Brief History of Wagner

Wagner was a railroad town incorporated in April 1901 with a population comprised of immigrants from Holland, Norway, Sweden, and Czechoslovakia who poured in when the land was opened for homesteading in 1895. Before 1895, the Yankton Sioux Tribe had settled on the reservation which later became known as Charles Mix County.

The original town was located three and one-half miles south of its present site. Walter W. Wagner was the first appointed postmaster of the “Tar Paper Town” or “TESPANA” as called by the Yankton Sioux Indians, who up until 1895 were the landlords of the eastern half of Charles Mix County, the Yankton Sioux Reservation. Mr. Wagner erected a tar paper covered store and was granted a postal right by the US government.

The city of Wagner, laid out by the Milwaukee Land Company in 1900, was named for Walter Wagner because he took a group of Milwaukee railroad officials on a fishing trip that was so successful they decided to name the town for their host.

Wagner has enjoyed steady development over the last 100 plus years. Today the Yankton Sioux and the European immigrants continue living and working together to make life better for all of the population.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Wagner,_South_Dakota

https://data.census.gov/profile/Wagner_city,_South_Dakota?g=160XX00US4668020