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History · Barnhill Township

Barnhill Township’s post office opened in 1871

Most of Barnhill Township was built recently: 7% of its homes predate 1940 and the median home dates from 2000. Below: maps from 1948 on.

1871first post office
0on the National Register
7%homes built before 1940
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Quick answers

How Barnhill Township began

When was Barnhill Township founded?

1871

The Barnhill Township post office opened in 1871, the earliest record of the town by name.

2020 census: 618155 years
Founding year: the first Barnhill Township post office (Blevins & Helbock, CC0).

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

Start Barnhill Township’s collection

The first neighbors to add old photos shape how Barnhill 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

Barnhill Township, in brief

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

Barnhill is an unincorporated community in Wayne County, Illinois, United States. Barnhill is west of U.S. Route 45 and north of Mill Shoals. Barnhill had a post office, which closed on March 5, 2005.

Its first post office opened in 1871. Between the 2010 and 2020 censuses its population grew from 597 to 618 (+4%).

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

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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On the map

Barnhill Township on the map, 1948 to 1971

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

Barnhill Township on the 1948 USGS mapBarnhill Township on the 1971 USGS map1948Fairfield 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 Barnhill Township.

Famous people

Famous people close to Barnhill Township

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

See all →
William BorahAmerican politician · b. 1865
B. O. FlowerAmerican journalist · b. 1858
Harold A. GarmanUnited States Army Medal of Honor recipient · b. 1918
James V. HeidingerAmerican politician · b. 1882
Roy ClippingerAmerican politician · b. 1886
Bill TrotterAmerican baseball player · b. 1908
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
BarnhillHubbard
Gone or out of use
Carter SchoolschoolClay City Oil FieldoilfieldJohnson SchoolschoolPleasant Ridge Schoolschool
8cemeteries and burying grounds inside Barnhill Township
AtteberryBorahGardnerGiffordKenshaloPuckettSimpsonWright

US Post Offices dataset (Blevins & Helbock, CC0). 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.

Leech TownshipIts storynot graded: under 1,000 residents or part of its townMill Shoals TownshipIts storynot graded: under 1,000 residents or part of its townGrover Township2 historic placesA−Big Mound TownshipIts storyC+Crouch TownshipIts storynot graded: under 1,000 residents or part of its town

Questions about Barnhill Township’s history

What year was Barnhill Township founded?

The Barnhill Township post office opened in 1871, 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, 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.