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B−History
History · Mobridge

Mobridge’s post office opened in 1906, and 19% of its homes were built before 1940

More historic than 45% of U.S. towns · #21 of 35 in South Dakota. What drives it

5 places in town are on the National Register. Below: 6 old photos and papers, maps from 1967 on, and the census since 1910.

1906first post office
5on the National Register
19%homes built before 1940
6old photos & papers
9famous people
Add an old photoShare a memory
From Mobridge’s archive · credits on each photo
Quick answers

How Mobridge began

When was Mobridge founded?

1906

The Mobridge post office opened in 1906, the earliest record of the town by name. Another post office, Reigstadt (1881), opened inside today’s city and later closed.

First census: 1,200 in 19102020 census: 3,261120 years

How historic is Mobridge?

B−

More historic than 45% of U.S. towns, on its age, its old homes and the National Register.

What drives the grade ↓
Founding year: the first Mobridge post office (Blevins & Helbock, CC0).The full story ↓
History grade

What drives Mobridge’s History grade

On its age, its old homes and the National Register, Mobridge is more historic than 45% of U.S. towns, #21 of 35 in South Dakota. Its share of homes from before 1940 holds the grade up; its age pulls it down.

B−
HistoryA character grade: shown, never part of Mobridge’s overall grade.
Founding era1906, from the first post office: founded 1900–1944, an older era than 9% of U.S. townsDHomes built before 194019.2% of homes (±6.0) · typical SD town 10.4% · U.S. 8.4%B+National Register5 listings, 17.1 per 10,000 residents · typical SD town 37.3 · U.S. 2.4B
All U.S. towns we grade (21,289)Ahead of 45%
NewerOlder
South Dakota towns of 2,500+ (35)Ahead of 41%

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 Mobridge’s 17.1 sits near the middle of its state (55% of South Dakota towns have fewer) while its 5 listings outnumber those of 70% 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 (±6.0 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 Mobridge’s past

Read from the archive, the National Register and the record. The page puts what stands out first.

Boom and bustPeaked at 4,545 in 1970; 3,261 people lived here in 2020.Landmarks on the Register5 places on the National Register.Famous sons and daughtersSteven Biegler, George S. Mickelson and 7 more were born here.
★ What stands out · People over time

Mobridge, census by census

05001,0001,5002,0002,5003,0003,5004,0004,5005,000192019401960198020002020Peak: 4,545

Peaked at 4,545 in 1970; 3,261 people lived here in 2020.

12 censuses, 1910–2020.

U.S. Census Bureau decennial counts, from the census table on Mobridge’s Wikipedia page.

On the National Register

5 historic places in Mobridge

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

places listed
5
National Historic Landmarks
0
none yet
historic buildings protected
5
each building in a district counts
first listed
1977
Mobridge Masonic Temple
Mobridge Masonic TempleBrown, A. H., Public Library, built 1930Brown Palace HotelMobridge AuditoriumBrown-Evans House, built 1916
Buildings

Architectural styles listings

Egyptian Revival1
English Medieval1
Jacobethan Revival1
Art Deco1
Bungalow/Craftsman1
Mobridge Masonic TempleEgyptian Revival
Brown, A. H., Public LibraryEnglish Medieval · Built 1930
Brown Palace HotelBuilding
Mobridge AuditoriumArt Deco
All 5 listings
Brown-Evans HouseBuilding · listed 1990

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

Famous people

9 famous people were born in Mobridge

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

See all →
S
Steven BieglerAmerican prelate · b. 1959
George S. MickelsonAmerican politician · b. 1941
M
Michel MulloyUS minister and Roman Catholic bishop of Duluth · b. 1953
James R. CarriganAmerican jurist · b. 1929
R
Ryan MaherAmerican politician · b. 1977
S
Scott P. MyrenAmerican judge · b. 1964
The story

How Mobridge came to be

From Wikipedia’s history of Mobridge.

