Guest, Sign inJoin

Post to Utica Township

We’ll email a one-tap link to publish your post. No password, and nothing is public until you click it.
Already a member? Sign in
Human Services CenterHuman Services Center · Photo: Ammodramus · Public domain
–Not graded
History · Utica Township

29% of Utica Township’s homes were built before 1940

3 places in town are on the National Register, among them a historic district with 15 buildings. Below: maps from 1978 on and the census since 1910.

3on the National Register
29%homes built before 1940
Add an old photoShare a memory

What stands out about Utica Township’s 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 Utica Township are in the public archives yet. The rest are in attics and albums.Boom and bustPeaked at 141 in 1920; 70 people lived here in 2020.
★ What stands out · Help out

Start Utica Township’s collection

The first neighbors to add old photos shape how Utica Township’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

Utica Township, census by census

0100192019401960198020002020Peak: 141

Peaked at 141 in 1920; 70 people lived here in 2020.

12 censuses, 1910–2020.

U.S. Census Bureau decennial counts, from the census table on Utica Township’s Wikipedia page.

The story so far

Utica Township, in brief

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

Utica is a town in Yankton County, South Dakota, United States. The population was 70 at the 2020 census. Some say Utica is a name derived from the Sioux language meaning "dweller", while others believe the name is a transfer from Utica, New York.

Between the 2010 and 2020 censuses its population fell from 859 to 746 (-13%).

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

By decade

Utica Township, decade by decade

Today1 recent
SDMap-doton-Utica2004SDMap-doton-Utica
On the map

Utica Township on the map, 1978 to 1985

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

Utica Township on the 1978 USGS mapUtica Township on the 1985 USGS map1978Yankton 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 Utica Township.

On the National Register

3 listings protect 33 historic buildings

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

places listed
3
National Historic Landmarks
0
none yet
historic buildings protected
33
each building in a district counts
first listed
1980
Human Services Center
Human Services CenterEndre B. Gunderson FarmsteadMachacek Homestead
BuildingsDistricts

Architectural styles listings

Art Deco1
Prairie1
Italianate1
Classic1
Queen Anne1
Vernacular1
Human Services CenterArt Deco
All 3 listings
Endre B. Gunderson FarmsteadBuilding · listed 1980Machacek HomesteadBuilding · listed 1980

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

Famous people

Famous people close to Utica Township

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

See all →
Charles D. GemarAmerican astronaut · b. 1955
J
Justin BrueningAmerican actor and former fashion model · b. 1979
Adam VinatieriAmerican football player · b. 1972
C
Crissy Ahmann-LeightonAmerican swimmer, Olympic gold medalist, world … · b. 1970
Chan GurneyAmerican politician · b. 1896
James Paul JohnsonAmerican politician · b. 1930
Places that used to be

Old corners, places now gone and burying grounds

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

Hamlets and corners on the map
Napa Junction
Gone or out of use
South Dakota Hospital For The Insanehospital
1cemetery inside Utica Township
State Hospital

Places and cemeteries from the USGS Geographic Names Information System (2021).

Stories next door

History across the town line

Each neighbor’s History grade, on the same three inputs.

Yankton25 historic placesB+Mission Hill Township6 historic placesnot graded: under 1,000 residents or part of its town

Questions about Utica Township’s history

What is on the National Register in Utica Township?

Three places: the Human Services Center (listed 1980), the Endre B. Gunderson Farmstead (1980) and the Machacek Homestead (1980).

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