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Baileyville, IL SignPhoto: Ben Jacobson (Kranar Drogin) · CC BY 2.5
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History · Baileyville

Baileyville’s post office opened in 1858, and 82% of its homes were built before 1940

Below: maps from 1942 on.

1858first post office
0on the National Register
82%homes built before 1940
Add an old photoShare a memory
Photo: Ben Jacobson (Kranar Drogin) · CC BY 2.5
Quick answers

How Baileyville began

When was Baileyville founded?

1858

The Baileyville post office opened in 1858, the earliest record of the town by name.

2020 census: 187168 years
Founding year: the first Baileyville post office (Blevins & Helbock, CC0).

What stands out about Baileyville’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 Baileyville are in the public archives yet. The rest are in attics and albums.Old housesHalf of Baileyville’s homes were built before 1938.
★ What stands out · Help out

Start Baileyville’s collection

The first neighbors to add old photos shape how Baileyville’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

Baileyville, in brief

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

Baileyville is an unincorporated community and census designated place (CDP) in Ogle County, Illinois, and is located west of Rockford. As of the 2020 census, Baileyville had a population of 187. In 1818, the area of the present Village of Baileyville was inhabited by various Indian tribes; 3 years before the Blackhawk War in 1832, Thomas Crane built a log cabin about one half mile north of the current village, and a small settlement developed there called Cranes Grove, which included a stage coach stop, provided a change of horses and care for travelers headed for Galena and its lead mines; By 1853 the Illinois Central Railroad had completed a railroad line which ran about one half mile ea…

Its first post office opened in 1858.

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

By decade

Baileyville, decade by decade

Today3 recent
Baileyville, IL Sign2007Baileyville, IL SignBaileyville, IL Old Grain Elevator2007Baileyville, IL Old Grain ElevatorBaileyville, IL Grain Elevator2007Baileyville, IL Grain Elevator
On the map

Baileyville on the map, 1942 to 1983

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

Baileyville on the 1942 USGS mapBaileyville on the 1983 USGS map1942Forreston 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 Baileyville.

Famous people

Famous people close to Baileyville

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

See all →
Jane AddamsAmerican feminist social activist, reformer, so… · b. 1860
Calista FlockhartAmerican actress · b. 1964
Louella ParsonsAmerican gossip columnist · b. 1881
George Kingsley ZipfAmerican statistician · b. 1902
Alfred A. CohnAmerican screenwriter · b. 1880
Carl CainAmerican basketball player · b. 1934

Questions about Baileyville’s history

What year was Baileyville founded?

The Baileyville post office opened in 1858, 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 (3) and U.S. Geological Survey historical maps. Archive images are copied here with their credits and licenses, shown on each photo’s page. Refreshed monthly.