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History · Middleton Township

Middleton Township’s post office opened in 1874, and 62% of its homes were built before 1940

Its Register listing is the South Dakota Department of Transportation Bridge No. 63-197-130. Below: maps from 1897 on.

1874first post office
1on the National Register
62%homes built before 1940
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Quick answers

How Middleton Township began

When was Middleton Township founded?

1874

The Middleton Township post office opened in 1874, the earliest record of the town by name. Another post office, Middleton (1874), opened inside today’s town and later closed.

2020 census: 267152 years
Founding year: the first Middleton Township post office (Blevins & Helbock, CC0).

What stands out about Middleton Township’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 Middleton Township are in the public archives yet. The rest are in attics and albums.On the map since 18974 editions of the USGS map, 1897 to 1985. Watch Middleton Township change.Old housesHalf of Middleton Township’s homes were built before 1938.
★ What stands out · Help out

Start Middleton Township’s collection

The first neighbors to add old photos shape how Middleton Township’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
On the map

Middleton Township on the map, 1897 to 1985

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

Middleton Township on the 1897 USGS mapMiddleton Township on the 1900 USGS mapMiddleton Township on the 1964 USGS mapMiddleton Township on the 1985 USGS map1897Canton 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 Middleton Township.

The story so far

Middleton Township, in brief

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

Its first post office opened in 1874. Between the 2010 and 2020 censuses its population grew from 238 to 267 (+12%).

Timeline

Middleton Township, 1874 to 1897

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

  1. 19th century
  2. 1874Post officeThe Middleton post office opens
  3. 1883Post officeThe Middleton post office closes
  4. 1897On the mapFirst mapped by the U.S. Geological Survey
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.
Add from your album
On the National Register

1 historic place in Middleton Township

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
1999
South Dakota Department of Transportation Bridg…
South Dakota Department of Transportation Bridge No. 63-197-130
Structures

Architectural styles listings

Pratt through truss1
All 1 listings
South Dakota Department of Transportation Bridge No. 63-197-130Structure · listed 1999

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

Places that used to be

Lost post offices, old corners and burying grounds

Another post office, Middleton, opened and closed inside today’s town.

Hamlets and corners on the map
Naomi
2cemeteries and burying grounds inside Middleton Township
Chancellor ReformedTurner County First Presbyterian Church

US Post Offices dataset (Blevins & Helbock, CC0). Places and cemeteries from the USGS Geographic Names Information System (2021).

Stories next door

History across the town line

Each neighbor’s History grade, on the same three inputs.

DavisIts storynot graded: under 1,000 residents or part of its townTurner Township2 historic placesnot graded: under 1,000 residents or part of its townHurley TownshipIts storynot graded: under 1,000 residents or part of its townGrant TownshipIts storynot graded: under 1,000 residents or part of its townGermantown Township2 historic placesnot graded: under 1,000 residents or part of its townSwan Lake TownshipIts storynot graded: under 1,000 residents or part of its town

Questions about Middleton Township’s history

What year was Middleton Township founded?

The Middleton Township post office opened in 1874, the earliest record of the town by name (U.S. post office records).

What is on the National Register in Middleton Township?

One place: the South Dakota Department of Transportation Bridge No. 63-197-130 (listed 1999).

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 the National Register of Historic Places (1), U.S. Geological Survey historical maps, 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.