Guest, Sign inJoin

Post to Alba Township

We’ll email a one-tap link to publish your post. No password, and nothing is public until you click it.
Already a member? Sign in
–Not graded
History · Alba Township

Alba Township dates to 1856, and 40% of its homes were built before 1940

Below: maps from 1929 on and the census since 2000.

1856founded
0on the National Register
40%homes built before 1940
Add an old photoShare a memory
Quick answers

How Alba Township began

When was Alba Township founded?

1856

Alba Township dates its founding to 1856 (Wikidata). The census first counted it in 2000.

First census: 190 in 20002020 census: 173170 years
Founding year: Wikidata.

What stands out about Alba Township’s past

Read from the archive, the National Register and the record. The page puts what stands out first.

A history waiting to be writtenNo old photos of Alba Township are in the public archives yet. The rest are in attics and albums.Old housesHalf of Alba Township’s homes were built before 1946.
★ What stands out · Help out

Start Alba Township’s collection

The first neighbors to add old photos shape how Alba Township’s history is told.

Decades since 1900 with photos
00s10s20s30s40s50s60s70s80s90s
0 of 10 decades. The empty ones are waiting for someone’s album.
Share a family photoSign in to add one+10
The story so far

Alba Township, in brief

Wikipedia doesn’t have a history of Alba Township yet. The photos, dates and memories neighbors add here are how it gets written.

Alba Township is one of twenty-four townships in Henry County, Illinois, USA. As of the 2020 census, its population was 173 and it contained 90 housing units. Alba Township changed its name from Elba Township on April 13, 1857. The name may be derived from Elba, New York, the native home of a share of the early settlers.

Alba Township was established in 1856. Between the 2010 and 2020 censuses its population fell from 220 to 173 (-21%).

Intro from Wikipedia. Population: U.S. Census Bureau.

By decade

No old photos in the archives yet

Weddings on Main Street, storms, parades, school pictures, the old store. If it’s in your family album, it belongs here.

Be the first to add onePhotograph a print flat, in daylight, no flash.
Add from your album
On the map

Alba Township on the map, 1929 to 1983

Every edition of the U.S. Geological Survey’s map of Alba Township. Tap a year, or press play to watch the town change.

Alba Township on the 1929 USGS mapAlba Township on the 1932 USGS mapAlba Township on the 1983 USGS map1929Annawan sheet · 1:62,500

U.S. Geological Survey historical topographic maps (public domain), via Esri’s collection of the scans. The red ring marks the center of Alba Township.

People over time

Alba Township, census by census

010020020002020Peak: 220

Between 173 and 220 people in every census since 2000.

3 censuses, 2000–2020.

U.S. Census Bureau decennial counts, from the census table on Alba Township’s Wikipedia page.

Places that used to be

Old corners, places now gone and burying grounds

Old hamlets and crossroads still carry their names on the map.

Hamlets and corners on the map
Kedron
Gone or out of use
Baker SchoolschoolKipp SchoolschoolMaple Grove SchoolschoolPritchard SchoolschoolThompson Airportairport
3cemeteries and burying grounds inside Alba Township
GobleMaple GroveSacred Heart

Places and cemeteries from the USGS Geographic Names Information System (2021).

Stories next door

History across the town line

Each neighbor’s History grade, on the same three inputs.

Annawan Township2 historic placesA−Yorktown TownshipIts storynot graded: under 1,000 residents or part of its townGold TownshipIts storynot graded: under 1,000 residents or part of its townAtkinson TownshipIts storyB−AnnawanIts storynot graded: under 1,000 residents or part of its townFairfield Township1 historic placenot graded: under 1,000 residents or part of its town

Questions about Alba Township’s history

What year was Alba Township founded?

In 1856, according to Wikidata. the census of 2000 counted 190 people here.

Memory lane

What the archives can’t tell you, neighbors can.

Town Square →
Start a conversation
Sources

Where this page comes from

Founding dates: Wikidata, Wikipedia, the U.S. post office records of Blevins & Helbock (CC0) and the Census. Homes by year built: Census ACS 2020–24. National Register of Historic Places: National Park Service (list of May 22, 2026). Old photos, postcards and papers: Wikimedia Commons, the Library of Congress and other public archives, credited on each item’s page. Maps: U.S. Geological Survey historical topographic maps (via Esri) and Sanborn fire-insurance maps (Library of Congress). History text and census tables: Wikipedia (CC BY-SA 4.0). Places that used to be: USGS Geographic Names Information System (2021). How TownRatings grades history →

From U.S. Geological Survey historical maps, U.S. Census counts (via Wikipedia) and the USGS Geographic Names Information System. Archive images are copied here with their credits and licenses, shown on each photo’s page. Refreshed monthly.