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A−History
History · Annawan Township

Annawan Township dates to 1853, and 33% of its homes were built before 1940

More historic than 77% of U.S. towns. What drives it

Its Register listings are the Ryan Round Barn and the Annawan Chapter House. Below: maps from 1929 on and the census since 1880.

1853founded
2on the National Register
33%homes built before 1940
Add an old photoShare a memory
Quick answers

How Annawan Township began

When was Annawan Township founded?

1853

Annawan Township dates its founding to 1853 (Wikidata). The census first counted it in 1880.

First census: 396 in 18802020 census: 1,143173 years

How historic is Annawan Township?

A−

More historic than 77% of U.S. towns, on its age, its old homes and the National Register.

What drives the grade ↓
Founding year: Wikidata. First post office: 1848.The full story ↓
History grade

What drives Annawan Township’s History grade

On its age, its old homes and the National Register, Annawan Township is more historic than 77% of U.S. towns. Its share of homes from before 1940 holds the grade up; its age pulls it down.

A−
HistoryA character grade: shown, never part of Annawan Township’s overall grade.
Founding era1853, from Wikidata: founded 1850–1899, an older era than 37% of U.S. townsC+Homes built before 194032.7% of homes (±5.8) · typical IL town 10.6% · U.S. 8.4%ANational Register2 listings, 18.5 per 10,000 residents · typical IL town 0.5 · U.S. 2.4B+
All U.S. towns we grade (21,289)Ahead of 77%
NewerOlder

Few Illinois towns list much on the Register (a typical Illinois town has 0.5 per 10,000 residents, the U.S. 2.4), so Annawan Township’s 18.5 sits above most of its state (86% of Illinois towns have fewer) while its 2 listings outnumber those of 60% of U.S. towns.

How sure. Graded on any two of the three inputs instead, the letter would range from B to A. The pre-1940 share is a Census survey estimate (±5.8 points). Two sources give 1853.

Founding year: Wikidata (other dates in Quick answers). Homes: Census ACS 2020–24. National Register: National Park Service, May 2026 list; each listing counted once (boundary changes and added documentation belong to their listing), and a historic district counts its contributing buildings. How TownRatings grades history →

What stands out about Annawan 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 Annawan Township are in the public archives yet. The rest are in attics and albums.Old housesHalf of Annawan Township’s homes were built before 1962.
★ What stands out · Help out

Start Annawan Township’s collection

The first neighbors to add old photos shape how Annawan 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

How Annawan Township came to be

From Wikipedia’s history of Annawan Township.

Read it all →

Daniel Morton came to the area in 1846 and built the first log cabin. Gilbert Morton was the first child born here that year to Daniel and his wife Sarah. The following year a schoolhouse was built on the Morton property. The land the Mortons found was a swampy marsh to the north with higher ground to the south. Mud Creek meandered through the area and Green River paralleled the current Interstate 80 to the north.

ChaptersPresent day

Text from Wikipedia, licensed CC BY-SA 4.0.

Timeline

Annawan Township, 1848 to 1929

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

  1. 19th century
  2. 1848Post officeThe Burns post office opens
  3. 1853
    FoundingAnnawan Township is established
  4. 1879Post officeThe Burns post office closes
  5. 20th century
  6. 1910BuiltAnnawan Chapter House is built
  7. 1929On the mapFirst mapped by the U.S. Geological Survey
By decade

Annawan Township, decade by decade

Today11 recent
Giant cupcake and chicken display (the chicken's having little to do, directly, with ice cream) outside Paxton's Corner…2019Giant cupcake and chicken display (the chicken's havi…Spaceman and American flag "far from the moon but rather outside Paxton's Corner Coop ice-cream (and other treats) parl…2019Spaceman and American flag "far from the moon but rat…Hoods of old, rusted vehicles parked beside a shed for no perceptible reason in the little town of Annawan, Illnois2019Hoods of old, rusted vehicles parked beside a shed fo…Whimsical display outside Paxton's Corner Coop ice-cream (and other treats) parlor in the little Illinois town of Annaw…2019Whimsical display outside Paxton's Corner Coop ice-cr…Paxton's Corner Coop ice-cream (and other treats) parlor, replete with whimsy, in the little Illinois town of Annawan2019Paxton's Corner Coop ice-cream (and other treats) par…Lane past a country cemetery and cornfields outside Annawan, Illinois2019Lane past a country cemetery and cornfields outside A…Hilltop country cemetery outside Annawan, Illinois2019Hilltop country cemetery outside Annawan, IllinoisANNAWAN CHAPTER HOUSE, HENRY COUNTY, ILLINOIS2013ANNAWAN CHAPTER HOUSE, HENRY COUNTY, ILLINOISAnnawan, Illinois2012Annawan, IllinoisAnnawan Ill2009Annawan IllILMap-doton-Annawan2006ILMap-doton-Annawan
On the map

Annawan Township on the map, 1929 to 1983

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

Annawan Township on the 1929 USGS mapAnnawan Township on the 1932 USGS mapAnnawan 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 Annawan Township.

On the National Register

2 historic places in Annawan Township

The country’s official list of buildings and places worth saving.

places listed
2
National Historic Landmarks
0
none yet
historic buildings protected
2
each building in a district counts
first listed
1974
Ryan Round Barn
Ryan Round BarnAnnawan Chapter House, built 1910
Buildings

Architectural styles listings

Prairie School1
Ryan Round BarnBuilding
Annawan Chapter HousePrairie School · Built 1910

National Park Service, National Register of Historic Places. Photos from Wikimedia Commons, credited on each place’s page.

People over time

Annawan Township, census by census

02004006008001,00018801900192019401960198020002020Peak: 908

Between 387 and 908 people in every census since 1880.

15 censuses, 1880–2020.

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

Places that used to be

Lost post offices and places now gone

Another post office, Burns, opened and closed inside today’s town.

Gone or out of use
Blinn SchoolschoolBurns SchoolschoolFerguson SchoolschoolHold Ridge SchoolschoolMcLaughlin SchoolschoolMoon SchoolschoolPalmer SchoolschoolUnion Schoolschool

US Post Offices dataset (Blevins & Helbock, CC0). 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.

Alba TownshipIts storynot graded: under 1,000 residents or part of its townCornwall TownshipIts storynot graded: under 1,000 residents or part of its townKewanee Township2 historic placesA−Mineral TownshipIts storynot graded: under 1,000 residents or part of its townAnnawanIts storynot graded: under 1,000 residents or part of its town

Questions about Annawan Township’s history

What year was Annawan Township founded?

In 1853, according to Wikidata. Annawan Township’s post office opened in 1848, and the census of 1880 counted 396 people here.

How does Annawan Township rank for history?

Annawan Township is more historic than 77% of U.S. towns. The History grade combines the town’s founding era, the share of homes built before 1940 and its National Register listings. It’s a character grade, so it isn’t part of the overall grade. How it works.

What is on the National Register in Annawan Township?

Two places: the Ryan Round Barn (listed 1974) and the Annawan Chapter House (1980).

How old are the homes in Annawan Township?

33% of Annawan Township’s homes were built before 1940 (Census estimate, ±5.8 points), against a typical 11% for an Illinois town; the median home was built in 1962.

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).

From Wikimedia Commons (4), the Library of Congress (7), Wikidata (1), the National Register of Historic Places (2), Wikipedia, U.S. Geological Survey historical maps, U.S. Census counts (via Wikipedia), 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.