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History · Ashton

Ashton’s history is
mostly unwritten

The public archives hold no old photos of Ashton. The rest are in attics, shoeboxes and the historical society. Help start the collection.

0old images & papers
1recent photos

The story

from WikipediaRead it all ↗

Ashton was founded in 1879, but it was moved and replatted on the current site in 1881 in order to be located on a new railroad line. The town most likely takes its name after Ashton, England. A post office called Ashton has been in operation since 1879.

Text from Wikipedia, licensed CC BY-SA 4.0.

Be one of the first

Start Ashton’s collection

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

0 of 10 decades since 1900 have photos 📦Share a family photoSign in to add one+10

Famous people from Ashton

See all 1 →
KBKenneth F. BakerScience & Medicine
By decade

Ashton, decade by decade

Before
2000
No old photos in the archives yetWeddings on Main Street, storms, parades, school pictures, the old store. If it’s in your family album, it belongs here.
📷 Add from your album
Today1 photo
SDMap-doton-AshtonCommonsSDMap-doton-Ashton2004
National Register of Historic Places

Nothing in Ashton is on the National Register yet

That’s true of most small towns. It doesn’t mean Ashton has no history, only that no one has written up a nomination. The closest listed place is Edbert and Josie Opitz House in Redfield, 7.8 miles away.

Ashton and the nearest listed places

Dashed line = Ashton. Tap a dot.
Edbert and Josie Opitz HouseRedfield Light Plant and Fire StationChicago and Northwestern DepotSpink County CourthouseRedfield Carnegie LibraryNorbeck-Nicholson Carriage House

Closest to Ashton

Edbert and Josie Opitz HouseRedfield · Built 19497.8miRedfield Light Plant and Fire StationRedfield · Built 19008.1miChicago and Northwestern DepotRedfield · Built 19148.2miSpink County CourthouseRedfield · Built 19278.2miRedfield Carnegie LibraryRedfield · Built 19028.2mi

How a place gets listed

1Talk to the stateEvery nomination goes through the State Historic Preservation Office. Owners, towns and historical societies can start one.
2Try a local or state list firstMany states keep their own register with a shorter form, a common first step for old barns, halls and schoolhouses.
3Write it upA nomination covers the history, photos and a map. Edbert and Josie Opitz House’s page links to a real one.
Know an old place in Ashton?A mill, a schoolhouse, a cellar hole, a church: add a photo of it to Ashton’s story, or a memory of it.
📷 Add a photo of an old place
National Park Service, National Register of Historic Places · photos from Wikimedia Commons

Then & now

When neighbors add old photos, retakes from the same spot appear here side by side.

Stories next door

nearby towns’ history
📜 Jefferson📜 Three Rivers📜 Great Bend📜 Athol

From Wikimedia Commons (1). Images are copied here with their credits and licenses, shown on each photo’s page. Refreshed monthly.

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Boundary source: https://tigerweb.geo.census.gov/arcgis/rest/services/TIGERweb/Places_CouSub_ConCity_SubMCD/MapServer/18 · 2025-01-01
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