Ragged Top
A historical populated place in Lawrence County, South Dakota, recorded by the U.S. Geological Survey's Geographic Names Information System.
Location Record
Names and historical notes
Recorded by GNIS. Source wording is retained; these notes have not been independently verified by Forgotten America.
GNIS description
Located in the Black Hills, on Ragged Top Mountain, above Spearfish Valley.
GNIS historical note
Originally named Balmoral after one of the early mines in the area. Founded in the early 1880s and later named for its location on Ragged Top Mountain. The mountain produced abundant ore and soon a bustling town developed. Difficulty in processing and transporting the ore to smelters caused the town to gradually fade. (SD-T17/p135)
Also recorded as
- Balmoral
Source editions and recorded citations
Feature ID 1900655. Description/History extract: August 28, 2026. All Names extract: September 30, 2026. Retrieved October 22, 2026. Only populated fields are displayed.
GNIS citation text may identify a source series rather than a specific page. It is reproduced below without implying that its underlying documents were inspected.
- Text Sneve, Virginia Driving Hawk. South Dakota Geographic Names. Brevet Press, Sioux Falls, SD, 1973.
Source: U.S. Geological Survey Geographic Names Information System (GNIS), Historical Features.