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Jerauld County CourthousePhoto: Calvin Beale · Public domain
–Not graded
History · Wessington Springs Township

Wessington Springs Township dates to 1880, and 21% of its homes were built before 1940

Below: maps from 1973 on and the census since 1900.

1880founded
0on the National Register
21%homes built before 1940
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Photo: Calvin Beale · Public domain
Quick answers

How Wessington Springs Township began

When was Wessington Springs Township founded?

1880

Wessington Springs Township dates its founding to 1880 (Wikidata). The census first counted it in 1900.

First census: 320 in 19002020 census: 70146 years
Founding year: Wikidata. First post office: 1882.The full story ↓

What stands out about Wessington Springs 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 Wessington Springs Township are in the public archives yet. The rest are in attics and albums.Boom and bustPeaked at 1,618 in 1920; 771 people lived here in 2020.
★ What stands out · Help out

Start Wessington Springs Township’s collection

The first neighbors to add old photos shape how Wessington Springs Township’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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People over time

Wessington Springs Township, census by census

02004006008001,0001,2001,4001,6001,8001900192019401960198020002020Peak: 1,618

Peaked at 1,618 in 1920; 771 people lived here in 2020.

13 censuses, 1900–2020.

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

The story

How Wessington Springs Township came to be

From Wikipedia’s history of Wessington Springs Township.

Read it all →

The Wessington Springs townsite was founded in 1880 and platted in 1882, early in the era of agricultural settlement in the region. The town's boom era began in 1903, when a branch line of the Milwaukee Road railroad was constructed into the town from the east.

The town was the home of Wessington Springs College, an institution of higher learning that existed from 1887 until 1968. There is a baseball field in town that hosts an amateur baseball team named the Wessington Springs Owls.

Chapters2014 tornado

Text from Wikipedia, licensed CC BY-SA 4.0.

Timeline

Wessington Springs Township, 1880 to 1973

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

  1. 19th century
  2. 1880
    FoundingWessington Springs Township is established
  3. 1882Post officeThe Sullivan post office opens
  4. 20th century
  5. 1900Post officeThe Sullivan post office closes
  6. 1920CensusPopulation peaks at 1,618
  7. 1973On the mapFirst mapped by the U.S. Geological Survey
By decade

Wessington Springs Township, decade by decade

Today3 recent
M.B. Miller Heritage Plaza, bell tower plaque, Wessington Springs College 2026-03-272026M.B. Miller Heritage Plaza, bell tower plaque, Wessin…Workshop Jan. 15, 2014 in Wessington Springs, SD2014Workshop Jan. 15, 2014 in Wessington Springs, SDSDMap-doton-WessingtonSprings2004SDMap-doton-WessingtonSprings
On the map

Wessington Springs Township on the map, 1973 to 1985

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

Wessington Springs Township on the 1973 USGS mapWessington Springs Township on the 1985 USGS map1973Wessington Springs 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 Wessington Springs Township.

Places that used to be

Lost post offices and places now gone

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

Gone or out of use
Kleppin School Number 5schoolKnutson School Number 2schoolSchool Number 1schoolSullivanlocale

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.

Wessington Springs8 historic placesnot graded: under 1,000 residents or part of its townViola TownshipIts storynot graded: under 1,000 residents or part of its townFranklin TownshipIts storynot graded: under 1,000 residents or part of its town

Questions about Wessington Springs Township’s history

What year was Wessington Springs Township founded?

In 1880, according to Wikidata. Wessington Springs Township’s post office opened in 1882, and the census of 1900 counted 320 people here.

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), Wikipedia, 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.