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History · White River

White River’s post office opened in 1911, and 16% of its homes were built before 1940

Its Register listing is the South Dakota Dept. of Transportation Bridge No. 48-244-204. Below: 2 old photos and papers, maps from 1985 on, and the census since 1920.

1911first post office
1on the National Register
16%homes built before 1940
2old photos & papers
Add an old photoShare a memory
Photo: Jared Winkler · CC BY-SA 4.0
Quick answers

How White River began

When was White River founded?

1911

The White River post office opened in 1911, the earliest record of the town by name. Wikidata gives 1912. Another post office, Redwing (1911), opened inside today’s city and later closed.

First census: 417 in 19202020 census: 533115 years
Founding year: the first White River post office (Blevins & Helbock, CC0). Wikidata: 1912.The full story ↓

What stands out about White River’s past

Read from the archive, the National Register and the record. The page puts what stands out first.

A history waiting to be writtenOnly 2 old photos are in the public archives. The rest are in attics and albums.
★ What stands out · Help out

Start White River’s collection

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

Decades since 1900 with photos
00s10s20s30s40s50s60s70s80s90s
0 of 10 decades. The empty ones are waiting for someone’s album.
Date a photo1 archive item has no date. Guess the decade.+2Share a family photoSign in to add one+10
The story

How White River came to be

From Wikipedia’s history of White River.

Read it all →

White River was founded as the seat of the newly formed Mellette County in 1911. The town was named after the White River.

Text from Wikipedia, licensed CC BY-SA 4.0.

Timeline

White River, 1824 to 1985

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

  1. 19th century
  2. 1824In the archiveMap of Bad and White Rivers
  3. 20th century
  4. 1911Post officeThe Redwing post office opens
  5. 1911Post officeThe Redwing post office closes
  6. 1911Post officeThe White River post office opens
  7. 1985On the mapFirst mapped by the U.S. Geological Survey
By decade

White River, decade by decade

One decade in the archive so far: the 1820s. Scroll each row; tap a photo for its story.

1820s1 item
Map of Bad and White Rivers1824Map of Bad and White RiversMap
Date unknown1 to date
The winter low-flow balance of the semiarid White River, Nebraska and South DakotaDate?The winter low-flow balance of the semiarid White Riv…Book
Today4 recent
White River, SD2022White River, SD36th Annual Ranchers' Workshop Jan 21, 2015201436th Annual Ranchers' Workshop Jan 21, 2015January 15, 2013 Mellette and Todd County Ranchers Workshop2013January 15, 2013 Mellette and Todd County Ranchers Wo…SDMap-doton-WhiteRiver2004SDMap-doton-WhiteRiver
On the map

White River on the map in 1985

The U.S. Geological Survey’s map of White River.

White River on the 1985 USGS map1985White River sheet · 1:100,000

U.S. Geological Survey historical topographic maps (public domain), via Esri’s collection of the scans. The red ring marks the center of White River.

On the National Register

1 historic place in White River

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

place listed
1
National Historic Landmarks
0
none yet
historic buildings protected
1
each building in a district counts
first listed
1993
South Dakota Dept. of Transportation Bridge No.…
South Dakota Dept. of Transportation Bridge No. 48-244-204
Structures

Architectural styles listings

Concrete slab1
All 1 listings
South Dakota Dept. of Transportation Bridge No. 48-244-204Structure · listed 1993

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

People over time

White River, census by census

0100200300400500600192019401960198020002020Peak: 617

Between 417 and 617 people in every census since 1920.

11 censuses, 1920–2020.

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

Places that used to be

Lost post offices

White River’s post office has been open since 1911. Another post office, Redwing, opened and closed inside today’s town.

Redwing
1911–1911
White River
1911–today
19101970today

US Post Offices dataset (Blevins & Helbock, CC0). Places and cemeteries from the USGS Geographic Names Information System (2021).

Questions about White River’s history

What year was White River founded?

The White River post office opened in 1911, the earliest record of the town by name (U.S. post office records). Wikidata gives 1912.

What is on the National Register in White River?

One place: the South Dakota Dept. of Transportation Bridge No. 48-244-204 (listed 1993).

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 (6), the National Register of Historic Places (1), 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.