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History · Baldwin

Baldwin’s post office opened in 1873, and 30% of its homes were built before 1940

Below: maps from 1912 on and the census since 1880.

1873first post office
0on the National Register
30%homes built before 1940
Add an old photoShare a memory
Quick answers

How Baldwin began

When was Baldwin founded?

1873

The Baldwin post office opened in 1873, the earliest record of the town by name.

First census: 271 in 18802020 census: 314153 years
Founding year: the first Baldwin post office (Blevins & Helbock, CC0).

What stands out about Baldwin’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 Baldwin are in the public archives yet. The rest are in attics and albums.Boom and bustPeaked at 3,627 in 2000; 314 people lived here in 2020.On the map since 19124 editions of the USGS map, 1912 to 1982. Watch Baldwin change.Old housesHalf of Baldwin’s homes were built before 1964.
★ What stands out · Help out

Start Baldwin’s collection

The first neighbors to add old photos shape how Baldwin’s history is told.

Decades since 1900 with photos
00s10s20s30s40s50s60s70s80s90s
0 of 10 decades. The empty ones are waiting for someone’s album.
Share a family photoSign in to add one+10
People over time

Baldwin, census by census

05001,0001,5002,0002,5003,0003,5004,00018801900192019401960198020002020Peak: 3,627

Peaked at 3,627 in 2000; 314 people lived here in 2020.

15 censuses, 1880–2020.

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

On the map

Baldwin on the map, 1912 to 1982

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

Baldwin on the 1912 USGS mapBaldwin on the 1942 USGS mapBaldwin on the 1970 USGS mapBaldwin on the 1982 USGS map1912Baldwin 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 Baldwin.

The story so far

Baldwin, in brief

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

Baldwin is a town in Randolph County, Illinois, United States. As of the 2020 census, Baldwin had a population of 314. Baldwin Lake State Fish and Wildlife Area is nearby.

Its first post office opened in 1873. Between the 2010 and 2020 censuses its population fell from 373 to 314 (-16%).

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

Timeline

Baldwin, 1873 to 2000

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

  1. 19th century
  2. 1873Post officeThe Baldwin post office opens
  3. 20th century
  4. 1912On the mapFirst mapped by the U.S. Geological Survey
  5. 21st century
  6. 2000CensusPopulation peaks at 3,627
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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Famous people

Famous people close to Baldwin

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

See all →
E. C. SegarAmerican cartoonist · b. 1894
Whitey HerzogAmerican baseball player and manager · b. 1931
Nora LaneActress · b. 1905
Henry C. HansbroughAmerican politician · b. 1848
Alberta PfeifferAmerican architect · b. 1899
Warren HackerAmerican baseball player · b. 1924

Questions about Baldwin’s history

What year was Baldwin founded?

The Baldwin post office opened in 1873, 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 U.S. Geological Survey historical maps, U.S. Census counts (via Wikipedia), the US Post Offices dataset (Blevins & Helbock) 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.