Timber Lake, 1910 to Today...
Timber Lake was born in the summer of 1910 on the northern edge of the Cheyenne River Sioux Reservation. The town formed before the railroad had even reached the community. Most of our early residents were homesteaders who came to the area as part of the Homestead Act of 1862 that opened the Dakota Territories. Main Street began with the first businesses located in tents on the south side of the nearby lake.
In 1913, a real estate businessman named B.M. Herman said this in his pamphlet encouraging people to move to Timber Lake:
“No state in the union can offer the advantages for a home that does South Dakota. We have a mild and healthful climate and millions of acres of fertile soil awaiting the care and cultivation that soon will be given to it by the people who are flocking to its borders. We have numerous lines of railroads, affording market for all produce. We have ample rainfall, assuring good crops. We have energetic and intelligent people, assuring the best conveniences, such as school and churches, telephone, and government … the wealth per capita is the greatest of any state in the Union. The broad fields await your coming, and in them lies hidden boundless wealth and independent existence.”
Although the railroad tracks were removed years ago, Timber Lake’s Main Street still offers businesses to meet residents’ needs, and we serve as the county seat for Dewey County. Still today, the Timber Lake community is a booming area with what B.M. Herman called “golden opportunities.”
Today’s Main Street has a few buildings still standing from the early years, including Dakota Image, which was formerly the Drees Brothers Store, Kelly’s Grocery, and Dakota Silk Screen. The Timber Lake Topic newspaper office has existed since the town’s founding and is still the official weekly newspaper for the community.
The two newest buildings on Main Street, built in 2024, house long-time community staples Moreau Grand Electric COOP and Western Dakota Bank. Despite our town’s name, not many trees grow by the lake.
“You don’t come to Timber Lake for the hustle and bustle. You come to relax and enjoy conversations with people.”
Largely an agricultural community, Timber Lake is surrounded and supported by families who make their living raising livestock and growing a variety of crops.
In our free time, rodeo is a popular sport for all ages, most notably the Days of 1910 Celebration Rodeo each summer. It doesn’t matter what is happening at the Timber Lake Public School, all events have a great community following.
Timber Lake is one of the few places left where neighbors know each other and care for one another in times of need. Though we are small, we have a big heart and even bigger dreams. And while not many trees grow along the lakeshore, we think you will find the beauty of the rich prairie grasses along the creek lands of the Little Moreau River to be beautiful and peaceful.