Read it all →

Located in territory that had long been occupied by the Lakota Sioux, Mobridge was founded by European Americans in 1906 following construction of the Chicago, Milwaukee, St. Paul and Pacific Railroad through here. The town was named Mobridge for its railroad designation, a contracted form of Missouri Bridge, after the original railroad bridge over the Missouri River. The bridge was demolished by the Corps of Engineers in the early 1960s and replaced by a taller bridge due to the construction of the Oahe Dam.

Text from Wikipedia, licensed CC BY-SA 4.0.

Timeline

Mobridge, 1881 to 1970

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

  1. 19th century
  2. 1881Post officeThe Reigstadt post office opens
  3. 1883Post officeThe Reigstadt post office closes
  4. 20th century
  5. 1906In the archiveSitting Bull's grave) - F.B. Fiske
  6. 1906Post officeThe Mobridge post office opens
  7. 1912In the archiveHospital
  8. 1916BuiltBrown-Evans House is built
  9. 1929Born hereJames R. Carrigan is born here
  10. 1930BuiltBrown, A. H., Public Library is built
  11. 1941Born hereGeorge S. Mickelson is born here
  12. 1953Born hereMichel Mulloy is born here
  13. 1959Born hereSteven Biegler is born here
  14. 1967On the mapFirst mapped by the U.S. Geological Survey
  15. 1970CensusPopulation peaks at 4,545
By decade

Mobridge, decade by decade

2 decades in the archive, from the 1900s to the 1910s. Scroll each row; tap a photo for its story.

1900s–1910s6 items
Sitting Bull's grave) - F.B. Fiske1906Sitting Bull's grave) - F.B. FiskeMilwaukee Bridge across Missouri1909Milwaukee Bridge across MissouriBridge over the Missouri at Mobridge, S. Dak1909Bridge over the Missouri at Mobridge, S. DakErected June 15, 19091909Erected June 15, 1909Hospital1912HospitalMain St1912Main St
1920s–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
On the map

Mobridge on the map, 1967 to 1985

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

Mobridge on the 1967 USGS mapMobridge on the 1985 USGS map1967Mobridge sheet · 1:24,000

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

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.

Sitting Bull's grave) - F.B. Fiske
Retake this viewSitting Bull's grave) - F.B. Fiske, 1906

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

Retake this view · +15
Places that used to be

Lost post offices, places now gone and burying grounds

Mobridge’s post office has been open since 1906. Another post office, Reigstadt, opened and closed inside today’s town.

Reigstadt
1881–1883
Mobridge
1906–today
18801950today
Gone or out of use
Mobridge Airportairport
1cemetery inside Mobridge
Mobridge City

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

Help out

Finish Mobridge’s story

Most archives stop around 1920. The photos from after that are in family albums, not libraries.

Decades since 1900 with photos
00s10s20s30s40s50s60s70s80s90s
2 of 10 decades. The empty ones are waiting for someone’s album.
Retake an old viewSitting Bull's grave) - F.B. Fiske: stand where they stood+15Share a family photoSign in to add one+10

Questions about Mobridge’s history

What year was Mobridge founded?

The Mobridge post office opened in 1906, the earliest record of the town by name (U.S. post office records).

How does Mobridge rank for history?

Mobridge is more historic than 45% of U.S. towns, #21 of 35 in South Dakota. 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 Mobridge?

5 listings: 5 buildings, among them the Mobridge Masonic Temple (listed 1977, the first).

How old are the homes in Mobridge?

19% of Mobridge’s homes were built before 1940 (Census estimate, ±6.0 points), against a typical 10% for a South Dakota town; the median home was built in 1967.

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).

From Wikimedia Commons (1), the Library of Congress (5), the National Register of Historic Places (5), Wikipedia, Wikidata and Wikipedia for famous people, U.S. Geological Survey historical maps, U.S. Census counts (via 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.