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–Not graded
History · White

White’s post office opened in 1886, and 30% of its homes were built before 1940

1886first post office
0on the National Register
30%homes built before 1940
1famous people
Add an old photoShare a memory
Quick answers

How White began

When was White founded?

1886

The White post office opened in 1886, the earliest record of the town by name. Two smaller post offices, Harton (1877) and Barton (1880), opened inside today’s city and later closed.

2020 census: 537140 years
Founding year: the first White post office (Blevins & Helbock, CC0).The full story ↓

What stands out about White’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 White are in the public archives yet. The rest are in attics and albums.Lost villages2 post offices opened and closed inside today’s White.
★ What stands out · Help out

Start White’s collection

The first neighbors to add old photos shape how White’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
Places that used to be

Lost post offices

White’s post office has been open since 1886. Two other post offices opened and closed inside today’s town.

Harton
1877–1878
Barton
1880–1886
White
1886–today
18701950today

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

The story

How White came to be

From Wikipedia’s history of White.

Read it all →

White was laid out in 1884, and named in honor of W. H. White, a first settler.

Text from Wikipedia, licensed CC BY-SA 4.0.

Timeline

White, 1877 to 1887

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

  1. 19th century
  2. 1877Post officeThe Harton post office opens
  3. 1878Post officeThe Harton post office closes
  4. 1880Post officeThe Barton post office opens
  5. 1886Post officeThe Barton post office closes
  6. 1886Post officeThe White post office opens
  7. 1887Born hereWilliam L. McKnight is born here
By decade

White, decade by decade

Today1 recent
SDMap-doton-White2004SDMap-doton-White
Stories next door

History across the town line

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

Afton TownshipIts storynot graded: under 1,000 residents or part of its townSherman TownshipIts storynot graded: under 1,000 residents or part of its town

Questions about White’s history

What year was White founded?

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

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), Wikipedia, Wikidata and Wikipedia for famous people, 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.