Peaked at 1,019 in 1980; 704 people lived here in 2020.
17 censuses, 1860–2020.
U.S. Census Bureau decennial counts, from the census table on Avon’s Wikipedia page.
Every building
Avon, building by building, 1893–1912
Fire insurance maps drew every building, what it was made of and what it was used for, so insurers could price the risk of fire. Pick a year, then a sheet.
1893Sheet 1 of 1
Edition
Sheets
BrickWoodStone
Sanborn Map Company, via the Library of Congress. Editions published in 1930 or earlier, which are in the public domain.
Ira Woods and his family settled in Avon in 1835. Avon was named "Woodsville" from 1837 to 1843. In 1843, the town became big enough to ask for a post office. The name was then changed to "Woodstock". On April 4, 1852, the United States Postmaster General gave the town the name of "Avon" to avoid confusion with another community in McHenry County, IL. Avon was once a thriving town, due in part to the railroad industry, by serving as a method of transporting cattle to the slaughterhouses in Chicago and also as a stop between Chicago and Quincy.
Passages that mention Avon, cut from the printed page as they were published.
History of Fulton county, Illinois1879 · page 1009Read the page →
Read the text
The main line of the C, B. & Q. which runs from Galcsburg to Quiucy, enters tiiis county at section 5, Union townshij), and makes its exit at section 30 near the town of Avon, which is on this road. This branch of the road was built as the Northern Cross Railroad. The enterprise was agitated as early as 1851, and by 1856 the road was built. Connections wore made with the Central Military Tract Railroad for Chicago. Shortly afterward these two roads, with the Peoria & Oquawka, fell into the hands of the Chicago,
Text read by machine from the scan; it may contain errors.
History of Fulton county, Illinois1879 · page 880Read the page →
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This lovely little village is situated in the western part of Union township, on the C, B. cV: Q. Railroad, and was founded March 5, 1854, by R. Woods, O. H. Woods and D. N. Wright, and now has a population of about one thousand inhabitants. The town of Avon was chartered March 8, 18G7, by a sj)ecial act of the Legislature, and tiie first corporate election was held the same year, at which the following officers were elected: D. H. Small, President; J. L. Coe,
Text read by machine from the scan; it may contain errors.
Scans and text from the Internet Archive. Books published in 1930 or earlier, which are in the public domain.
Timeline
Avon, 1837 to 1980
Woven from the archive, old maps, post office records, the National Register and the people born here.
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.
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 (3), Wikipedia, Wikidata and Wikipedia for famous people, U.S. Geological Survey historical maps, U.S. Census counts (via Wikipedia), the US Post Offices dataset (Blevins & Helbock), the USGS Geographic Names Information System, Sanborn fire insurance maps (Library of Congress) and old county and town histories (Internet Archive). Archive images are copied here with their credits and licenses, shown on each photo’s page. Refreshed monthly.
Date?
2017
