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C−History
History · Rosebud

Rosebud’s post office opened in 1878, and 2 of its places are on the National Register

More historic than 22% of U.S. towns. What drives it

Most of Rosebud was built recently: 0.0% of its homes predate 1940 and the median home dates from 1979. Its Register listings are the Spotted Tail Gravesite and the Rosebud Hotel.

1878first post office
2on the National Register
0.0%homes built before 1940
2famous people
Add an old photoShare a memory
Quick answers

How Rosebud began

When was Rosebud founded?

1878

The Rosebud post office opened in 1878, the earliest record of the town by name. Another post office, Spotted Tail (1872), opened inside today’s town and later closed.

2020 census: 1,455148 years

How historic is Rosebud?

C−

More historic than 22% of U.S. towns, on its age, its old homes and the National Register.

What drives the grade ↓
Founding year: the first Rosebud post office (Blevins & Helbock, CC0).
History grade

What drives Rosebud’s History grade

On its age, its old homes and the National Register, Rosebud is more historic than 22% of U.S. towns. Its National Register listings hold the grade up; its share of homes from before 1940 pulls it down.

C−
HistoryA character grade: shown, never part of Rosebud’s overall grade.
Founding era1878, from the first post office: founded 1850–1899, an older era than 37% of U.S. townsC+Homes built before 19400.0% of homes (±2.8) · typical SD town 10.4% · U.S. 8.4%D−National Register2 listings, 12.1 per 10,000 residents · typical SD town 37.3 · U.S. 2.4B−
All U.S. towns we grade (21,289)Ahead of 22%
NewerOlder

South Dakota towns list more on the Register than most of the country (a typical South Dakota town has 37.3 per 10,000 residents, the U.S. 2.4), so Rosebud’s 12.1 sits near the middle of its state (45% of South Dakota towns have fewer) while its 2 listings outnumber those of 60% of U.S. towns.

How sure. Graded on any two of the three inputs instead, the letter would range from D to C. The pre-1940 share (±2.8 points) is firm at this size. The founding year is the first post office, not a stated founding date.

Founding year: the first post office (other dates in Quick answers). Homes: Census ACS 2020–24. National Register: National Park Service, May 2026 list; each listing counted once (boundary changes and added documentation belong to their listing), and a historic district counts its contributing buildings. How TownRatings grades history →

What stands out about Rosebud’s past

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

A history waiting to be writtenNo old photos of Rosebud are in the public archives yet. The rest are in attics and albums.
★ What stands out · Help out

Start Rosebud’s collection

The first neighbors to add old photos shape how Rosebud’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 so far

Rosebud, in brief

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

Rosebud also Sicanġu (Lakhota Sicanġu; "Scorched Thigh") is a census-designated place (CDP) in Todd County, South Dakota, United States. The population was 1,455 at the 2020 census. Rosebud is located on the Rosebud Indian Reservation. It is home to the Rosebud Sioux tribe. Rosebud also has many tribal agencies such as the Indian Health Service, Bureau of Indian Affairs, Tribal Land Enterprise, Tribal BIA Police, and the Division of Forestry and Wildland Fire Management.

Its first post office opened in 1878. Between the 2010 and 2020 censuses its population fell from 1,587 to 1,455 (-8%).

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

Timeline

Rosebud, 1872 to 1954

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

  1. 19th century
  2. 1872Post officeThe Spotted Tail post office opens
  3. 1878Post officeThe Spotted Tail post office closes
  4. 1878Post officeThe Rosebud post office opens
  5. 1879BuiltRosebud Hotel is built
  6. 20th century
  7. 1910Born hereNellie Star Boy Menard is born here
  8. 1954Born hereMary Brave Bird is born here
By decade

Rosebud, decade by decade

Today5 recent
USDA Rural Development Outreach in SD with Thunder Valley Community Development Corp2026USDA Rural Development Outreach in SD with Thunder Va…USDA Rural Development Outreach in SD with Thunder Valley Community Development Corp2026USDA Rural Development Outreach in SD with Thunder Va…USDA Rural Development Outreach in SD with Thunder Valley Community Development Corp2026USDA Rural Development Outreach in SD with Thunder Va…USDA Rural Development Outreach in SD with Thunder Valley Community Development Corp2026USDA Rural Development Outreach in SD with Thunder Va…SDMap-doton-Rosebud2004SDMap-doton-Rosebud
On the National Register

2 historic places in Rosebud

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
1980
Spotted Tail Gravesite
Spotted Tail GravesiteRosebud Hotel, built 1879
BuildingsSites
Spotted Tail GravesiteSite
All 2 listings
Rosebud HotelBuilding · listed 1980

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

Famous people

2 famous people were born in Rosebud

Writers, athletes, leaders and more, ranked by how widely they’re known.

See all →
M
Mary Brave BirdLakota author and indigenous rights activist · b. 1954
N
Nellie Star Boy MenardSicangu Lakota [Rosebud Sioux] quiltmaker · b. 1910
Places that used to be

Lost post offices, places now gone and burying grounds

Rosebud’s post office has been open since 1878. Another post office, Spotted Tail, opened and closed inside today’s town.

Spotted Tail
1872–1878
Rosebud
1878–today
18701950today
Gone or out of use
Rosebud Agency ReservelocaleRosebud Beef Corrallocale
1cemetery inside Rosebud
Spotted Tail

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.

Two StrikeIts storynot graded: under 1,000 residents or part of its town

Questions about Rosebud’s history

What year was Rosebud founded?

The Rosebud post office opened in 1878, the earliest record of the town by name (U.S. post office records).

How does Rosebud rank for history?

Rosebud is more historic than 22% of U.S. towns. The History grade combines the town’s founding era, the share of homes built before 1940 and its National Register listings. It’s a character grade, so it isn’t part of the overall grade. How it works.

What is on the National Register in Rosebud?

Two places: the Spotted Tail Gravesite (listed 1980) and the Rosebud Hotel (1980).

How old are the homes in Rosebud?

0.0% of Rosebud’s homes were built before 1940 (Census estimate, ±2.8 points), against a typical 10% for a South Dakota town; the median home was built in 1979.

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).

From Wikimedia Commons (5), the National Register of Historic Places (2), Wikidata and Wikipedia for famous people, 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.