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South Fulton ChurchhouseSouth Fulton Churchhouse · Photo: Jim Roberts · CC BY-SA 4.0
AHistory
History · Astoria Township

Astoria Township dates to 1836, and 24% of its homes were built before 1940

More historic than 85% of U.S. towns. What drives it

Its Register listing is the South Fulton Churchhouse. Below: 2 old photos and papers, maps from 1926 on, and the census since 1880.

1836founded
1on the National Register
24%homes built before 1940
2old photos & papers
Add an old photoShare a memory
From Astoria Township’s archive · credits on each photo
Quick answers

How Astoria Township began

When was Astoria Township founded?

1836

Astoria Township dates its founding to 1836 (Wikipedia’s history). The census first counted it in 1880.

First census: 1,280 in 18802020 census: 1,248190 years

How historic is Astoria Township?

A

More historic than 85% of U.S. towns, on its age, its old homes and the National Register.

What drives the grade ↓
Founding year: Wikipedia. First post office: 1837.
History grade

What drives Astoria Township’s History grade

On its age, its old homes and the National Register, Astoria Township is more historic than 85% of U.S. towns. All 3 inputs are above most U.S. towns; its share of homes from before 1940 ranks highest and its National Register listings lowest.

A
HistoryA character grade: shown, never part of Astoria Township’s overall grade.
Founding era1836, from Wikipedia: founded 1776–1849, an older era than 75% of U.S. townsA−Homes built before 194023.7% of homes (±6.0) · typical IL town 10.6% · U.S. 8.4%A−National Register1 listing, 8.6 per 10,000 residents · typical IL town 0.5 · U.S. 2.4B+
All U.S. towns we grade (21,289)Ahead of 85%
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 Astoria Township’s 8.6 sits above most of its state (82% of Illinois towns have fewer) while its 1 listings outnumber those of 51% of U.S. towns.

How sure. Graded on any two of the three inputs instead, the letter would still be A−. The pre-1940 share is a Census survey estimate (±6.0 points). Two sources give 1836.

Founding year: Wikipedia (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 Astoria 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 2 old photos are in the public archives. The rest are in attics and albums.Boom and bustPeaked at 1,684 in 1900; 929 people lived here in 2020.Deep rootsEstablished in 1836: 190 years of Astoria Township.Old housesHalf of Astoria Township’s homes were built before 1964.
★ What stands out · Help out

Start Astoria Township’s collection

The first neighbors to add old photos shape how Astoria 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 viewC.B. & Q. Depot and Train, Astoria, Ill…: stand where they stood+15Share a family photoSign in to add one+10
People over time

Astoria Township, census by census

02004006008001,0001,2001,4001,6001,80018801900192019401960198020002020Peak: 1,684

Peaked at 1,684 in 1900; 929 people lived here in 2020.

15 censuses, 1880–2020.

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

Timeline

Astoria Township, 1836 to 1926

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

  1. 19th century
  2. 1836
    FoundingAstoria Township is established
  3. 20th century
  4. 1900CensusPopulation peaks at 1,684
  5. 1914In the archiveC.B. & Q. Depot and Train, Astoria, Ill. 17288
  6. 1926On the mapFirst mapped by the U.S. Geological Survey
The story so far

Astoria Township, in brief

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

Astoria is an incorporated town in Fulton County, Illinois, United States. The population was 929 at the 2020 census. It was originally laid out as the town of Washington in 1836, relocated as Vienna in 1837, and renamed as Astoria in 1839. The name honors fur titan John Jacob Astor, who supposedly owned land in or near the town.

Astoria Township was established in 1836. Between the 2010 and 2020 censuses its population fell from 1,464 to 1,248 (-15%).

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

By decade

Astoria Township, decade by decade

One decade in the archive so far: the 1910s. Scroll each row; tap a photo for its story.

1910s2 items
C.B. & Q. Depot and Train, Astoria, Ill. 172881914C.B. & Q. Depot and Train, Astoria, Ill. 17288C.B. & Q. Depot and Train, Astoria, Ill. 172881914C.B. & Q. Depot and Train, Astoria, Ill. 17288
1920s–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
Today2 recent
Astoria Town Hall 2026-07-252026Astoria Town Hall 2026-07-25Downtown2020Downtown
On the map

Astoria Township on the map, 1926 to 1981

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

Astoria Township on the 1926 USGS mapAstoria Township on the 1944 USGS mapAstoria Township on the 1981 USGS map1926Beardstown 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 Astoria 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.

C.B. & Q. Depot and Train, Astoria, Ill. 17288
Retake this viewC.B. & Q. Depot and Train, Astoria, Ill. 17288, 1914

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

Retake this view · +15
On the National Register

1 historic place in Astoria Township

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

place listed
1
National Historic Landmarks
0
none yet
historic buildings protected
1
each building in a district counts
first listed
1994
South Fulton Churchhouse
South Fulton Churchhouse
Buildings

Architectural styles listings

Meetinghouse1
South Fulton ChurchhouseMeetinghouse

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

Places that used to be

Places now gone and burying grounds

Gone or out of use
Brown SchoolschoolCampbell Landing StripairportFarr SchoolschoolFox Ridge SchoolschoolGood Hope SchoolschoolGood Hope SchoolschoolKost SchoolschoolOak Grove SchoolschoolPleasant Ridge SchoolschoolPleasantdale SchoolschoolSugar Grove ChurchchurchSugar Grove Schoolschool
5cemeteries and burying grounds inside Astoria Township
AstoriaOak GroveSalemSouth FultonUnion Chapel

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.

Woodland TownshipIts storynot graded: under 1,000 residents or part of its townVermont Township16 historic placesnot graded: under 1,000 residents or part of its townOakland TownshipIts storynot graded: under 1,000 residents or part of its townBrowning TownshipIts storynot graded: under 1,000 residents or part of its townRushville Township2 historic placesA−

Questions about Astoria Township’s history

What year was Astoria Township founded?

In 1836, according to Wikipedia’s history of the town. Astoria Township’s post office opened in 1837, and the census of 1880 counted 1,280 people here.

How does Astoria Township rank for history?

Astoria Township is more historic than 85% 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 Astoria Township?

One place: the South Fulton Churchhouse (listed 1994).

How old are the homes in Astoria Township?

24% of Astoria Township’s homes were built before 1940 (Census estimate, ±6.0 points), against a typical 11% for an Illinois town; the median home was built in 1964.

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 National Register of Historic Places (1), 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.