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History · Allison Township

Allison Township’s post office opened in 1827

Most of Allison Township was built recently: 0.0% of its homes predate 1940 and the median home dates from 2013. Below: maps from 1915 on.

1827first post office
0on the National Register
0.0%homes built before 1940
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Quick answers

How Allison Township began

When was Allison Township founded?

1827

The Allison Township post office opened in 1827, the earliest record of the town by name. Two smaller post offices, Allison (1827) and West Port (1855), opened inside today’s town and later closed.

2020 census: 278199 years
Founding year: the first Allison Township post office (Blevins & Helbock, CC0).

What stands out about Allison 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 Allison Township are in the public archives yet. The rest are in attics and albums.Lost villages2 post offices opened and closed inside today’s Allison Township, and 1 old place names are still on the map.On the map since 19154 editions of the USGS map, 1915 to 1998. Watch Allison Township change.Deep rootsA post office since 1827: 199 years of Allison Township.
★ What stands out · Help out

Start Allison Township’s collection

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

Decades since 1900 with photos
00s10s20s30s40s50s60s70s80s90s
0 of 10 decades. The empty ones are waiting for someone’s album.
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Places that used to be

Lost post offices, old corners, places now gone and burying grounds

Two other post offices opened and closed inside today’s town.

Allison
1827–1902
West Port
1855–1906
18201920today
Hamlets and corners on the map
Westport
Gone or out of use
Allison Post Officepost officeBellewood SchoolschoolBemanlocaleCenterville SchoolschoolHolliday SchoolschoolPlank Road SchoolschoolShiloh SchoolschoolUnion SchoolschoolWabash Schoolschool
4cemeteries and burying grounds inside Allison Township
CentervilleCughanHowardOtterburn

US Post Offices dataset (Blevins & Helbock, CC0). Places and cemeteries from the USGS Geographic Names Information System (2021).

On the map

Allison Township on the map, 1915 to 1998

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

Allison Township on the 1915 USGS mapAllison Township on the 1944 USGS mapAllison Township on the 1980 USGS mapAllison Township on the 1998 USGS map1915Vincennes 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 Allison Township.

The story so far

Allison Township, in brief

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

Allison Township is located in Lawrence County, Illinois. As of the 2020 census, its population was 278 and it contained 153 housing units. Allison Township derives its name from Allison's Prairie, which was settled by the Allison family in the 1810s.

Its first post office opened in 1827. Between the 2010 and 2020 censuses its population grew from 267 to 278 (+4%).

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

Timeline

Allison Township, 1827 to 1915

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

  1. 19th century
  2. 1827Post officeThe Allison post office opens
  3. 1855Post officeThe West Port post office opens
  4. 20th century
  5. 1902Post officeThe Allison post office closes
  6. 1906Post officeThe West Port post office closes
  7. 1915On the mapFirst mapped by the U.S. Geological Survey
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.
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Famous people

Famous people close to Allison Township

Nobody well known was born in Allison Township itself, so here are the best known from just nearby.

See all →
Red SkeltonAmerican comedian · b. 1913
Alice TerryAmerican actress · b. 1899
Buck JonesAmerican actor · b. 1890
George W. JonesAmerican politician, judge and diplomat · b. 1804
Joseph W. BarrAmerican politician · b. 1918
L
Lester MelroseAmerican record producer · b. 1891
Stories next door

History across the town line

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

Russell TownshipIts storynot graded: under 1,000 residents or part of its townLawrence Township1 historic placeA−Denison Township1 historic placeA

Questions about Allison Township’s history

What year was Allison Township founded?

The Allison Township post office opened in 1827, the earliest record of the town by name (U.S. post office records).

Memory lane

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

Town Square →
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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, the US Post Offices dataset (Blevins & Helbock) 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.