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History · Running Water

Running Water’s post office opened in 1880

Most of Running Water was built recently: 6% of its homes predate 1940 and the median home dates from 1986. Below: maps from 1977 on.

1880first post office
0on the National Register
6%homes built before 1940
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Photo: National Park Service · Public domain
Quick answers

How Running Water began

When was Running Water founded?

1880

The Running Water post office opened in 1880, the earliest record of the town by name.

2020 census: 47146 years
Founding year: the first Running Water post office (Blevins & Helbock, CC0).

What stands out about Running Water’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 Running Water are in the public archives yet. The rest are in attics and albums.
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Start Running Water’s collection

The first neighbors to add old photos shape how Running Water’s history is told.

Decades since 1900 with photos
00s10s20s30s40s50s60s70s80s90s
0 of 10 decades. The empty ones are waiting for someone’s album.
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The story so far

Running Water, in brief

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

Running Water is a census-designated place (CDP) in Bon Homme County, South Dakota, United States. The population was 47 at the 2020 census. The community's name Running Water is a former variant name of the nearby Niobrara River.

Its first post office opened in 1880. Between the 2010 and 2020 censuses its population grew from 36 to 47 (+31%).

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

Timeline

Running Water, 1880 to 1977

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

  1. 19th century
  2. 1880Post officeThe Running Water post office opens
  3. 20th century
  4. 1940Post officeThe Running Water post office closes
  5. 1977On the mapFirst mapped by the U.S. Geological Survey
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.

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On the map

Running Water on the map, 1977 to 1985

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

Running Water on the 1977 USGS mapRunning Water on the 1985 USGS map1977Springfield 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 Running Water.

Famous people

Famous people close to Running Water

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

See all →
George McGovernAmerican historian and politician · b. 1922
William R. SchmidtUnited States general · b. 1889
Pauline DavisAmerican politician · b. 1917
Raleigh AitchisonAmerican baseball player · b. 1887
J
Josh RanekPlayer of American and Canadian football · b. 1978
C
Chuck MorrellAmerican football coach
Places that used to be

Lost post offices

Running Water had its own post office from 1880 to 1940.

Running Water
1880–1940
18801950today

US Post Offices dataset (Blevins & Helbock, CC0). Places and cemeteries from the USGS Geographic Names Information System (2021).

Questions about Running Water’s history

What year was Running Water founded?

The Running Water post office opened in 1880, the earliest record of the town by name (U.S. post office records).

Memory lane

What the archives can’t tell you, neighbors can.

Town Square →
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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 U.S. Geological Survey historical maps, 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.