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History · Martin

Martin dates to 1911, and 17% of its homes were built before 1940

Its Register listing is the Inland Theater. Below: 3 old photos and papers, maps from 1981 on, and the census since 1930.

1911founded
1on the National Register
17%homes built before 1940
3old photos & papers
2famous people
Add an old photoShare a memory
From Martin’s archive · credits on each photo
Quick answers

How Martin began

When was Martin founded?

1911

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

First census: 720 in 19302020 census: 938115 years
Founding year: Wikipedia. First post office: 1912.The full story ↓

What stands out about Martin’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.Old housesHalf of Martin’s homes were built before 1957.
★ What stands out · Help out

Start Martin’s collection

The first neighbors to add old photos shape how Martin’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 came to be

From Wikipedia’s history of Martin.

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, 1911 to 1981

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

  1. 20th century
  2. 1911
    FoundingMartin is established
  3. 1912Post officeThe Martin post office opens
  4. 1933Born hereVine Deloria, Jr. is born here
  5. 1940In the archiveHouses on the outskirts of Martin, South Dakota
  6. 1962Born hereJay Novacek is born here
  7. 1981On the mapFirst mapped by the U.S. Geological Survey
By decade

Martin, 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 on the map in 1981

The U.S. Geological Survey’s map of Martin.

Martin on the 1981 USGS map1981Martin sheet · 1:25,000

U.S. Geological Survey historical topographic maps (public domain), via Esri’s collection of the scans. The red ring marks the center of Martin.

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’s page.

Retake this view · +15
On the National Register

1 historic place in Martin

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

place listed
1
National Historic Landmarks
0
none yet
historic buildings protected
1
each building in a district counts
first listed
2013
Inland Theater
Inland Theater
Buildings
Inland TheaterBuilding

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

People over time

Martin, 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’s Wikipedia page.

Famous people

2 famous people were born in Martin

Writers, athletes, leaders and more, ranked by how widely they’re known.

See all →
V
Vine Deloria, Jr.Standing Rock Sioux author, lawyer, seminarian,… · b. 1933
J
Jay NovacekPlayer of American football · b. 1962

Questions about Martin’s history

What year was Martin founded?

In 1911, according to Wikipedia’s history of the town. Martin’s post office opened in 1912, and the census of 1930 counted 720 people here.

What is on the National Register in Martin?

One place: the Inland Theater (listed 2013).

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), the National Register of Historic Places (1), 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) 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.