at Lake Andes, S. DakMain St1910Main StMain St1910Main StMain Street1939Main Street
1940s–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
Today4 recent
Lake Andes, South Dakota downtown 32011Lake Andes, South Dakota downtown 3Lake Andes, South Dakota downtown 22011Lake Andes, South Dakota downtown 2Lake Andes, South Dakota downtown 12011Lake Andes, South Dakota downtown 1SDMap-doton-LakeAndes2004SDMap-doton-LakeAndes
On the map

Lake Andes on the map, 1964 to 1977

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

Lake Andes on the 1964 USGS mapLake Andes on the 1977 USGS map1964Lake Andes 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 Lake Andes.

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.

Fountain Artesian Well, at Lake Andes, S. Dak
Retake this viewFountain Artesian Well, at Lake Andes, S. Dak, 1908

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

Retake this view · +15
On the National Register

3 historic places in Lake Andes

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

places listed
3
National Historic Landmarks
0
none yet
historic buildings protected
3
each building in a district counts
first listed
1993
Charles Mix County Courthouse
Charles Mix County CourthouseLake Andes Carnegie Library, built 1911Engel Hotel, built 1910
Buildings

Architectural styles listings

Prairie School2
Charles Mix County CourthousePrairie School
Lake Andes Carnegie LibraryPrairie School · Built 1911
Engel HotelBuilt 1910

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

Questions about Lake Andes’ history

What year was Lake Andes founded?

The Lake Andes post office opened in 1900, the earliest record of the town by name (U.S. post office records).

What is on the National Register in Lake Andes?

Three places: the Charles Mix County Courthouse (listed 1993), the Lake Andes Carnegie Library (2000) and the Engel Hotel (2012).

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 (5), the Library of Congress (3), Wikidata (3), the National Register of Historic Places (3), 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.