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History · Owanka

Owanka’s history is
mostly unwritten

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

0old images & papers
0recent photos

The story

from WikipediaRead it all ↗

The first settlement at Owanka was made in 1888. A post office called Owanka was established in 1907. Owanka is a name derived from the Sioux language, meaning "good camping ground."

Now mostly a ghost town, a single family resides in Owanka. In addition to those two people, several others reside outside the town limits.

South Dakota Magazine offers a photo gallery of old Owanka buildings in this article reference:

Text from Wikipedia, licensed CC BY-SA 4.0.

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Start Owanka’s collection

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

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

Owanka, 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.
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National Register of Historic Places

Nothing in Owanka is on the National Register yet

That’s true of most small towns. It doesn’t mean Owanka has no history, only that no one has written up a nomination. The closest listed place is Calumet Hotel in Wasta, 6.6 miles away.

Owanka and the nearest listed places

Dashed line = Owanka. Tap a dot.
Calumet HotelWasta Rest Stop Tipi-WestboundWasta Rest Stop Tipi-EastboundSouth Dakota Department of Transportation Bridge No. 52-824-300South Dakota Department of Transportation Bridge No. 52-575-383Josef and Marie Kudrna Homestead and Ranch

Closest to Owanka

Calumet HotelWasta · Built 19086.6miWasta Rest Stop Tipi-WestboundWasta · Built 19686.8miWasta Rest Stop Tipi-EastboundWasta · Built 19687.1miSouth Dakota Department of Transportation Bridge No. 52-824-300Wasta · Built 19409miSouth Dakota Department of Transportation Bridge No. 52-575-383Caputa · Structure17.4mi

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. Calumet Hotel’s page links to a real one.
Know an old place in Owanka?A mill, a schoolhouse, a cellar hole, a church: add a photo of it to Owanka’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
📜 Wasta📜 Wasta📜 Shyne📜 Crooked Creek
The coffee’s on

Where to, neighbor?

You’re in Owanka, SDPennington CountyView boundary

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Boundary source: https://tigerweb.geo.census.gov/arcgis/rest/services/TIGERweb/Places_CouSub_ConCity_SubMCD/MapServer/15 · 2025-01-01
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