Online Maps

The following maps of South Dakota and Dakota Territory are online and available for download. Please note the size of the map before downloading—for those of you with slower connections it may take several minutes to download the larger maps.

• Dacotah Territory detail from an 1858 map. (300 KB file)
• 1870 Map published by the state of South Dakota. (400 KB file)
• Northern portion of Dakota Territory from an 1888 Hunt & Eaton map. (700 KB file)
• Southern portion of Dakota Territory from an 1888 Hunt & Eaton map. (800 KB file)

• South Dakota in 1908 - from The New International Encyclopædia, Vol. XIV, Daniel Coit Gilman, Editor (New York: Dodd, Mead & Co., 1908). Courtesy of Danny Brown. (665 KB)
  
• South Dakota in 1920 - from the 1920 Rand McNally Complete Atlas of the World (1.5 MB)
• South Dakota in 1895 (712 KB)
• South Dakota Counties in 1895 - smaller county maps taken from the large 1895 map above. Gives you a great idea of the towns and landscapes of South Dakota around the turn of the century.
• South Dakota Towns in 1895 - includes a listing of county seats, post office, railroads and other information about each town.

• County Boundary Maps - courtesy of Gold Bug Historic Maps & Software
  • 1863 - the South Dakota section of Dakota Territory
  • 1889 - counties at statehood
  • 1911 - mostly present day counties

• South Dakota with County Boundaries - from the U.S. Census Bureau

• Topographical Map (233 KB)
• Topographical Map with County Boundaries (246 KB)

So where is . . . ?

Town/County Locator

A new search engine is available to help you locate which county a town was in, or to locate all the towns existing in a particular county.

Here's how to find out where a geographic name (town, church, cemetery, creek, lake, or anything else that appears on a USGS map of the region) is located in SD (or anywhere else in the US):

• Go to the US Geological Survey's Geonames web site.
• In the box labeled "Feature Name", enter the name of the place you are looking for.
• Use the state pull-down menu to choose the state.
• You can limit your search by using the other boxes for the county name and/or feature type.
• If the search turns up the location, you can then click on the feature's link to get more information. On the right hand side of the page is a list of mapping sites that will show the location of the feature.

Get a free SD State Map

The State Department of Tourism will send you a large map (45"x 18") - all you need to do is ask.

South Dakota Department of Tourism
711 East Wells Avenue
Pierre, South Dakota 57501-3369
Telephone: (800) 732-5682
Fax: (605) 773-3256

How to Order County Maps

County Maps of South Dakota which show cemeteries, churches, and usually include the township and range numbers can be purchased from the State Department of Transportation

Check out their web site for prices and ordering information.