Tea’s post office opened in 1894, and 1 of its places is on the National Register
More historic than 24% of U.S. towns · #25 of 35 in South Dakota. What drives it
Most of Tea was built recently: 3% of its homes predate 1940 and the median home dates from 2004. Its Register listing is the Hansen-Hagedorn Barn. Below: maps from 1897 on and the census since 1910.
The Tea post office opened in 1894, the earliest record of the town by name. Another post office, Antioch (1877), opened inside today’s city and later closed.
First census: 134 in 19102020 census: 5,598132 years
How historic is Tea?
C−
More historic than 24% of U.S. towns, on its age, its old homes and the National Register.
Founding year: the first Tea post office (Blevins & Helbock, CC0).
History grade
What drives Tea’s History grade
On its age, its old homes and the National Register, Tea is more historic than 24% of U.S. towns, #25 of 35 in South Dakota. 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 Tea’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 Tea’s 1.5 sits below most of its state (31% of South Dakota towns have fewer) while its 1 listings outnumber those of 51% of U.S. towns.
How sure. Graded on any two of the three inputs instead, the letter would range from C− to C. The pre-1940 share (±2.6 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 Tea’s past
Read from the archive, the National Register and the record. The page puts what stands out first.
Every edition of the U.S. Geological Survey’s map of Tea. Tap a year, or press play to watch the town change.
1897Canton 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 Tea.
The story so far
Tea, in brief
Wikipedia doesn’t have a history of Tea yet. The photos, dates and memories neighbors add here are how it gets written.
Tea is an incorporated city in Lincoln County, South Dakota, United States and is a suburb of Sioux Falls. The population was 5,598 at the 2020 census, and was estimated at 7,699 in 2024. Tea was laid out in 1894. The name "Tea" was selected on account of its brevity and is said to have no significance.
Its first post office opened in 1894. Between the 2010 and 2020 censuses its population grew from 3,806 to 5,598 (+47%).
Intro from Wikipedia. Population: U.S. Census Bureau.
Timeline
Tea, 1877 to 1897
Woven from the archive, old maps, post office records, the National Register and the people born here.
The Tea post office opened in 1894, the earliest record of the town by name (U.S. post office records).
How does Tea rank for history?
Tea is more historic than 24% of U.S. towns, #25 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 Tea?
One place: the Hansen-Hagedorn Barn (listed 2013).
How old are the homes in Tea?
3% of Tea’s homes were built before 1940 (Census estimate, ±2.6 points), against a typical 10% for a South Dakota town; the median home was built in 2004.
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 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.
