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History · Orient Township

40% of Orient Township’s homes were built before 1940

Below: 2 old photos and papers, maps from 1951 on, and the census since 1930.

0on the National Register
40%homes built before 1940
2old photos & papers
Add an old photoShare a memory
From Orient Township’s archive · credits on each photo

What stands out about Orient 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 writtenOnly 2 old photos are in the public archives. The rest are in attics and albums.Old housesHalf of Orient Township’s homes were built before 1953.
★ What stands out · Help out

Start Orient Township’s collection

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

Decades since 1900 with photos
00s10s20s30s40s50s60s70s80s90s
1 of 10 decades. The empty ones are waiting for someone’s album.
Retake an old viewOrient, South Dakota: stand where they stood+15Share a family photoSign in to add one+10
The story so far

Orient Township, in brief

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

Orient is a town in Faulk County, South Dakota, United States. The population was 51 at the 2020 census. Orient got its start in 1887 when the Milwaukee Railroad was extended into the area.

Between the 2010 and 2020 censuses its population fell from 49 to 39 (-20%).

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

Timeline

Orient Township, 1883 to 1951

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

  1. 19th century
  2. 1883Post officeThe Newton post office opens
  3. 1887Post officeThe Newton post office closes
  4. 20th century
  5. 1942In the archiveOrient, South Dakota
  6. 1951On the mapFirst mapped by the U.S. Geological Survey
By decade

Orient Township, decade by decade

One decade in the archive so far: the 1940s. Scroll each row; tap a photo for its story.

1940s2 items
Orient, South Dakota1942Orient, South DakotaOrient, South Dakota. Waiting for the morning mail1942Orient, South Dakota. Waiting for the morning mail
1950s–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
Today1 recent
SDMap-doton-Orient2004SDMap-doton-Orient
On the map

Orient Township on the map, 1951 to 1985

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

Orient Township on the 1951 USGS mapOrient Township on the 1985 USGS map1951Orient NW 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 Orient Township.

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.

Orient, South Dakota
Retake this viewOrient, South Dakota, 1942

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

Retake this view · +15
People over time

Orient Township, census by census

010020030019401960198020002020Peak: 302

Between 51 and 302 people in every census since 1930.

10 censuses, 1930–2020.

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

Famous people

Famous people close to Orient Township

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

See all →
Judith EvelynAmerican actress · b. 1909
Joe BottumAmerican politician · b. 1903
C
Cecil E. HarrisAmerican naval aviator · b. 1916
Places that used to be

Lost post offices and places now gone

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

Gone or out of use
Newtonlocale

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.

OrientIts storynot graded: under 1,000 residents or part of its townIrving TownshipIts storynot graded: under 1,000 residents or part of its townTamworth Township2 historic placesnot graded: under 1,000 residents or part of its town

Questions about Orient Township’s history

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 (1), the Library of Congress (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.