Beresford: Named for a British Admiral

Before it was Beresford, this patch of Dakota Territory went by the name Paris. That changed in eighteen eighty-three when the Chicago and North Western Railroad built through, financed heavily by British capital. The English investors had a habit of naming the towns they platted after figures from home.

This one was named for Admiral Lord Charles Beresford, a colorful British naval officer who was personally invested in the railroad venture. The town was formally incorporated on July twelfth, eighteen eighty-four.

Beresford sits on the border of Lincoln and Union counties, and most of the city, including city hall, technically falls in Union County despite the Lincoln County address on the original plat. Today it is a quiet agricultural community along Interstate Twenty-Nine, roughly halfway between Sioux Falls and Sioux City.