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History · Lake City

Lake City dates to 1914, and 29% of its homes were built before 1940

Below: maps from 1970 on and the census since 1930.

1914founded
0on the National Register
29%homes built before 1940
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Quick answers

How Lake City began

When was Lake City founded?

1914

Lake City dates its founding to 1914 (Wikidata and Wikipedia’s history agree). The census first counted it in 1930.

First census: 162 in 19302020 census: 45112 years
Founding year: Wikidata; Wikipedia’s history section gives the same year. First post office: 1915.

What stands out about Lake City’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 Lake City are in the public archives yet. The rest are in attics and albums.
★ What stands out · Help out

Start Lake City’s collection

The first neighbors to add old photos shape how Lake City’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

Lake City, in brief

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

Lake City is a town in Marshall County, South Dakota, United States. The population was 45 at the 2020 census. Fort Sisseton Historic State Park, whose fort is listed on the National Register of Historic Places, is located nearby. Lake City was laid out in 1914, and so named for the many lakes in the area.

Lake City was established in 1914. Between the 2010 and 2020 censuses its population fell from 51 to 45 (-12%).

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

Timeline

Lake City, 1914 to 1970

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

  1. 20th century
  2. 1914
    FoundingLake City is established
  3. 1915Post officeThe Lake City post office opens
  4. 1970On 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.
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On the map

Lake City on the map in 1970

The U.S. Geological Survey’s map of Lake City.

Lake City on the 1970 USGS map1970Lake City 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 City.

People over time

Lake City, census by census

010019401960198020002020Peak: 168

Between 43 and 168 people in every census since 1930.

10 censuses, 1930–2020.

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

Famous people

Famous people close to Lake City

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

See all →
H
Henry A. LardyProfessor of biochemistry · b. 1917
Myron FlorenAmerican accordionist · b. 1919
Leonard C. HansonAmerican football player · b. 1900
L
Logan StorleyAmerican mixed martial arts (MMA) fighter and f… · b. 1992
O
O. W. WilsonAmerican police chief · b. 1900

Questions about Lake City’s history

What year was Lake City founded?

In 1914, according to Wikidata and Wikipedia’s history of the town. Lake City’s post office opened in 1915, and the census of 1930 counted 162 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 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.