Each edition grades its towns against each other only.
More historic than 74% of U.S. towns. What drives it
Its Register listings are the Bon Homme County Courthouse, the Carnegie Public Library of Tyndall and the ZCBJ Hall. Below: 1 old photo or paper, maps from 1978 on, and the census since 1890.
The Tyndall post office opened in 1880, the earliest record of the town by name. Another post office, Danbury (1879), opened inside today’s city and later closed.
Tyndall was named for John Tyndall, an Irish physicist who had paid a visit to the United States.
More historic than 74% of U.S. towns, on its age, its old homes and the National Register.
On its age, its old homes and the National Register, Tyndall is more historic than 74% of U.S. towns. Its share of homes from before 1940 holds the grade up; its age pulls it down.
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 Tyndall’s 25.4 sits near the middle of its state (58% of South Dakota towns have fewer) while its 3 listings outnumber those of 65% of U.S. towns.
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 →
Read from the archive, the National Register and the record. The page puts what stands out first.
The first neighbors to add old photos shape how Tyndall’s history is told.
From Wikipedia’s history of Tyndall.
Tyndall was established in 1879 as the county seat of Bon Homme County. It was named for John Tyndall, an Irish physicist who had paid a visit to the United States.
Text from Wikipedia, licensed CC BY-SA 4.0.
Woven from the archive, old maps, post office records, the National Register and the people born here.
Born hereRaleigh Aitchison is born here
BuiltCarnegie Public Library of Tyndall is built
On the mapFirst mapped by the U.S. Geological Survey
In the archiveThe Security Bank of Tyndall, Main StreetOne decade in the archive so far: the 1980s. Scroll each row; tap a photo for its story.
Every edition of the U.S. Geological Survey’s map of Tyndall. Tap a year, or press play to watch the town change.
U.S. Geological Survey historical topographic maps (public domain), via Esri’s collection of the scans. The red ring marks the center of Tyndall.
No then-and-now pairs yet. Take a photo from the same spot as an old one and they appear here side by side.
Find the spot, match the angle, and add your photo. It becomes the first then-and-now pair on Tyndall’s page.
Retake this view · +15The country’s official list of buildings and places worth saving.
National Park Service, National Register of Historic Places. Photos from Wikimedia Commons, credited on each place’s page.
Between 509 and 1,405 people in every census since 1890.
14 censuses, 1890–2020.
U.S. Census Bureau decennial counts, from the census table on Tyndall’s Wikipedia page.
Writers, athletes, leaders and more, ranked by how widely they’re known.
Tyndall’s post office has been open since 1880. Another post office, Danbury, opened and closed inside today’s town.
US Post Offices dataset (Blevins & Helbock, CC0). Places and cemeteries from the USGS Geographic Names Information System (2021).
The Tyndall post office opened in 1880, the earliest record of the town by name (U.S. post office records).
Tyndall is more historic than 74% of U.S. towns. 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.
Three places: the Bon Homme County Courthouse (listed 1984), the Carnegie Public Library of Tyndall (1984) and the ZCBJ Hall (1985).
39% of Tyndall’s homes were built before 1940 (Census estimate, ±9.8 points), against a typical 10% for a South Dakota town; the median home was built in 1949.
What the archives can’t tell you, neighbors can.
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 Wikimedia Commons (2), Wikidata (3), the National Register of Historic Places (3), 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) 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.
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