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History · Timber Lake

Timber Lake’s post office opened in 1910, and 21% of its homes were built before 1940

Its Register listing is the Drees Brothers General Mechandise. Below: 5 old photos and papers from 1942 on.

1910first post office
1on the National Register
21%homes built before 1940
5old photos & papers
2famous people
Add an old photoShare a memory
From Timber Lake’s archive · credits on each photo
Quick answers

How Timber Lake began

When was Timber Lake founded?

1910

The Timber Lake post office opened in 1910, the earliest record of the town by name. Wikidata gives 1911.

2020 census: 509116 years
Founding year: the first Timber Lake post office (Blevins & Helbock, CC0). Wikidata: 1911.The full story ↓

What stands out about Timber Lake’s past

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

Old housesHalf of Timber Lake’s homes were built before 1964.
★ What stands out · The story

How Timber Lake came to be

From Wikipedia’s history of Timber Lake.

Read it all →

Timber Lake was founded in 1910 with the arrival of the Chicago, Milwaukee, St. Paul and Pacific Railroad into the area. Despite the name, very few trees grew at the lake near the town site. During drought, the lake is a mere mudhole.

On April 21, 1946, a large tornado struck the area in and around Timber Lake. The U.S. Weather Bureau published a paper in 1946 stating the width of this tornado was 4 miles (6.4 km), which would make this the widest tornado ever documented in history, surpassing the 2013 El Reno tornado. However, this is outside the period of reliable documentation accepted by the National Weather Service; 1950–present.

Text from Wikipedia, licensed CC BY-SA 4.0.

Timeline

Timber Lake, 1910 to 2000

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

  1. 20th century
  2. 1910BuiltDrees Brothers General Mechandise is built
  3. 1910Post officeThe Timber Lake post office opens
  4. 1912Born hereElizabeth Sudmeier is born here
  5. 1942In the archiveTimber Lake, South Dakota
  6. 21st century
  7. 2000Born hereTucker Kraft is born here
By decade

Timber Lake, decade by decade

One decade in the archive so far: the 1940s. Scroll each row; tap a photo for its story.

1940s5 items
Timber Lake, South Dakota1942Timber Lake, South DakotaTimber Lake, South Dakota1942Timber Lake, South DakotaTimber Lake, South Dakota. Barber shop1942Timber Lake, South Dakota. Barber shopDewey County, South Dakota. Courthouse1942Dewey County, South Dakota. CourthouseTimber Lake, South Dakota. Street scene, three workmen1942Timber Lake, South Dakota. Street scene, three workmen
1950s–1990snothing yet
Nothing in the archives for these yearsWeddings on Main Street, storms, parades, school pictures, the old store. If it’s in your family album, it belongs here.
Add from your album
Then & now

Stand where they stood

No then-and-now pairs yet. Take a photo from the same spot as an old one and they appear here side by side.

Timber Lake, South Dakota
Retake this viewTimber Lake, South Dakota, 1942

Find the spot, match the angle, and add your photo. It becomes the first then-and-now pair on Timber Lake’s page.

Retake this view · +15
On the National Register

1 historic place in Timber Lake

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

place listed
1
National Historic Landmarks
0
none yet
historic buildings protected
1
each building in a district counts
first listed
1998
Drees Brothers General Mechandise
Drees Brothers General Mechandise, built 1910
Buildings

Architectural styles listings

Commercial Vernacular1
All 1 listings
Drees Brothers General MechandiseBuilding · listed 1998

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 Timber Lake

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

See all →
Tucker KraftAmerican football player · b. 2000
Elizabeth SudmeierAmerican spy · b. 1912
Help out

Finish Timber Lake’s story

Most archives stop around 1920. The photos from after that are in family albums, not libraries.

Decades since 1900 with photos
00s10s20s30s40s50s60s70s80s90s
1 of 10 decades. The empty ones are waiting for someone’s album.
Retake an old viewTimber Lake, South Dakota: stand where they stood+15Share a family photoSign in to add one+10

Questions about Timber Lake’s history

What year was Timber Lake founded?

The Timber Lake post office opened in 1910, the earliest record of the town by name (U.S. post office records). Wikidata gives 1911.

What is on the National Register in Timber Lake?

One place: the Drees Brothers General Mechandise (listed 1998).

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 the Library of Congress (5), the National Register of Historic Places (1), Wikipedia, 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.