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Our Savior's Lutheran ChurchOur Savior's Lutheran Church · Photo: Ammodramus · CC0
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History · Maxwell Colony

1 of Maxwell Colony’s places is on the National Register

Below: maps from 1898 on.

1on the National Register
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What stands out about Maxwell Colony’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 Maxwell Colony are in the public archives yet. The rest are in attics and albums.On the map since 18983 editions of the USGS map, 1898 to 1985. Watch Maxwell Colony change.
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Start Maxwell Colony’s collection

The first neighbors to add old photos shape how Maxwell Colony’s history is told.

Decades since 1900 with photos
00s10s20s30s40s50s60s70s80s90s
0 of 10 decades. The empty ones are waiting for someone’s album.
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On the map

Maxwell Colony on the map, 1898 to 1985

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

Maxwell Colony on the 1898 USGS mapMaxwell Colony on the 1957 USGS mapMaxwell Colony on the 1985 USGS map1898Olivet sheet · 1:125,000

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

The story so far

Maxwell Colony, in brief

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

Maxwell Colony is a Hutterite colony and census-designated place (CDP) in Hutchinson County, South Dakota, United States. The population was 254 at the 2020 census. It was first listed as a CDP prior to the 2020 census. It is in the southern part of the county, on the southwest side of the James River. It is 6 miles (10 km) by road southeast of Olivet, the county seat, and the same distance northeast of Scotland.

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

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.

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On the National Register

1 historic place in Maxwell Colony

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

place listed
1
National Historic Landmarks
0
none yet
historic buildings protected
8
each building in a district counts

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

Questions about Maxwell Colony’s history

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What the archives can’t tell you, neighbors can.

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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. Archive images are copied here with their credits and licenses, shown on each photo’s page. Refreshed monthly.