Map of Java town

Java is a town in Walworth County, South Dakota, United States. The population was 121 at the 2020 census.

Java derives its name from Java coffee, and Coffee Town was an early variant name. Java received its name from railroad crews on the Chicago, Milwaukee & St. Paul Railway Line who would stop for coffee in the town prior to the railroad’s relocation in 1908.

Java town overview:
Name:	Java town
LSAD Code:	43
LSAD Description:	town (suffix)
State:	South Dakota
County:	Walworth County
Incorporated:	1903
Elevation:	2,096 ft (639 m)
Total Area:	0.49 sq mi (1.27 km²)
Land Area:	0.49 sq mi (1.27 km²)
Water Area:	0.00 sq mi (0.00 km²)
Total Population:	121
Population Density:	245.93/sq mi (95.02/km²)
ZIP code:	57452
Area code:	605
FIPS code:	4632460
GNISfeature ID:	1255814

Online Interactive Map

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Java online map. Source: Basemap layers from Google Map, Open Street Map (OSM), Arcgisonline, Wmflabs. Boundary Data from Database of Global Administrative Areas.

Java location map. Where is Java town?

Java location on the U.S. Map. Where is Java town. — Java location on the U.S. Map.

Java location on the South Dakota map. Where is Java town. — Location of Java in South Dakota.

History

Java was founded in 1900, shortly after the Chicago, Milwaukee & St. Paul Railway Line was extended from Bowdle to the Missouri River. The village was incorporated into a town by election in 1903 after survey of the townsite by Surveyor George Merriman of Bowdle on September 5 of that year.

Many of the first homesteaders were of German, Russian, Dutch, English, and Hungarian ancestry. The Java Herald, the first newspaper serving the town, was established in 1903 by Carl F. Clement, and was printed in both English and German.

In 1904, the first municipal building, a jail, was erected, in addition to gravel streets and an engine house equipped with a fire engine, hoses, and other related items. Additionally, the Dakota Central Telephone Company installed a telephone booth and switchboard at The Java House, Java’s first hotel, founded in 1900 by H. A. Taylor. Later, wooden sidewalks, a water reservoir, a town hall, a town well, and a windmill (to grind grain) were added. These additions were paid by warrants issued by the town, and in 1906 a $2,000 bond issue was passed to remove the debt.

In 1905, the Kupp Brothers, J. C. and George, supervised the installation of a more permanent telephone system in the town for the Dakota Telephone Co.

By 1907, the town possessed fire protection, a cemetery association, water supply, municipal buildings, and improved telephone facilities. Another addition to the town was made when the Milwaukee Land Company had their property north of the railroad track surveyed and added.

From 1908-1909, the railroad company rerouted its track, passing north of the town by one-half mile. The citizens received a proposal from railroad officials to move the town north, however, this proposal was refused, and the town was served thereafter by a spur line constructed by the company.

By 1913, the town had a Catholic, a Presbyterian, a German Lutheran, and a German Congregational Church. In 1915, the wooden sidewalks along Main street were removed and replaced with cement sidewalks. Later that year, the town hall was remodeled, the jail was moved, a bell tower was constructed. In 1916, a municipal light plant was constructed. In 1921, a schoolhouse was constructed, and at this time Java was incorporated from a town into a city, and adopted the Mayor-Alderman form of government, the first mayor under this new system being Carl F. Clement. In 1939, a Public Works Administration project was begun, creating a waterworks system to include both commercial and private users.

In 1947, the city saw the creation of a park board that established a city park just west of the school house.

Java High School

In 1901, the first term of school was help in a building that had been relocated into town, serving twenty-three students, ranging in age from five to eighteen years. In 1903, a frame school building was built on the site two blocks east of Main Street and was used until 1921, when the fireproof brick schoolhouse was constructed.