Keystone’s history is
mostly unwritten
The public archives hold only 4 old photos of Keystone. The rest are in attics, shoeboxes and the historical society. Help start the collection.
The story so far
from Wikipedia & the U.S. CensusKeystone is a city in the Black Hills region of Pennington County, South Dakota, United States. The population was 240 at the 2020 census. It had its origins in 1883 as a mining town, and has since transformed itself into a resort town, serving the needs of the millions of visitors to the Mount Rushmore National Memorial, which is located just beyond the town limits. Keystone was heavily damaged in the 1972 Black Hills flood. The town took its name from a local mine, which most likely was named after the keystone Masonic symbol.
Keystone was established in 1883. Between the 2010 and 2020 censuses its population fell from 337 to 240 (-29%). Half of its homes were built before 1977.
Wikipedia doesn’t have a history of Keystone yet — the old photos, dates and memories neighbors add here are how it gets written.
Intro from Wikipedia, licensed CC BY-SA 4.0. Population and housing: U.S. Census Bureau.
Timeline
built from the dates on the items belowStart Keystone’s collection
The first neighbors to add old photos shape how Keystone’s history is told.
2 of 10 decades since 1900 have photos 🔁Retake an old viewSpodumene - large crystals in gra…, 1908: stand where they stood+15 📦Share a family photoSign in to add one+10Famous people from Keystone
See all 1 →
Keystone, decade by decade
1930s
1990s
4 historic places in Keystone
4 places in Keystone are on the National Register of Historic Places, the country’s official list of buildings and places worth saving.
Where they are
When they were listed
Listed 1966Mount Rushmore National Memorial
Listed 1981Keystone School
Listed 1982Keystone Trading Company StoreListed 1982Lewis Byron HouseThen & now
No then-and-now pairs yet. Take a photo from the same spot as Spodumene - large crystals in granite - Etta mine (1908) and it appears here side by side.
🔁 Retake this view · +15Stories next door
nearby towns’ historyFrom Wikimedia Commons (1), the Library of Congress (3) and the National Register (2). Images are copied here with their credits and licenses, shown on each photo’s page. Refreshed monthly.