The story
Read it all →How Onida came to be
From Wikipedia’s history of Onida.
Onida was founded in 1880 by settlers from Oneida, New York. It received its city rights in 1883.
Text from Wikipedia, licensed CC BY-SA 4.0.
–Not graded
History · Onida
Onida dates to 1880, and 16% of its homes were built before 1940
Its Register listings are the L. E. Snyder House and the Sully County Courthouse. Below: maps from 1986 on and the census since 1910.
1880founded
2on the National Register
16%homes built before 1940
3famous people
Quick answers
How Onida began
When was Onida founded?
1880
Onida dates its founding to 1880 (Wikidata and Wikipedia’s history agree). The census first counted it in 1910.
First census: 319 in 19102020 census: 666146 years
Founding year: Wikidata; Wikipedia’s history section gives the same year. First post office: 1883.The full story ↓
What stands out about Onida’s past
Read from the archive, the National Register and the record. The page puts what stands out first.
★ What stands out · Help out
Start Onida’s collection
The first neighbors to add old photos shape how Onida’s history is told.
Decades since 1900 with photos
00s10s20s30s40s50s60s70s80s90s
0 of 10 decades. The empty ones are waiting for someone’s album.Timeline
Onida, 1880 to 1986
Woven from the archive, old maps, post office records, the National Register and the people born here.
- 19th century
- 1880FoundingOnida is established
- 1883Post officeThe Onida post office opens
- 20th century
- 1910
Born hereRay Jennison is born here - 1911
BuiltL. E. Snyder House is built - 1912
BuiltSully County Courthouse is built - 1958Born hereCurt Byrum is born here
- 1960Born hereTom Byrum is born here
- 1986
On the mapFirst mapped by the U.S. Geological Survey
By decade
Onida, decade by decade
2013
2013
2004On the map
Onida on the map in 1986
The U.S. Geological Survey’s map of Onida.
1986Onida sheet · 1:100,000U.S. Geological Survey historical topographic maps (public domain), via Esri’s collection of the scans. The red ring marks the center of Onida.
On the National Register
2 historic places in Onida
The country’s official list of buildings and places worth saving.
places listed
2
National Historic Landmarks
0
none yet
historic buildings protected
2
each building in a district counts
first listed
1993
L. E. Snyder House
Buildings
Architectural styles listings
American Foursquare1
Neo-Classical Revival1
L. E. Snyder HouseAmerican Foursquare · Built 1911
Sully County CourthouseNeo-Classical Revival · Built 1912
National Park Service, National Register of Historic Places. Photos from Wikimedia Commons, credited on each place’s page.
People over time
Onida, census by census
Between 319 and 851 people in every census since 1910.
12 censuses, 1910–2020.
U.S. Census Bureau decennial counts, from the census table on Onida’s Wikipedia page.
Famous people
See all →3 famous people were born in Onida
Writers, athletes, leaders and more, ranked by how widely they’re known.
Questions about Onida’s history
What year was Onida founded?
In 1880, according to Wikidata and Wikipedia’s history of the town. Onida’s post office opened in 1883, and the census of 1910 counted 319 people here.
What is on the National Register in Onida?
Two places: the L. E. Snyder House (listed 1993) and the Sully County Courthouse (2001).
Memory lane
What the archives can’t tell you, neighbors can.
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 (3), Wikidata (2), the National Register of Historic Places (2), Wikipedia, Wikidata and Wikipedia for famous people, U.S. Geological Survey historical maps, U.S. Census counts (via Wikipedia) and the US Post Offices dataset (Blevins & Helbock). Archive images are copied here with their credits and licenses, shown on each photo’s page. Refreshed monthly.