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Bluff Center

Ghost town · Clay County, South Dakota

Gayville NE quadrangle, USGS topographic map (1969, 1:24,000)
Gayville NE quadrangle, USGS topographic map (1969, 1:24,000) · U.S. Geological Survey, Historical Topographic Map Collection · Public domain

Bluff Center is a ghost town in Clay County, South Dakota. It is one of 8 former communities in Clay County on the federal names register. That ranks the county 4th among the 26 South Dakota counties with a vanished settlement on record.

The U.S. Geological Survey lists Bluff Center as a historical populated place on the Gayville NE topographic quadrangle: the name is no longer in official use for a community, whether the settlement was abandoned, absorbed into a neighbouring town or renamed. The recorded location is 42.9208° N, 97.0892° W.

Key facts

USGS quadrangleGayville NE
Elevation1,243 ft
Nearest living townGayville, SD
Distance to it4.8 miles
GNIS feature ID1264502
Coordinates42.92083, -97.08922

Open the location on a map

What's there now

Bluff Center is no longer a community in its own right. The nearest living town is Gayville, SD (population 378), about 4.8 miles away in a straight line, and the site sits at roughly 1,243 feet above sea level. Much of the land around former townsites is private; check access before you visit.

Nearby places

Questions

Where is Bluff Center?

Bluff Center is in Clay County, South Dakota, at 42.9208, -97.0892.

How many ghost towns are in Clay County?

Clay County, South Dakota has 8 ghost towns on record at Wayfarrow.

Sources and licences

Facts marked "approximately" carry an uncertain date in the source. Text on this page is generated from the sources above; no encyclopedia prose is copied. Last updated 2026-11-05.