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History · McLaughlin

McLaughlin’s post office opened in 1908

Most of McLaughlin was built recently: 10% of its homes predate 1940 and the median home dates from 1964. Below: 1 old photo or paper from 1930 on.

1908first post office
0on the National Register
10%homes built before 1940
1old photo or paper
2famous people
Add an old photoShare a memory
From McLaughlin’s archive · credits on each photo
Quick answers

How McLaughlin began

When was McLaughlin founded?

1908

The McLaughlin post office opened in 1908, the earliest record of the town by name.

2020 census: 569118 years
Founding year: the first McLaughlin post office (Blevins & Helbock, CC0).The full story ↓

What stands out about McLaughlin’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 1 old photo is in the public archives. The rest are in attics and albums.Old housesHalf of McLaughlin’s homes were built before 1964.
★ What stands out · Help out

Start McLaughlin’s collection

The first neighbors to add old photos shape how McLaughlin’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 viewMcLaughlin, S. Dak. -- Good hospital, s…: stand where they stood+15Share a family photoSign in to add one+10
The story

How McLaughlin came to be

From Wikipedia’s history of McLaughlin.

Read it all →

The town is named after a US Indian Service Agent James McLaughlin, who supervised the Standing Rock Indian Agency from 1881 to 1895. He moved to Washington, D.C., where he was Inspector of the Bureau of Indian Affairs and Department of the Interior. After McLaughlin's death in 1923, his body was returned here for burial.

In 2015, the McLaughlin School District changed the name of their school's "Midget" mascot after protests came from Little People of America. The school's basketball coach, an alumnus, drew comparisons to the Native American mascot controversy adding that he "never liked the nickname."

Text from Wikipedia, licensed CC BY-SA 4.0.

Timeline

McLaughlin, 1908 to 1930

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

  1. 20th century
  2. 1908Post officeThe McLaughlin post office opens
  3. 1928Born hereJim Williams is born here
  4. 1930In the archiveMcLaughlin, S. Dak. -- Good hospital, schools and churches. On Milwaukee R. R. and Highwa…
By decade

McLaughlin, decade by decade

One decade in the archive so far: the 1930s. Scroll each row; tap a photo for its story.

1930s1 item
McLaughlin, S. Dak. -- Good hospital, schools and churches. On Milwaukee R. R. and Highway No. 12 (77693)c. 1930McLaughlin, S. Dak. -- Good hospital, schools and chu…
1940s–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
Today2 recent
McLaughlin SD2007McLaughlin SDSDMap-doton-McLaughlin2004SDMap-doton-McLaughlin
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.

McLaughlin, S. Dak. -- Good hospital, schools and churches. On Milwaukee R. R. and Highway No. 12 (77693)
Retake this viewMcLaughlin, S. Dak. -- Good hospital, schools and churches. On Milwaukee R. R. and Highway No. 12 (77693), c. 1930

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

Retake this view · +15
Famous people

2 famous people were born in McLaughlin

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

See all →
T
Tesa SchwansAmerican politician
J
Jim WilliamsAmerican football coach · b. 1928

Questions about McLaughlin’s history

What year was McLaughlin founded?

The McLaughlin post office opened in 1908, the earliest record of the town by name (U.S. post office records).

Memory lane

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

Town Square →
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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 Wikimedia Commons (3), Wikipedia, Wikidata and Wikipedia for famous people, 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.