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A Gazetteer for the United States and Canada
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Welcome to Fort Thompson ...

Fort Thompson is located in Buffalo County<1>.

While we don't have a date for the founding of Fort Thompson, you might consider that their post office opened in 1916.

A typical abbreviation for Fort Thompson: Ft. Thompson

From the 2010 Census (the most recent Census number we have), Fort Thompson had a population of 1,282 people.<2> (see below for details).

Fort Thompson is 1,440 feet [439 m] above sea level.<3>.

Time Zone: Fort Thompson lies in the Central Time Zone (CST/CDT) and observes daylight saving time

Area Code for Fort Thompson: 605

The ZIP code for Fort Thompson: 57339<4>

Communities near Fort Thompson ...

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

  • Chamberlain
    (18 miles [29 km] to the south)
  • Oacoma
    (18 miles [29 km] to the south)
  • Reliance
    (15 miles [24.1 km] to the southwest)
  • Stephan
    (12 miles [19.3 km] to the north)
  • East Lyman
    (14 miles [22.5 km] to the southwest)
    • East Lyman is located in Lyman County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for East Lyman
    • Estimated population in 2019: 145 people
  • Shelby
    (14 miles [22.5 km] to the southeast)
    • Shelby is located in Buffalo County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Shelby
    • Estimated population in 2014: 96 people
  • Lyman
    (19 miles [30.6 km] to the southwest)
    • Lyman is located in Lyman County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Lyman
    • Estimated population in 2014: 43 people
  • Lower Brule
    (7 miles [11.3 km] to the west)
  • Crow Creek
    (13 miles [20.9 km] to the southeast)
  • Ames
    (22 miles [35.4 km] to the northeast)

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 Fort Thompson. Our list includes the location of those cemeteries and we provide an overhead view. See our Cemetery List for Fort Thompson.

Using the information from an 1895 Atlas, we've created a list of communities that were in the area of Fort Thompson. 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 Fort Thompson.

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

TripAdvisor Tourism Pages for Fort Thompson ...

Looking for more information about Fort Thompson? 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.

In addition to the Tourism page for Fort Thompson, there are neighboring communities that also have Tourism pages. More information about those communities can be found on our TripAdvisor Page for Fort Thompson.

Adding Fort Thompson to Our Gazetteer ...

We originally found mention of Fort Thompson 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 (so far) for Fort Thompson was in the document titled List of Post Offices from Cameron Blevins and Richard Helbock.<6>

From that list, the Fort Thompson post office opened in 1916.

For more details, see References and Mentions for Fort Thompson.

Footnotes ...

<1>If you're interested in how the shape of South Dakota's counties, including Buffalo, have changed over time, we recommend the Atlas of Historical County Boundaries.
<2>Population counts have been provided by the U.S. Census Bureau. For more detail, please visit our Census Page for Fort Thompson.
<3>The elevation is an estimate for the area around Fort Thompson - it will be higher in some places and lower in others.
<4>ZIP Codes have been created by the United States Postal Service (USPS) as a way of grouping addresses to make delivery more efficient. The boundaries of the ZIP Code can be changed, re-assigned, eliminated or overlapped with other ZIP Codes. So keep in mind that any given ZIP Code is only 'loosely' associated with a community (such as Fort Thompson). When looking for a ZIP Code, whether Fort Thompson or elsewhere, it's always best to check the website of the United States Postal Service (USPS).
<5>While we're fans and frequent users of TripAdvisor, you should know that we're also members of the TripAdvisor affiliate program.
<6>A copy of the Blevins & Helbock Post Office list with background information can be found at:

      https://cblevins.github.io/us-post-offices/data-biography/