Oakwood

Oakwood, called Tetonkaha Lakes when visited in 1838 by Nicollet and Fremont, was the site of a small fort north of Little Round Lake in 1857 and was again occupied in 1863-64. The township was surveyed by Richard F. Pettigrew in September 1871, and James Stoughton and Samuel Mortimer, known as “Old Spot,” soon took claims and lived in the area until 1875. Meanwhile Byron and W. W. Pay arrived in 1873. James S. Cummings, later postmaster on May 4, 1877, came in 1875, and William P., William C. Miller, J. S. Beardsley, and R. P. Devan came in 1876. Arthur S. Mitchell arrived May 1, 1877. Preceded in Brookings County only by Medary, founded in 1857 and re-settled in 1871, Oakwood was the second community and, connected by stage with Medary, Flandreau, and the south, it became a thriving community. John C. Ogden platted it for Joshua Downing in April 1879, and it served as a stage stop for Goodwin and Gary until the fall of 1879, when the Dakota Central reached Volga seven miles south and an exodus followed to the railhead. The post office was discontinued in 1894, and mail then went to Bruce.

South Dakota · United States