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History · Artesia Township

49% of Artesia Township’s homes were built before 1940

Below: maps from 1948 on and the census since 2000.

0on the National Register
49%homes built before 1940
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What stands out about Artesia 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 Artesia Township are in the public archives yet. The rest are in attics and albums.Old housesHalf of Artesia Township’s homes were built before 1942.
★ What stands out · Help out

Start Artesia Township’s collection

The first neighbors to add old photos shape how Artesia 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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The story so far

Artesia Township, in brief

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

Artesia Township is one of twenty-six townships in Iroquois County, Illinois, United States. As of the 2020 census, its population was 854 and it contained 402 housing units. Artesia Township formed from portions of Ash Grove and Loda townships sometime prior to 1921.

Between the 2010 and 2020 censuses its population fell from 945 to 854 (-10%).

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.
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On the map

Artesia Township on the map, 1948 to 1986

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

Artesia Township on the 1948 USGS mapArtesia Township on the 1986 USGS map1948Buckley 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 Artesia Township.

People over time

Artesia Township, census by census

02004006008001,0001,20020002020Peak: 1,076

Between 854 and 1,076 people in every census since 2000.

3 censuses, 2000–2020.

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

Famous people

Famous people close to Artesia Township

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

See all →
Leslie C. ArendsAmerican politician · b. 1895
Curtiss LaQ. DayAmerican aviator · b. 1895
F
Frank GriffithAmerican baseball player · b. 1872
Antoinette DowningAmerican historian · b. 1904
E
Earl PetersonAmerican musician · b. 1927
Elmer KoestnerAmerican baseball player · b. 1885
Places that used to be

Places now gone and burying grounds

Gone or out of use
Drake SchoolschoolHoltz SchoolschoolPond Lily SchoolschoolPrairie Dell SchoolschoolVan Neste SchoolschoolVeatch Schoolschool
2cemeteries and burying grounds inside Artesia Township
LiskSaint Johns Lutheran

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.

Loda Township1 historic placeB−Onarga TownshipIts storyBPigeon Grove TownshipIts storyBAsh Grove Township1 historic placenot graded: under 1,000 residents or part of its townLyman TownshipIts storynot graded: under 1,000 residents or part of its town

Questions about Artesia Township’s history

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, 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.