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History · Platte Township

21% of Platte Township’s homes were built before 1940

1 place in town is on the National Register, among them a historic district with 1 buildings. Below: 1 old photo or paper, maps from 1979 on, and the census since 1910.

1on the National Register
21%homes built before 1940
1old photo or paper
Add an old photoShare a memory

What stands out about Platte 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 1 old photo is in the public archives. The rest are in attics and albums.
★ What stands out · Help out

Start Platte Township’s collection

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

Decades since 1900 with photos
00s10s20s30s40s50s60s70s80s90s
0 of 10 decades. The empty ones are waiting for someone’s album.
Share a family photoSign in to add one+10
The story

How Platte Township came to be

From Wikipedia’s history of Platte Township.

Read it all →

Lewis and Clark were told to watch for ‘burning bluffs’ in the area. Settlement began in the early 1880s. A fur trader named Bernard Pratte once lived at the mouth of what was then known as the ‘Fish Creek’. Pratte's last name was mistakenly transcribed as Platte on an early map of the creek and the spelling error stuck. The town that would become Platte was named after the creek.

Text from Wikipedia, licensed CC BY-SA 4.0.

By decade

Platte Township, decade by decade

One decade in the archive so far: the 1870s. Scroll each row; tap a photo for its story.

1870s1 item
Map of Military Department of the Platte, Nebraska1872Map of Military Department of the Platte, NebraskaMap
Today3 recent
Platte, South Dakota- W side Main between 4 and 5 12016Platte, South Dakota- W side Main between 4 and 5 1Free Fire - Prescribed Burn Landowner Workshops2015Free Fire - Prescribed Burn Landowner WorkshopsSDMap-doton-Platte2004SDMap-doton-Platte
On the map

Platte Township on the map, 1979 to 1986

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

Platte Township on the 1979 USGS mapPlatte Township on the 1986 USGS map1979Lake George 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 Platte Township.

On the National Register

1 historic place in Platte 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
2011
Henry Cool Park
Henry Cool Park
Districts
All 1 listings
Henry Cool ParkDistrict · listed 2011

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

People over time

Platte Township, census by census

02004006008001,0001,2001,400192019401960198020002020Peak: 1,367

Between 1,017 and 1,367 people in every census since 1910.

12 censuses, 1910–2020.

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

Places that used to be

Places now gone and burying grounds

Gone or out of use
Henry Cool Memorial Parkpark
4cemeteries and burying grounds inside Platte Township
Henry Cool Memorial ParkOld PlattePlatte CitySaint Peters

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.

Signal TownshipIts storynot graded: under 1,000 residents or part of its townForbes TownshipIts storynot graded: under 1,000 residents or part of its townDarlington TownshipIts storynot graded: under 1,000 residents or part of its town

Questions about Platte Township’s history

What is on the National Register in Platte Township?

One place: the Henry Cool Park (listed 2011).

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 (4), Wikidata (2), 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.