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About Avon

Rooted in Community

From its agricultural roots and railroad beginnings to the community we know today, generations of people have helped shape Avon, South Dakota.

South Dakota State Historical Society

Our Story

A Community Built on Generations

Avon is a small South Dakota community shaped by generations of families, farmers, business owners, and neighbors who have called this area home. From its agricultural roots and the arrival of the railroad to the businesses, schools, churches, and organizations that followed, Avon’s story is one of growth, connection, and community.

Before Avon

A Region With Deep Roots

Avon’s story begins within the larger history of Bon Homme County and southeastern South Dakota. Long before the town itself developed, the region was shaped by Indigenous history, the Missouri River, agriculture, immigration, and generations of people who lived, traveled, traded, and settled across the area.

By the latter half of the 1800s, settlement and farming were expanding throughout southeastern Dakota Territory. That agricultural growth would eventually help create the conditions for communities like Avon to take shape.

South Dakota State Historical Society

A town takes shape

Agriculture, Opportunity & the Railroad

Avon’s growth as a community was closely tied to the agricultural development of western Bon Homme County. As farms and ranches prospered, local producers needed better access to larger markets and more efficient transportation.

The Chicago, Milwaukee & St. Paul Railroad responded to that need by building a branch line through the area. The arrival of the railroad helped create the conditions for a permanent business community to develop and connected local agriculture with markets beyond the immediate region.

By around 1900, Avon was beginning to take shape as a commercial center serving the surrounding farms and families. Joe Sterba’s saloon was described in a 2004 Congressional Record entry as the town’s first permanent commercial building, with other businesses soon following.

Railroad access helped turn agricultural growth into a permanent community.

beginning in 1901

A Voice for the Community

In the winter of 1901, the Avon Clarion began publication, giving the growing community a newspaper of its own.

For generations, the Clarion documented the people, businesses, events, celebrations, and everyday life of Avon. Its pages became part of the historical record of the community, preserving stories and milestones from Avon’s past.

Through the generations

Built by the People Who Called It Home

Avon’s history is more than the story of a railroad, businesses, or buildings. It is the story of generations of people who built homes, worked the land, opened businesses, raised families, and created the schools, churches, organizations, and traditions that helped shape the community.

The surrounding area was also shaped by waves of immigration and settlement during the late 1800s. Historical accounts document Mennonite families arriving in Dakota Territory in the 1870s and establishing homesteads in the region, adding their own traditions and experiences to the broader story of southeastern South Dakota.

Through changing times and generations, community involvement remained an important part of life in Avon, a tradition that continues in the people, businesses, and organizations that call Avon home today.

Generations of people turned a place on the prairie into a community.

“Dr. John C. and Estella Greenfield House, built 1903, listed in the National Register of Historic Places. Photograph by J. Rau, S.D. State Historic Preservation Office, 1989.”

AVON THROUGH THE YEARS

A Community Through the Generations

From agricultural settlement and the arrival of the railroad to generations of businesses, families, and community life, Avon’s story has continued to unfold for more than a century.

1870s

Settlement and agricultural development expanded throughout southeastern Dakota Territory.

1900

Railroad development helped Avon grow into a permanent commercial community serving surrounding farms and families.

1901

The Avon Clarion began publication, documenting the people, businesses, events, and everyday life of the community.

2004

Avon marked 125 years since its 1879 founding, a milestone formally recognized in the Congressional Record.

Today

Avon continues to be shaped by local businesses, agriculture, families, organizations, and people invested in its future.

The story continues

Proud of Our Past. Looking Toward the Future.

The buildings, businesses, and faces of Avon may have changed through the generations, but the importance of community remains.

Today, Avon continues to be a place where neighbors know one another, local businesses matter, and people come together to support their community. The same determination that helped earlier generations build a town on the South Dakota prairie continues in the people who call Avon home today.

Avon’s story is still being written through the families, businesses, organizations, events, and everyday connections that continue to shape the community.
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HISTORICAL SOURCES

Historical information on this page was compiled from resources including the South Dakota State Historical Society Archives, the Congressional Record recognizing Avon’s 125th anniversary, South Dakota Public Broadcasting historical resources on Bon Homme County, and historical research documenting settlement and communities in the Avon area.