Post Offices & Old Towns

Lyman County South Dakota's Genealogy

LYMAN COUNTY POST OFFICES

NAME ESTABLISHED DISCONTINUED/CHANGED

AMMONS 7/5/1908 3/28/1913 to MCCLURE

ANNIN 11/ 28/ 1904 11/30/1909 to PRESHO

BOVINE 8/8/1891 5/15/1906 to MIDLAND

CAPA 2/20/1907 to Jones County

CAVITE 3/13/1901 11/30/1916 to PRESHO

CEDAR FORK 11/15/1906 1913 to MCCLURE

DIRKSTOWN 7/5/1894 9-2-1905 to OACOMA

DOWNING 7-3-1894 9-21-1895 to OACOMA

DRAPER 7-6-1906 1916 to Jones County

EARLING 5-15-1890 4-10-1906 to Hotch City

FORT HALE 1-29-1879 6-16-1884 to Chamberlain

FT. LOOKOUT 11-6-1919 1923

GRASSROPE 11-7-1921 3-31-1931 to Lower Brule

HIGHLAND 12-2-1904 5-17-1909

HOTCH CITY 4-25-1891 2-7-1906 to Kennebec

HOUSTON 5-25-1894 3-15-1894 to Tripp County

HULTMAN 6-27-1894 12-22-1899 to Moore

IMER 11-29-1904 5-14-1906-to Reliance

IONA 2-11-1898 to Gregory (Tripp County)

IRON NATION 12-21-1922 1938 to Kennebec

KENNEBEC 2-7-1906 present

KINNICKINIC 5-23-1909 11-15-1915 to Oacoma

KOLLS 5-22-1905 3-31-1915 to Highland

LEIR 2-5-1907 3-31-1911 to Draper (Jones County)

LLOYD 5-22-1905 rescinded

LOWER BRULE 8-29-1888 1963 to present location

LYMAN (N. of Oac) 3-31-1890 5-22-1893 to Oacoma

LYMAN (2^nd) 12-2-1908 6-14-1920 to Kennebec

LUND 5-19-1903 6-14-1911 to Presho

MCCLURE 9-14-1903

MITTON 11-16-1906 6-22-1908 to Vera

MOORE 6-30-1881 5-22-1906 to Vivian

MURDO 3-14-1906 to Jones County (May 1917)

MUSSMAN 4-8-1905 7-6-1906 to Draper (Jones County)

OACOMA 8-19-1890 present

OKATON 9-18-1906 to Jones County ( maybe Jackson?)

PRATT 6-11-1890 12-3-1893

PRESHO 6-30-1891 present

RELIANCE 10-19-1905 present

ROSEBUD LANDING 2-4-1879, 3-6-1879; then 9-16-1879 and moved 5-24-1880, to Bijou Hills

ROWE 1-18-1911 3-18-1918 to Sully County

SPEARS 9-12-1905 10-30-1909 to Draper (now Jones County)

STONY BUTTE 10-25-1906 6-31-1911 to Vivian

SWEENEY 4-15-1904 5-14-1927 to Presho

SYLVIA 4-12-1901, 8-31-1905 to Edna, discontinued 9-3-1907

TOLEDO 6-25-1913 11-13-1915 to Murdo (now Jones County)

VAN METER 3-25-1907 3-22-1914

VERA 1-27-1908 1923 to Vivian

VINCENT 7-10-1894 6-17-1895 never in operation

VIVIAN 5-22-1906 present

WESTOVER 6-30-1891 11-15-1902

ZICKRICK 4-20-1895 8-5-1911 to Hilmoe

Lyman County opened in 1890. In those 108 years we have seen 50 post offices open and with the separation of Presho and part of Jones County along with the discontinuation of post offices. We have six post offices remaining: Kennebec, Lower Brule , Oacoma, Presho, Reliance and Vivian.

Towns originally in Lyman County and their locations

Ammons* ….. NW corner Imer ….. NE of Reliance Okaton ….now Jones Co

Annin* ….. W. Central Iona ….. SE corner Park*

Bovine* Hotch City* …NW of Kennebec Pratt*

Capa* Iron Nation ….. N Central Presho ….. W. Central

Cavite* ….. SW Kennebec ….. Central Reliance ….. E. Central

Cedarfork* ….. NW corner Kinnikinic* ….. SE corner Rosebud Landing* Gregory Co.

Dirkstown* …SW of Reliance Kolls* … see Jones County Rowe* see Stanley County

Downing* ….. E. of Reliance Leir* … see Jones County Spears* see Jones County

Draoer … now Jones County Lloyd * Stonybutte ….. NW corner

Earling* ….. NW of Kennebec Lower Brule ….. NE Sweeney* In Presho area

Edna* ….. S. Central Lund* ….. W. Central Sylvia* ….. NW corner

Fort Hale* …… NE Lyman ….. Central Toledo* See Jones County

Fort Lookout* ….. E Central McClure* ….. NW Van Metre* see Jones County

Grass Rope* Big Bend area Mitton *… see Jones County Vera* See Jones County

Highland* … see Jones County Moore* ….. W. Central Vivian ….. W. Central

Hilmoe* ….. SW corner Murdo now Jones County Westover … see Jones County

Houston* ….. S. Central Mussman* … see Jones County Zickrick* ..SW corner Jones Co.

Hultman* ….. SW Oacoma ….. S. Central

Locations of a few of the old towns I have found.

Camp Pleasant: Not necessarily an old town, but worth mentioning since it was so named by Lewis and Clark as they went through here on their expedition to the Pacific coast. They enjoyed the area so much, they extended their stay to 3 days on their way up river and stayed again on their return trip. The site was east of Oacoma, along the banks of the river.

Dirkstown: A townsite along the railroad path southwest of Reliance. Moved to Reliance when it was settled. The Dirks' daughter, Florence, devoted her life to Reliance High School after graduating from there. Named after the Dirks brothers, Peter and Issac.

Earling: Located four or five miles west of Kennebec

Fort Hale: Again, not a townsite. This fort was established by the US Government and manned by a regiment of black("Buffalo") soldiers to settle the Indians who were hostile to the homesteaders. Located north of Oacoma, up-river on the west side, north of Cedar Shore Resort.

Gladstone: A small village that grew up near the Lower Brule Indian Agency located southwest of present-day Oacoma, resulting in the town of Oacoma today being divided into Gladstone (west half) and Seamans Addition (east half.) My real estate is listed as in the town of Gladstone although I live in what was downtown Main Street Oacoma. The majority of the Oacoma business district is to the north of the community.

Herron: This was the first name given to Reliance, named after its founder. Changed because it sounded too much like Huron in the northeast part of the state.

Hilmoe: Six miles south and six miles west of Presho.

Hotch City: Near Kennebec, located west of Medicine Creek on the south edge of town. Platted by T.B. Hotchkiss, the first person to receive a deed for a piece of land on the Great Sioux Indian Reservation, 1891.

Huston: Situated along the White river south of Reliance long washed away by the raging Missouri River.

Kinnikinnic: Near the White River in the Iona area.

Lyman # 1: Three miles north of present-day Oacoma on west side of river. Steamboat landing. Moved to Oacoma when it was established.

Lyman #2: East of Kennebec. Some records indicate there was a Lyman closer to Kennebec, then the Lyman area as we know if today (1998). No businesses remaining, nor post office.

McClure: North of Presho. Much about it in the book "Land of the Burnt Thigh."

Moore: A short distance east of Vivian. The Moore Post Office was in his store on his ranch.