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History · St. Francis

St. Francis’ post office opened in 1908, and 1 of its places is on the National Register

Most of St. Francis was built recently: 0.0% of its homes predate 1940 and the median home dates from 1977. 1 place in town is on the National Register, among them a historic district with 12 buildings. Below: maps from 1969 on and the census since 1940.

1908first post office
1on the National Register
0.0%homes built before 1940
Add an old photoShare a memory
Quick answers

How St. Francis began

When was St. Francis founded?

1908

The St. Francis post office opened in 1908, the earliest record of the town by name.

First census: 273 in 19402020 census: 469118 years
Founding year: the first St. Francis post office (Blevins & Helbock, CC0).

What stands out about St. Francis’ 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 St. Francis are in the public archives yet. The rest are in attics and albums.Boom and bustPeaked at 815 in 1990; 469 people lived here in 2020.
★ What stands out · Help out

Start St. Francis’s collection

The first neighbors to add old photos shape how St. Francis’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
People over time

St. Francis, census by census

020040060080019401960198020002020Peak: 815

Peaked at 815 in 1990; 469 people lived here in 2020.

9 censuses, 1940–2020.

U.S. Census Bureau decennial counts, from the census table on St. Francis’ Wikipedia page.

The story so far

St. Francis, in brief

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

St. Francis, also known as Sápauŋ thí (Lakota: Sápauŋ thí; "Catholic House") is a city in the Rosebud Indian Reservation in Todd County, South Dakota, United States. The population was 469 at the 2020 census. St. Francis is named after the St. Francis Indian School, which was named after Francis of Assisi and was operated by the Catholic Franciscan order.

Its first post office opened in 1908. Between the 2010 and 2020 censuses its population fell from 709 to 469 (-34%).

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

Timeline

St. Francis, 1908 to 1990

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

  1. 20th century
  2. 1908Post officeThe Saint Francis post office opens
  3. 1969On the mapFirst mapped by the U.S. Geological Survey
  4. 1990CensusPopulation peaks at 815
By decade

St. Francis, decade by decade

Today3 recent
Frame building, St. Francis mission (St. Francis SD) from WSW 12013Frame building, St. Francis mission (St. Francis SD) …Frame building, St. Francis mission (St. Francis SD) from NW 12013Frame building, St. Francis mission (St. Francis SD) …Frame building, St. Francis mission (St. Francis SD) from NE 12013Frame building, St. Francis mission (St. Francis SD) …
On the map

St. Francis on the map, 1969 to 1982

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

St. Francis on the 1969 USGS mapSt. Francis on the 1982 USGS map1969St Francis 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 St. Francis.

On the National Register

1 listing protects 12 historic buildings

The country’s official list of buildings and places worth saving.

place listed
1
National Historic Landmarks
0
none yet
historic buildings protected
12
each building in a district counts
first listed
1975
St. Francis Mission
St. Francis Mission
Districts
St. Francis MissionDistrict

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

Famous people

Famous people close to St. Francis

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

See all →
James AbourezkAmerican politician · b. 1931
M
Mary Brave BirdLakota author and indigenous rights activist · b. 1954
T
Tedd GassmanAmerican politician · b. 1943
Tad LucasAmerican trick rider · b. 1902
N
Nellie Star Boy MenardSicangu Lakota [Rosebud Sioux] quiltmaker · b. 1910
Places that used to be

Old corners and burying grounds

Old hamlets and crossroads still carry their names on the map.

Hamlets and corners on the map
Saint Francis
1cemetery inside St. Francis
Saint Charles Catholic

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

Questions about St. Francis’ history

What year was St. Francis founded?

The St. Francis post office opened in 1908, the earliest record of the town by name (U.S. post office records).

What is on the National Register in St. Francis?

One place: the St. Francis Mission (listed 1975).

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 (3), the National Register of Historic Places (1), U.S. Geological Survey historical maps, U.S. Census counts (via Wikipedia), 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.