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History · Ashland Township

Ashland Township’s post office opened in 1857, and 22% of its homes were built before 1940

Below: maps from 1932 on and the census since 1870.

1857first post office
0on the National Register
22%homes built before 1940
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Photo: Tedder · CC BY 4.0
Quick answers

How Ashland Township began

When was Ashland Township founded?

1857

The Ashland Township post office opened in 1857, the earliest record of the town by name.

First census: 203 in 18702020 census: 1,282169 years
Founding year: the first Ashland Township post office (Blevins & Helbock, CC0).

What stands out about Ashland 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 Ashland Township are in the public archives yet. The rest are in attics and albums.
★ What stands out · Help out

Start Ashland Township’s collection

The first neighbors to add old photos shape how Ashland 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

Ashland Township, in brief

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

Ashland is a village in Cass County, Illinois, United States. The population was 1,218 at the 2020 census.

Its first post office opened in 1857. Between the 2010 and 2020 censuses its population fell from 1,398 to 1,282 (-8%).

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

By decade

Ashland Township, decade by decade

Today2 recent
Ashland IL limits2026Ashland IL limitsAshland Illinois - aerial2025Ashland Illinois - aerial
On the map

Ashland Township on the map, 1932 to 1983

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

Ashland Township on the 1932 USGS mapAshland Township on the 1983 USGS map1932Virginia 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 Ashland Township.

People over time

Ashland Township, census by census

02004006008001,0001,2001,40018801900192019401960198020002020Peak: 1,361

Between 203 and 1,361 people in every census since 1870.

16 censuses, 1870–2020.

U.S. Census Bureau decennial counts, from the census table on Ashland 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
Gurney
Gone or out of use
Centenary SchoolschoolCrows Point SchoolschoolGurney Schoolschool
4cemeteries and burying grounds inside Ashland Township
AshlandCooperCrowSaint Augustine

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.

Philadelphia Township1 historic placenot graded: under 1,000 residents or part of its townNewmansville TownshipIts storynot graded: under 1,000 residents or part of its town

Questions about Ashland Township’s history

What year was Ashland Township founded?

The Ashland Township post office opened in 1857, 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 Wikimedia Commons (2), 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.