The story
Read it all →How Ortley Township came to be
From Wikipedia’s history of Ortley Township.
Ortley was laid out in 1906; an early variant name was Anderson.
Text from Wikipedia, licensed CC BY-SA 4.0.
–Not graded
History · Ortley Township
Ortley Township dates to 1906, and 33% of its homes were built before 1940
Its Register listing is the South Dakota Department of Transportation Bridge No. 55-030-418. Below: maps from 1970 on and the census since 1910.
1906founded
1on the National Register
33%homes built before 1940
Quick answers
How Ortley Township began
When was Ortley Township founded?
1906
Ortley Township dates its founding to 1906 (Wikidata and Wikipedia’s history agree). The census first counted it in 1910.
First census: 192 in 19102020 census: 108120 years
Founding year: Wikidata; Wikipedia’s history section gives the same year.The full story ↓
What stands out about Ortley Township’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 Ortley Township’s collection
The first neighbors to add old photos shape how Ortley Township’s history is told.
Decades since 1900 with photos
00s10s20s30s40s50s60s70s80s90s
0 of 10 decades. The empty ones are waiting for someone’s album.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 albumOn the map
Ortley Township on the map, 1970 to 1985
Every edition of the U.S. Geological Survey’s map of Ortley Township. Tap a year, or press play to watch the town change.
1970Ortley sheet · 1:24,000U.S. Geological Survey historical topographic maps (public domain), via Esri’s collection of the scans. The red ring marks the center of Ortley Township.
On the National Register
1 historic place in Ortley 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…
Structures
Architectural styles listings
Concrete slab1
National Park Service, National Register of Historic Places. Photos from Wikimedia Commons, credited on each place’s page.
People over time
Ortley Township, census by census
Between 50 and 192 people in every census since 1910.
12 censuses, 1910–2020.
U.S. Census Bureau decennial counts, from the census table on Ortley Township’s Wikipedia page.
Places that used to be
Places now gone
Gone or out of use
School Number 1schoolSchool Number 3schoolSchool Number 4school
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.
OrtleyIts storynot graded: under 1,000 residents or part of its townAlto TownshipIts storynot graded: under 1,000 residents or part of its townBlooming Valley Township2 historic placesnot graded: under 1,000 residents or part of its townSummit TownshipIts storynot graded: under 1,000 residents or part of its townWaubay TownshipIts storynot graded: under 1,000 residents or part of its town
Questions about Ortley Township’s history
What year was Ortley Township founded?
In 1906, according to Wikidata and Wikipedia’s history of the town. the census of 1910 counted 192 people here.
What is on the National Register in Ortley Township?
One place: the South Dakota Department of Transportation Bridge No. 55-030-418 (listed 1999).
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 the National Register of Historic Places (1), Wikipedia, U.S. Geological Survey historical maps, U.S. Census counts (via Wikipedia) 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.