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History · New Underwood

New Underwood’s post office opened in 1909, and 25% of its homes were built before 1940

Below: maps from 1953 on and the census since 1910.

1909first post office
0on the National Register
25%homes built before 1940
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Photo: Jeffrey Beall · CC BY 4.0
Quick answers

How New Underwood began

When was New Underwood founded?

1909

The New Underwood post office opened in 1909, the earliest record of the town by name. Another post office, Pennington (1907), opened inside today’s city and later closed.

First census: 134 in 19102020 census: 590117 years
Founding year: the first New Underwood post office (Blevins & Helbock, CC0).

What stands out about New Underwood’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 New Underwood are in the public archives yet. The rest are in attics and albums.Shrank, then grewLost a third of its people between 1930 and 1940, then more than doubled.
★ What stands out · Help out

Start New Underwood’s collection

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

Decades since 1900 with photos
00s10s20s30s40s50s60s70s80s90s
0 of 10 decades. The empty ones are waiting for someone’s album.
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People over time

New Underwood, census by census

0100200300400500600700192019401960198020002020311 in 1930Low: 214

Lost a third of its people between 1930 and 1940, then more than doubled.

12 censuses, 1910–2020.

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

The story so far

New Underwood, in brief

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

New Underwood (Lakota: wóȟešma tȟéča; "new undergrowth") is a city in Pennington County, South Dakota, United States. The population was 590 at the 2020 Census. New Underwood got its start circa 1906. The city was named for John Underwood, a cattleman. Until 2017, it was home to the world’s smallest biker bar, which is now closed.

Its first post office opened in 1909. Between the 2010 and 2020 censuses its population fell from 660 to 590 (-11%).

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

Timeline

New Underwood, 1907 to 2010

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

  1. 20th century
  2. 1907Post officeThe Pennington post office opens
  3. 1909Post officeThe Pennington post office closes
  4. 1909Post officeThe New Underwood post office opens
  5. 1953On the mapFirst mapped by the U.S. Geological Survey
  6. 21st century
  7. 2010CensusPopulation peaks at 660
By decade

New Underwood, decade by decade

Today2 recent
New Underwood, South Dakota2017New Underwood, South DakotaNEXRAD and thunderstorm in New Underwood, South Dakota, 2004 - NOAA Photo Library Wea011952004NEXRAD and thunderstorm in New Underwood, South Dakot…
On the map

New Underwood on the map, 1953 to 1984

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

New Underwood on the 1953 USGS mapNew Underwood on the 1971 USGS mapNew Underwood on the 1984 USGS map1953New Underwood 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 New Underwood.

Famous people

Famous people close to New Underwood

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

See all →
Lawrence LessigAmerican academic, political activist · b. 1961
Becky HammonAmerican-Russian basketball player and coach · b. 1977
Tomi LahrenAmerican political commentator · b. 1992
R
Randy LewisOlympic wrestler · b. 1959
Michael Owen JackelsAmerican Roman Catholic archbishop · b. 1954
Walter Dale MillerAmerican politician (Republican) 1925-2015 · b. 1925
Places that used to be

Lost post offices and burying grounds

New Underwood’s post office has been open since 1909. Another post office, Pennington, opened and closed inside today’s town.

Pennington
1907–1909
New Underwood
1909–today
19001960today
1cemetery inside New Underwood
New Underwood

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

Questions about New Underwood’s history

What year was New Underwood founded?

The New Underwood post office opened in 1909, 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 →
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 Wikimedia Commons (2), 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.