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History · Wakonda

Wakonda’s post office opened in 1886, and 46% of its homes were built before 1940

Its Register listings are the Building at 125 Ohio St. and the Wakonda State Bank.

1886first post office
2on the National Register
46%homes built before 1940
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Quick answers

How Wakonda began

When was Wakonda founded?

1886

The Wakonda post office opened in 1886, the earliest record of the town by name. Wikidata gives 1888.

2020 census: 347140 years
Founding year: the first Wakonda post office (Blevins & Helbock, CC0). Wikidata: 1888.The full story ↓

What stands out about Wakonda’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 Wakonda are in the public archives yet. The rest are in attics and albums.Old housesHalf of Wakonda’s homes were built before 1944.
★ What stands out · Help out

Start Wakonda’s collection

The first neighbors to add old photos shape how Wakonda’s history is told.

Decades since 1900 with photos
00s10s20s30s40s50s60s70s80s90s
0 of 10 decades. The empty ones are waiting for someone’s album.
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The story

How Wakonda came to be

From Wikipedia’s history of Wakonda.

Read it all →

A post office called Wakonda has been in operation since 1886. Wakonda was platted in 1888. Its name refers to something holy in the Sioux language, and it was chosen by William Henry Harrison Beadle.

Text from Wikipedia, licensed CC BY-SA 4.0.

Timeline

Wakonda, 1886 to 1913

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

  1. 19th century
  2. 1886Post officeThe Wakonda post office opens
  3. 20th century
  4. 1907BuiltBuilding at 125 Ohio St. is built
  5. 1913BuiltWakonda State Bank is built
By decade

Wakonda, decade by decade

Today3 recent
Lodi, South Dakota2012Lodi, South DakotaColfax Corner, South Dakota2012Colfax Corner, South DakotaSDMap-doton-Wakonda2004SDMap-doton-Wakonda
On the National Register

2 historic places in Wakonda

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

places listed
2
National Historic Landmarks
0
none yet
historic buildings protected
2
each building in a district counts
first listed
2002
Building at 125 Ohio St.
Building at 125 Ohio St., built 1907Wakonda State Bank, built 1913
Buildings

Architectural styles listings

Commercial Style2
Building at 125 Ohio St.Commercial Style · Built 1907
Wakonda State BankCommercial Style · Built 1913

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

Questions about Wakonda’s history

What year was Wakonda founded?

The Wakonda post office opened in 1886, the earliest record of the town by name (U.S. post office records). Wikidata gives 1888.

What is on the National Register in Wakonda?

Two places: the Building at 125 Ohio St. (listed 2002) and the Wakonda State Bank (2003).

Memory lane

What the archives can’t tell you, neighbors can.

Town Square →
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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), Wikidata (3), the National Register of Historic Places (2), 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.