The first group of Euro-American settlers to reach the area that is now Brown County was a party of four people, three horses, two mules, fifteen cattle, and two wagons.

Aberdeen was first officially plotted as a town site on January 3, 1881, by Charles Prior, the superintendent of the Minneapolis office of the Chicago, Milwaukee, and St. Paul Railroad, or the Milwaukee Road for short, which was presided over by Alexander Mitchell, Charles Prior's boss, who was responsible for the choice of town names.

However, this soon became a problem due to Aberdeen's periodic flooding, which led to it being referred to as "The Town in the Frog Pond".

At first, this unique condition presented no problem to the newly constructed buildings because it had not rained very much but, when heavy rains fell, the Pond reappeared and flooded the basements of every building on Main Street, causing many business owners and home owners much turmoil.

The artesian well was designed by the city engineers to prevent flooding and develop a water system.

L. Frank Baum, who was later author of the book The Wonderful Wizard of Oz and its many sequels, lived here with his wife and children from 1888 to 1891.

The James River enters northeastern South Dakota in Brown County, where it is dammed to form two reservoirs northeast of Aberdeen.

The city is bisected by Moccasin Creek, a slow-moving waterway which flows south and then northeast to the James River.

[15] Aberdeen experiences a humid continental climate (Köppen Dfa) influenced by its position far from moderating bodies of water.

This brings four distinct seasons, a phenomenon that is characterized by hot, relatively humid summers and cold, dry winters, and it lies in USDA Hardiness Zone 4b.

[17] Snowfall occurs mostly in light to moderate amounts during the winter, totaling 42 inches (107 cm).

The festival has been host to Kevin Costner, Graham Greene, Adam Greenberg, CSA and many more stars of film and television.

The Northern State University Theater Department puts on plays during the school year.

Aberdeen was a stop to the majors for such notable players as Don Larsen (perfect game in the World Series), Lou Piniella (AL rookie of the year with Kansas City Royals in 1969), and Jim Palmer, Baseball Hall of Fame pitcher for the Baltimore Orioles.

Aberdeen has 19 public tennis courts throughout the city – Melgaard Park (4), Northern State University (6), and Holgate Middle School (8).

Over 100 group fitness classes are offered each week with child watch available (short term childcare).

He left after a severe drought led to the failure first of his variety store Baum's Bazaar, and then to his newspaper The Aberdeen Saturday Pioneer, where he wrote an opinion column titled Our Landlady.

The Kuhnert Arboretum provides many new learning experiences for the residents of the Aberdeen area, including school-aged children.

The Arboretum offers environmental education, a children's area, rose garden collection, recreational trails and much more.

Three separate areas in this park cater to the needs of campers, swimmers, naturalists, boaters and anglers.

Richmond Lake Recreation Area's small campground offers a quiet camping experience.

Hikers, bikers, and horseback riders can observe the abundance of prairie plants and wildlife of the area up-close.

The park has multiple private and public boat ramps as well as an accessible fishing dock.

Richmond Lake has a population of walleye, northern pike, bass, perch, crappie, bluegill, catfish, and bullheads within its waters.

The City Manager is Robin Bobzien, and the City Council is composed of Mayor Travis Shaunaman and Council Members Char Liebelt, Rich Ward, Erin Fouberg, Rob Ronayne, Alan Johnson, Tiffany Langer, David Novstup and Justin Reinbold.

They are all in office until December 2020[28] In 2008, Governor Mike Rounds named Aberdeen as the South Dakota Community of the Year.

The Aberdeen School District's enrollment for the year 2011–2012 was approximately 3,945 students,[29] and the average class size was in the low to mid-twenties.

NSU was originally called the Institute of South Dakota before changing its name to Northern Normal and Industrial School in 1901.

All the lines saw little traffic and were eventually abandoned by the Chicago and Northwestern before its 1995 merger with the Union Pacific Railroad.

Toyota Rent-a-Car and Nissan Rental Car are located at Harr Motors across from the airport.