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Albany, Illinois from the Mississippi RiverPhoto: Farragutful · CC BY-SA 4.0
–Not graded
History · Albany Township

Albany Township dates to 1837, and 20% of its homes were built before 1940

Below: 1 old photo or paper, maps from 1984 on, and the census since 1860.

1837founded
0on the National Register
20%homes built before 1940
1old photo or paper
Add an old photoShare a memory
From Albany Township’s archive · credits on each photo
Quick answers

How Albany Township began

When was Albany Township founded?

1837

Albany Township dates its founding to 1837 (Wikidata and Wikipedia’s history agree). The census first counted it in 1860.

First census: 628 in 18602020 census: 1,041189 years
Founding year: Wikidata; Wikipedia’s history section gives the same year. First post office: 1838.The full story ↓

What stands out about Albany 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 writtenOnly 1 old photo is in the public archives. The rest are in attics and albums.Deep rootsEstablished in 1837: 189 years of Albany Township.
★ What stands out · Help out

Start Albany Township’s collection

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

Decades since 1900 with photos
00s10s20s30s40s50s60s70s80s90s
1 of 10 decades. The empty ones are waiting for someone’s album.
Retake an old viewFirst Trust and Savings Bank, Albany, I…: stand where they stood+15Share a family photoSign in to add one+10
Timeline

Albany Township, 1837 to 1984

Woven from the archive, old maps, post office records, the National Register and the people born here.

  1. 19th century
  2. 1837
    FoundingAlbany Township is established
  3. 20th century
  4. 1957In the archiveFirst Trust and Savings Bank, Albany, Ill (NBY 428969)
  5. 1984On the mapFirst mapped by the U.S. Geological Survey
The story

How Albany Township came to be

From Wikipedia’s history of Albany Township.

Read it all →

Albany was laid out in 1837, and named after Albany, New York, the native home of a large share of the first settlers. A post office called Albany has been in operation since 1838.

Text from Wikipedia, licensed CC BY-SA 4.0.

By decade

Albany Township, decade by decade

One decade in the archive so far: the 1950s. Scroll each row; tap a photo for its story.

1950s1 item
First Trust and Savings Bank, Albany, Ill (NBY 428969)1957First Trust and Savings Bank, Albany, Ill (NBY 428969)
1960s–1990snothing yet
Nothing in the archives for these yearsWeddings on Main Street, storms, parades, school pictures, the old store. If it’s in your family album, it belongs here.
Add from your album
Today14 recent
Shops and restaurants in downtown Rock Island, Illinois2019Shops and restaurants in downtown Rock Island, Illino…Very high water from the nearby Mississippi River along the Illinois Great River Road2019Very high water from the nearby Mississippi River alo…Very high water from the nearby Mississippi River along the Illinois Great River Road2019Very high water from the nearby Mississippi River alo…The old C.F. Lusk and Sons Dry Goods store2019The old C.F. Lusk and Sons Dry Goods storeWater is high in a channel of the Mississippi River2019Water is high in a channel of the Mississippi RiverWater is high in a channel of the Mississippi River2019Water is high in a channel of the Mississippi RiverWater is high in a channel of the Mississippi River2019Water is high in a channel of the Mississippi RiverWater is high in a channel of the Mississippi River2019Water is high in a channel of the Mississippi RiverWater is high in a channel of the Mississippi River2019Water is high in a channel of the Mississippi RiverThe public library and adjacent buildings in the small Illinois town of Albany2019The public library and adjacent buildings in the smal…Grain Terminal2018Grain TerminalAlbany, Illinois from the Mississippi River2018Albany, Illinois from the Mississippi RiverAlbany Township Whiteside2007Albany Township WhitesideILMap-doton-Albany2006ILMap-doton-Albany
On the map

Albany Township on the map in 1984

The U.S. Geological Survey’s map of Albany Township.

Albany Township on the 1984 USGS map1984Davenport sheet · 1:100,000

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

Then & now

Stand where they stood

No then-and-now pairs yet. Take a photo from the same spot as an old one and they appear here side by side.

First Trust and Savings Bank, Albany, Ill (NBY 428969)
Retake this viewFirst Trust and Savings Bank, Albany, Ill (NBY 428969), 1957

Find the spot, match the angle, and add your photo. It becomes the first then-and-now pair on Albany Township’s page.

Retake this view · +15
People over time

Albany Township, census by census

02004006008001,000190019502000Peak: 1,014

Between 450 and 1,014 people in every census since 1860.

17 censuses, 1860–2020.

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

Places that used to be

Places now gone

Gone or out of use
Dublin Schoolschool

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.

Cordova TownshipIts storynot graded: under 1,000 residents or part of its townNewton TownshipIts storynot graded: under 1,000 residents or part of its townGarden Plain TownshipIts storynot graded: under 1,000 residents or part of its town

Questions about Albany Township’s history

What year was Albany Township founded?

In 1837, according to Wikidata and Wikipedia’s history of the town. Albany Township’s post office opened in 1838, and the census of 1860 counted 628 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 Wikimedia Commons (5), the Library of Congress (10), Wikipedia, 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.