Madison’s post office opened in 1874, and 24% of its homes were built before 1940
More historic than 74% of U.S. towns · #8 of 35 in South Dakota. What drives it
8 places in town are on the National Register, among them a historic district with 25 buildings. Below: 10 old photos and papers, maps from 1891 on, and the census since 1880.
Founding year: the first Madison post office (Blevins & Helbock, CC0). Wikidata: 1880.The full story ↓
History grade
What drives Madison’s History grade
On its age, its old homes and the National Register, Madison is more historic than 74% of U.S. towns, #8 of 35 in South Dakota. Its National Register listings hold the grade up; its age pulls it down.
B+
HistoryA character grade: shown, never part of Madison’s overall grade.
South Dakota towns list more on the Register than most of the country (a typical South Dakota town has 37.3 per 10,000 residents, the U.S. 2.4), so Madison’s 52.5 sits above most of its state (75% of South Dakota towns have fewer) while its 32 historic buildings outnumber those of 82% of U.S. towns.
How sure. Graded on any two of the three inputs instead, the letter would range from B to A. The pre-1940 share is a Census survey estimate (±5.6 points). The founding year is the first post office, not a stated founding date; Wikidata’s 1880 falls in the same era, so the grade doesn’t depend on which one is used.
Founding year: the first post office (other dates in Quick answers). Homes: Census ACS 2020–24. National Register: National Park Service, May 2026 list; each listing counted once (boundary changes and added documentation belong to their listing), and a historic district counts its contributing buildings. How TownRatings grades history →
What stands out about Madison’s past
Read from the archive, the National Register and the record. The page puts what stands out first.
Fire insurance maps drew every building, what it was made of and what it was used for, so insurers could price the risk of fire. Pick a year, then a sheet.
Madison's origin is defined by a unique relocation of settlers from Madison, Wisconsin driven by the arrival of the railroad. In the early 1870s, two competing settlements existed in the area: Old Madison, established in 1873 on the south shore of Lake Madison, and Herman, located on the shores of Lake Herman. In 1880, C.B. Kennedy, a local homesteader, negotiated with the Chicago, Milwaukee, and St. Paul Railroad to survey a route through his land, which sat in the fertile valley between the two lakes.
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.
The Madison post office opened in 1874, the earliest record of the town by name (U.S. post office records). Wikidata gives 1880.
How does Madison rank for history?
Madison is more historic than 74% of U.S. towns, #8 of 35 in South Dakota. The History grade combines the town’s founding era, the share of homes built before 1940 and its National Register listings. It’s a character grade, so it isn’t part of the overall grade. How it works.
What is on the National Register in Madison?
8 listings: 7 buildings and 1 historic district, the Madison Historic District, with 25 contributing buildings. 32 historic buildings in all.
How old are the homes in Madison?
24% of Madison’s homes were built before 1940 (Census estimate, ±5.6 points), against a typical 10% for a South Dakota town; the median home was built in 1970.
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).
From Wikimedia Commons (14), Wikidata (1), the National Register of Historic Places (8), 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), the USGS Geographic Names Information System and Sanborn fire insurance maps (Library of Congress). Archive images are copied here with their credits and licenses, shown on each photo’s page. Refreshed monthly.
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c. 1930
c. 1930
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c. 1930
2026
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