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History · Menno

Menno dates to 1879, and 33% of its homes were built before 1940

4 places in town are on the National Register.

1879founded
4on the National Register
33%homes built before 1940
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Quick answers

How Menno began

When was Menno founded?

1879

Menno dates its founding to 1879 (Wikipedia’s history). Its post office opened in 1880.

2020 census: 614147 years
Founding year: Wikipedia. First post office: 1880.

What stands out about Menno’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 Menno are in the public archives yet. The rest are in attics and albums.Old housesHalf of Menno’s homes were built before 1956.Landmarks on the Register4 places on the National Register.
★ What stands out · Help out

Start Menno’s collection

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

Decades since 1900 with photos
00s10s20s30s40s50s60s70s80s90s
0 of 10 decades. The empty ones are waiting for someone’s album.
Share a family photoSign in to add one+10
The story so far

Menno, in brief

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

Menno is a city in Hutchinson County, South Dakota, United States. The population was 614 at the 2020 census. Menno was laid out in 1879.

Menno was established in 1879. Its population held steady between the last two censuses: 608 in 2010, 614 in 2020.

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

On the National Register

4 historic places in Menno

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

places listed
4
National Historic Landmarks
0
none yet
historic buildings protected
6
each building in a district counts
first listed
1982
J. W. Ulmer House
J. W. Ulmer House, built 1914Gottlieb Schmitt House, built 1888Salem Church ParsonageEdward Schnaidt House, built 1915
Buildings

Architectural styles listings

Queen Anne2
Craftsman1
All 4 listings
J. W. Ulmer HouseBuilding · listed 1982Gottlieb Schmitt HouseBuilding · listed 1986Salem Church ParsonageBuilding · listed 2001Edward Schnaidt HouseBuilding · listed 2001

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

Timeline

Menno, 1879 to 1915

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

  1. 19th century
  2. 1879
    FoundingMenno is established
  3. 1880Post officeThe Menno post office opens
  4. 1888BuiltGottlieb Schmitt House is built
  5. 20th century
  6. 1914BuiltJ. W. Ulmer House is built
  7. 1915BuiltEdward Schnaidt House is built
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.

Be the first to add onePhotograph a print flat, in daylight, no flash.
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Famous people

Famous people close to Menno

Nobody well known was born in Menno itself, so here are the best known from just nearby.

See all →
Connor HansenAmerican politician · b. 1913
Wilbur FossAmerican politician and fiddler · b. 1921

Questions about Menno’s history

What year was Menno founded?

In 1879, according to Wikipedia’s history of the town. Menno’s post office opened in 1880.

What is on the National Register in Menno?

4 listings: 4 buildings, among them the J. W. Ulmer House (listed 1982, the first). 6 historic buildings in all.

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 Wikidata (1), the National Register of Historic Places (4), 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.