Spearfish dates to 1876, and 10% of its homes were built before 1940
More historic than 63% of U.S. towns · #16 of 35 in South Dakota. What drives it
29 places in town are on the National Register, among them the Frawley Historic Ranch, a National Historic Landmark, and four historic districts with 73 buildings between them. Below: maps from 1885 on and the census since 1880.
Founding year: Wikidata. First post office: 1878.The full story ↓
History grade
What drives Spearfish’s History grade
On its age, its old homes and the National Register, Spearfish is more historic than 63% of U.S. towns, #16 of 35 in South Dakota. Its National Register listings hold the grade up; its age pulls it down.
B
HistoryA character grade: shown, never part of Spearfish’s overall grade.
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 Spearfish’s 83.5 sits above most of its state (87% of South Dakota towns have fewer) while its 108 historic buildings outnumber those of 90% of U.S. towns.
How sure. Graded on any two of the three inputs instead, the letter would range from C+ to A−. The pre-1940 share is a Census survey estimate (±3.9 points). Two sources give 1876.
Founding year: Wikidata (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 Spearfish’s past
Read from the archive, the National Register and the record. The page puts what stands out first.
The country’s official list of buildings and places worth saving. One is a National Historic Landmark, the highest tier. Boundary changes and added documentation are counted with their listing.
places listed
29
National Historic Landmark
1
Frawley Historic Ranch
historic buildings protected
108
each building in a district counts
first listed
1974
Frawley Historic Ranch
BuildingsDistricts★ landmark
Architectural styles listings
Queen Anne12
Bungalow/Craftsman4
Late Victorian3
Late 19th and Early 20th Century American Movements2
Fire insurance maps drew every building, what it was made of and what it was used for, so insurers could price the risk of fire. Pick a year, then a sheet.
1885Sheet 1 of 1
Edition
Sheets
BrickWoodStone
Sanborn Map Company, via the Library of Congress. Editions published in 1930 or earlier, which are in the public domain.
Before the Black Hills Gold Rush of 1876, the area was used by Native Americans (primarily bands of Sioux but others also ranged through the area). Once the gold rush started, the city was founded in 1876 at the mouth of Spearfish Canyon, and was originally called Queen City. Spearfish grew as a supplier of foodstuffs to the mining camps in the hills. Even today, a significant amount of truck farming and market gardening still occurs in the vicinity.
In 1876, according to Wikidata. Spearfish’s post office opened in 1878, and the census of 1880 counted 170 people here.
How does Spearfish rank for history?
Spearfish is more historic than 63% of U.S. towns, #16 of 35 in South Dakota. 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 Spearfish?
29 listings: 25 buildings and 4 historic districts with 73 contributing buildings. 108 historic buildings in all.
How old are the homes in Spearfish?
10% of Spearfish’s homes were built before 1940 (Census estimate, ±3.9 points), against a typical 10% for a South Dakota town; the median home was built in 1992.
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 Wikidata (5), the National Register of Historic Places (29), Wikipedia, Wikidata and Wikipedia for famous people, U.S. Geological Survey historical maps, U.S. Census counts (via Wikipedia), the US Post Offices dataset (Blevins & Helbock), the USGS Geographic Names Information System and Sanborn fire insurance maps (Library of Congress). Archive images are copied here with their credits and licenses, shown on each photo’s page. Refreshed monthly.
★ Landmark
