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History · Martin Township

Martin Township dates to 1911, and 100% of its homes were built before 1940

Below: 3 old photos and papers, maps from 1951 on, and the census since 1930.

1911founded
0on the National Register
100%homes built before 1940
3old photos & papers
Add an old photoShare a memory
From Martin Township’s archive · credits on each photo
Quick answers

How Martin Township began

When was Martin Township founded?

1911

Martin Township dates its founding to 1911 (Wikipedia’s history). The census first counted it in 1930.

First census: 720 in 19302020 census: 8115 years
Founding year: Wikipedia.The full story ↓

What stands out about Martin 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 3 old photos are in the public archives. The rest are in attics and albums.
★ What stands out · Help out

Start Martin Township’s collection

The first neighbors to add old photos shape how Martin 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 viewHouses on the outskirts of Martin, Sout…: stand where they stood+15Share a family photoSign in to add one+10
The story

How Martin Township came to be

From Wikipedia’s history of Martin Township.

Read it all →

Martin was laid out in 1911. The city was named for Eben Martin, a U.S. Representative from South Dakota.

Text from Wikipedia, licensed CC BY-SA 4.0.

Timeline

Martin Township, 1911 to 1951

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

  1. 20th century
  2. 1911
    FoundingMartin Township is established
  3. 1940In the archiveHouses on the outskirts of Martin, South Dakota
  4. 1951On the mapFirst mapped by the U.S. Geological Survey
By decade

Martin Township, decade by decade

One decade in the archive so far: the 1940s. Scroll each row; tap a photo for its story.

1940s3 items
Houses on the outskirts of Martin, South Dakota1940Houses on the outskirts of Martin, South DakotaMartin, South Dakota. Largest town within fifty-mile radius1940Martin, South Dakota. Largest town within fifty-mile …Martin, South Dakota. The largest town within fifty-mile radius1940Martin, South Dakota. The largest town within fifty-m…
1950s–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
Today6 recent
Martin, SD2021Martin, SDMartin, South Dakota Main from 4th 12013Martin, South Dakota Main from 4th 1Martin, South Dakota Main from 3rd 12013Martin, South Dakota Main from 3rd 1Martin, South Dakota Main between 3rd and 4th 12013Martin, South Dakota Main between 3rd and 4th 1Martin South Dakota2006Martin South DakotaSDMap-doton-Martin2004SDMap-doton-Martin
On the map

Martin Township on the map, 1951 to 1984

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

Martin Township on the 1951 USGS mapMartin Township on the 1984 USGS map1951Deep Creek NW 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 Martin 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.

Houses on the outskirts of Martin, South Dakota
Retake this viewHouses on the outskirts of Martin, South Dakota, 1940

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

Retake this view · +15
People over time

Martin Township, census by census

02004006008001,0001,20019401960198020002020Peak: 1,248

Between 720 and 1,248 people in every census since 1930.

10 censuses, 1930–2020.

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

Stories next door

History across the town line

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

Chaudoin TownshipIts storynot graded: under 1,000 residents or part of its townMoreau TownshipIts storynot graded: under 1,000 residents or part of its town

Questions about Martin Township’s history

What year was Martin Township founded?

In 1911, according to Wikipedia’s history of the town. the census of 1930 counted 720 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 (6), the Library of Congress (3), Wikidata (1), 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.