Most of Medary Township was built recently: 10% of its homes predate 1940 and the median home dates from 1993. Its Register listings are the South Dakota Department of Transportation Bridge No. 06-142-190 and the South Dakota Department of Transportation Bridge No. 51-051-000.
The Medary Township post office opened in 1872, the earliest record of the town by name. Two smaller post offices, Medary (1872) and Lake Village (1873), opened inside today’s town and later closed.
2020 census: 1,421154 years
How historic is Medary Township?
C+
More historic than 42% of U.S. towns, on its age, its old homes and the National Register.
Founding year: the first Medary Township post office (Blevins & Helbock, CC0).The full story ↓
History grade
What drives Medary Township’s History grade
On its age, its old homes and the National Register, Medary Township is more historic than 42% of U.S. towns. Its National Register listings hold the grade up; its age pulls it down.
C+
HistoryA character grade: shown, never part of Medary Township’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 Medary Township’s 13.8 sits near the middle of its state (46% of South Dakota towns have fewer) while its 2 listings outnumber those of 60% of U.S. towns.
How sure. Graded on any two of the three inputs instead, the letter would range from C to B−. The pre-1940 share is a Census survey estimate (±6.7 points). The founding year is the first post office, not a stated founding date.
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 Medary Township’s past
Read from the archive, the National Register and the record. The page puts what stands out first.
The earliest signs of human activity found in the area date back to 1500 B.C., evidenced through ancient stone artifacts belonging to many different Native American peoples, as well as several burial mounds found in the area. Popular places for early Indian settlements in the county were along the county's many lakes, including the Oakwood Lakes and Lake Campbell; and the Big Sioux River. Sioux Indian tribes later settled the area. The buffalo, elk, and deer herds in the area were important parts of Native American and pioneer life. The area had been traveled by missionaries, explorers, merchants and trappers as early as 1750. The first recorded white man to visit what later became Brookings County was fur-trader Joseph LaFramboise. LaFramboise established a trading post near Flandreau, running it from 1822 to 1827.
The Medary Township post office opened in 1872, the earliest record of the town by name (U.S. post office records).
How does Medary Township rank for history?
Medary Township is more historic than 42% of U.S. towns. 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 Medary Township?
Two places: the South Dakota Department of Transportation Bridge No. 06-142-190 (listed 1999) and the South Dakota Department of Transportation Bridge No. 51-051-000 (2000).
How old are the homes in Medary Township?
10% of Medary Township’s homes were built before 1940 (Census estimate, ±6.7 points), against a typical 10% for a South Dakota town; the median home was built in 1993.
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 the National Register of Historic Places (2), 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.
