Welcome to Empire ...

Empire is located in Butte County<1>.

The location of Empire has been provided by the Geographic Names Information System (ie- the GNIS).<2>

While we don't have a date for the founding of Empire, you might consider that their post office opened  in 1882.

Empire is 2,780 feet [847 m] above sea level.<3> In other words, the elevation of Empire is about ½ mile above sea level.

Time Zone: Empire lies in the Mountain Time Zone (MST/MDT) and observes daylight saving time

The telephone area code for Empire: (605)

Communities Also Named Empire ...

Using our Gazetteer, we found that there are 34 communities that are also named Empire - they are located in Alabama, Arkansas, California (4), Colorado, Florida, Georgia, Illinois, Kansas, Kentucky, Louisiana, Maine, Michigan, Minnesota, Mississippi, Missouri (2), Montana, Nebraska, Nevada (3), North Carolina (2), Ohio, Oklahoma, Ontario, Oregon, Pennsylvania and West Virginia (3).

For more information, see our Tidbits & Trivia Page for Empire.

Communities near Empire ...

We have created a list of 10 communities that are near Empire.

• Sturgis
  (17 miles [27.4 km] to the southwest)
  • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Sturgis
  • Sturgis is located in Meade County
  • Population from the 2020 Census: 6,978 people
  • Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Sturgis <4>
• Whitewood
  (18 miles [29 km] to the southwest)
  • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Whitewood
  • Whitewood is located in Lawrence County
  • Population from the 2020 Census: 999 people
  • Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Whitewood <4>
• Newell
  (8 miles [12.9 km] to the northwest)
  • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Newell have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
  • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Newell
  • Newell is located in Butte County
  • Population from the 2020 Census: 603 people
  • Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Newell <4>
• Nisland
  (12 miles [19.3 km] to the west)
  • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Nisland have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
  • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Nisland
  • Nisland is located in Butte County
  • Population from the 2020 Census: 227 people
  • Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Nisland <4>
• Vale
  (4 miles [6.4 km] to the west)
  • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Vale
  • Vale is located in Butte County
  • Estimated population in 2014: 121 people
  • Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Vale <4>
• Fruitdale
  (18 miles [29 km] to the west)
  • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Fruitdale have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
  • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Fruitdale
  • Fruitdale is located in Butte County
  • Population from the 2020 Census: 68 people
  • Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Fruitdale <4>
• Centennial City ‑ Historic
  (19 miles [30.6 km] to the southwest)
  • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Centennial City have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
  • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Centennial City
  • Centennial City is located in Lawrence County
• Crook City
  (19 miles [30.6 km] to the southwest)
  • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Crook City
  • Crook City is located in Lawrence County
• Saint Onge
  (20 miles [32.2 km] to the west)
  • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Saint Onge
  • Saint Onge is located in Lawrence County
  • Estimated population in 2014: 342 people
  • Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Saint Onge <4>
• Tilford
  (22 miles [35.4 km] to the south)
  • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Tilford have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
  • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Tilford
  • Tilford is located in Meade County

To Help With Your Genealogy Research ...

We have a couple of sections for those tracing their genealogy.

We created a list of cemeteries that are in the area around Empire. Our list includes the location of those cemeteries and we provide an overhead view. See our Cemetery List for Empire.

Using the information from an 1895 Atlas, we've created a list of communities that were in the area of Empire. Our list includes information such as whether the 1895 community had a post office or railroad service. See our List of 1890's Communities around Empire.

We also have a detailed list of newspapers that have been published in the area around Empire. See our Newspapers Page for Empire.

TripAdvisor Tourism Pages for Empire ...

Looking for more information about Empire? A wonderful source is the TripAdvisor website. We always start with the TripAdvisor Tourism page, where you can read an overview with links that will help you find lodging, restaurants and attractions.

While we are unaware of a Tourism page that is specific to Empire, there are neighboring communities that do have Tourism pages. A map of those communities can be found with our TripAdvisor Page for Empire.

Adding Empire to Our Gazetteer ...

We originally found mention of Empire in both the FIPS-55 and the GNIS. For more information, see the FIPS and GNIS Codes sections on our Miscellaneous Page.

From our notes, the earliest published mention we've found for Empire was in the document titled List of Post Offices from Cameron Blevins and Richard Helbock.<5>

From that list, the Empire post office opened in 1882.

We also found Empire in the book titled Business Atlas and Shippers' Guide (1895).

For more details, see References and Mentions for Empire.

Off-the-Road Links ...

Unfortunately, we don't know of a website for Empire. If you can help, please contact us through our Feedback Page.

The official website for State of South Dakota: https://www.sd.gov/