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History · Redfield Township

Redfield Township dates to 1880, and 40% of its homes were built before 1940

Its Register listings are the Redfield City Hall, Old and the South Dakota Dept. of Transportation Bridge No. 58-062-270. Below: 10 old photos and papers, maps from 1899 on, and the census since 1890.

1880founded
2on the National Register
40%homes built before 1940
10old photos & papers
Add an old photoShare a memory
From Redfield Township’s archive · credits on each photo
Quick answers

How Redfield Township began

When was Redfield Township founded?

1880

Redfield Township dates its founding to 1880 (Wikidata). The census first counted it in 1890.

First census: 796 in 18902020 census: 389146 years
Founding year: Wikidata.The full story ↓

What stands out about Redfield Township’s past

Read from the archive, the National Register and the record. The page puts what stands out first.

On the map since 18993 editions of the USGS map, 1899 to 1985. Watch Redfield Township change.Boom and bustPeaked at 3,027 in 1980; 2,214 people lived here in 2020.
★ What stands out · On the map

Redfield Township on the map, 1899 to 1985

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

Redfield Township on the 1899 USGS mapRedfield Township on the 1966 USGS mapRedfield Township on the 1985 USGS map1899Redfield sheet · 1:125,000

U.S. Geological Survey historical topographic maps (public domain), via Esri’s collection of the scans. The red ring marks the center of Redfield Township.

People over time

Redfield Township, census by census

05001,0001,5002,0002,5003,0001900192019401960198020002020Peak: 3,027

Peaked at 3,027 in 1980; 2,214 people lived here in 2020.

14 censuses, 1890–2020.

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

The story

How Redfield Township came to be

From Wikipedia’s history of Redfield Township.

Read it all →

The first settlers arrived in the Redfield area in 1878, and a post office was established two years later under the name "Stennett Junction." The "Redfield" name was adopted in 1881. The town became the seat of Spink County in 1886, following a six-year legal and political battle among several Spink County towns. Redfield rapidly became a major town in the region, due in part to its status as a railroad center—the town was a crossroads of two lines of the Chicago and North Western Railway, and was also served by the Milwaukee Road Railroad. Railroads brought supplies, people, and animals, and also provided for transportation of crops back East.

Text from Wikipedia, licensed CC BY-SA 4.0.

Timeline

Redfield Township, 1880 to 1980

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

  1. 19th century
  2. 1880
    FoundingRedfield Township is established
  3. 1883In the archive1883 bird's eye view of Redfield, Dak
  4. 1899On the mapFirst mapped by the U.S. Geological Survey
  5. 20th century
  6. 1905In the archiveCarl E. Johnson (1855-1909)
  7. 1910In the archiveResidence Street
  8. 1912BuiltSouth Dakota Dept. of Transportation Bridge No. 58-062-270 is built
  9. 1928BuiltRedfield City Hall, Old is built
  10. 1980CensusPopulation peaks at 3,027
By decade

Redfield Township, decade by decade

3 decades in the archive, from the 1880s to the 1910s. Scroll each row; tap a photo for its story.

1880s–1910s10 items
1883 bird's eye view of Redfield, Dak18831883 bird's eye view of Redfield, DakCarl E. Johnson (1855-1909)c. 1905Carl E. Johnson (1855-1909)Taft crowd1908Taft crowdResidence Street1910Residence StreetPicnic grove near Redfield, S.D1910Picnic grove near Redfield, S.DSpink County Jail1910Spink County JailJames River scene1910James River sceneCity Hospital & Sanitarium1910City Hospital & SanitariumMain St. North Redfield, S.D1910Main St. North Redfield, S.DPart view of Humboldt Ave1910Part view of Humboldt Ave
1920s–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
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.

1883 bird's eye view of Redfield, Dak
Retake this view1883 bird's eye view of Redfield, Dak, 1883

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

Retake this view · +15
On the National Register

2 historic places in Redfield Township

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
South Dakota Dept. of Transportation Bridge No.…
Redfield City Hall, Old, built 1928South Dakota Dept. of Transportation Bridge No. 58-062-270, built 1912
BuildingsStructures

Architectural styles listings

Late 19th and 20th Century: Commercial Style1
Warren pony truss1
Redfield City Hall, OldLate 19th and 20th Century: Commercial Style · Built 1928
All 2 listings
South Dakota Dept. of Transportation Bridge No. 58-062-270Structure · listed 1993

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

Help out

Finish Redfield Township’s story

Most archives stop around 1920. The photos from after that are in family albums, not libraries.

Decades since 1900 with photos
00s10s20s30s40s50s60s70s80s90s
2 of 10 decades. The empty ones are waiting for someone’s album.
Retake an old view1883 bird's eye view of Redfield, Dak: stand where they stood+15Share a family photoSign in to add one+10
Stories next door

History across the town line

Each neighbor’s History grade, on the same three inputs.

Exline TownshipIts storynot graded: under 1,000 residents or part of its townTulare TownshipIts storynot graded: under 1,000 residents or part of its townLodi TownshipIts storynot graded: under 1,000 residents or part of its townThree Rivers TownshipIts storynot graded: under 1,000 residents or part of its town

Questions about Redfield Township’s history

What year was Redfield Township founded?

In 1880, according to Wikidata. the census of 1890 counted 796 people here.

What is on the National Register in Redfield Township?

Two places: the Redfield City Hall, Old (listed 1997) and the South Dakota Dept. of Transportation Bridge No. 58-062-270 (1993).

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), the Library of Congress (8), the National Register of Historic Places (2), 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.