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History · Waubay Township

Waubay Township dates to 1895, and 19% of its homes were built before 1940

Below: maps from 1970 on and the census since 1900.

1895founded
0on the National Register
19%homes built before 1940
Add an old photoShare a memory
Quick answers

How Waubay Township began

When was Waubay Township founded?

1895

Waubay Township dates its founding to 1895 (Wikidata). The census first counted it in 1900.

First census: 430 in 19002020 census: 505131 years
Founding year: Wikidata. First post office: 1879.

What stands out about Waubay 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 Waubay Township are in the public archives yet. The rest are in attics and albums.Boom and bustPeaked at 979 in 1920; 473 people lived here in 2020.
★ What stands out · Help out

Start Waubay Township’s collection

The first neighbors to add old photos shape how Waubay 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

Waubay Township, census by census

02004006008001,0001900192019401960198020002020Peak: 979

Peaked at 979 in 1920; 473 people lived here in 2020.

13 censuses, 1900–2020.

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

The story so far

Waubay Township, in brief

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

Waubay is a city in Day County, South Dakota, United States. The population was 473 at the 2020 census. Waubay had its start in the early 1880s when the railroad was extended to that point. The school district is Waubay Public 18-3. The local newspaper is the oldest business in town, called the Waubay Clipper.

Waubay Township was established in 1895. Between the 2010 and 2020 censuses its population grew from 462 to 505 (+9%).

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

Timeline

Waubay Township, 1879 to 1970

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

  1. 19th century
  2. 1879Post officeThe Wahbay post office opens
  3. 1885Post officeThe Wahbay post office closes
  4. 1895
    FoundingWaubay Township is established
  5. 20th century
  6. 1920CensusPopulation peaks at 979
  7. 1970On the mapFirst mapped by the U.S. Geological Survey
By decade

Waubay Township, decade by decade

Today1 recent
SDMap-doton-Waubay2004SDMap-doton-Waubay
On the map

Waubay Township on the map, 1970 to 1985

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

Waubay Township on the 1970 USGS mapWaubay Township on the 1985 USGS map1970Enemy Swim Lake West 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 Waubay Township.

Places that used to be

Lost post offices, old corners, places now gone and burying grounds

Another post office, Wahbay, opened and closed inside today’s town.

Hamlets and corners on the map
Enemy Swim
Gone or out of use
Wahbay Post Officepost office
4cemeteries and burying grounds inside Waubay Township
Blue Dog GraveLakewoodOld ZionSaint James Indian

US Post Offices dataset (Blevins & Helbock, CC0). 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.

WaubayIts storynot graded: under 1,000 residents or part of its townCentral Point TownshipIts storynot graded: under 1,000 residents or part of its townRacine TownshipIts storynot graded: under 1,000 residents or part of its townKosciusko Township1 historic placenot graded: under 1,000 residents or part of its townAlto TownshipIts storynot graded: under 1,000 residents or part of its townOrtleyIts storynot graded: under 1,000 residents or part of its townOrtley Township1 historic placenot graded: under 1,000 residents or part of its town

Questions about Waubay Township’s history

What year was Waubay Township founded?

In 1895, according to Wikidata. Waubay Township’s post office opened in 1879, and the census of 1900 counted 430 people here.

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), 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.