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History · Bear Creek Township

49% of Bear Creek Township’s homes were built before 1940

1 place in town is on the National Register, among them a historic district with 134 buildings. Below: maps from 1946 on and the census since 1870.

1on the National Register
49%homes built before 1940
Add an old photoShare a memory

What stands out about Bear Creek Township’s past

Read from the archive, the National Register and the record. The page puts what stands out first.

A historic districtThe Central Springfield Historic District takes in 134 historic buildings.A history waiting to be writtenNo old photos of Bear Creek Township are in the public archives yet. The rest are in attics and albums.Boom and bustPeaked at 1,321 in 1890; 516 people lived here in 2020.Old housesHalf of Bear Creek Township’s homes were built before 1942.
★ What stands out · On the National Register

1 listing protects 134 historic buildings

The country’s official list of buildings and places worth saving. Boundary changes and added documentation are counted with their listing.

place listed
1
National Historic Landmarks
0
none yet
historic buildings protected
134
each building in a district counts
first listed
2016
Central Springfield Historic District
Central Springfield Historic District
Districts
Central Springfield Historic DistrictDistrict

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

Help out

Start Bear Creek Township’s collection

The first neighbors to add old photos shape how Bear Creek Township’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

Bear Creek Township, census by census

02004006008001,0001,2001,40018801900192019401960198020002020Peak: 1,321

Peaked at 1,321 in 1890; 516 people lived here in 2020.

16 censuses, 1870–2020.

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

The story so far

Bear Creek Township, in brief

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

Bear Creek Township is one of seventeen townships in Christian County, Illinois, United States. At the time of the 2020 census, its population was 516, and it contained 227 housing units.

Between the 2010 and 2020 censuses its population grew from 499 to 516 (+3%).

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

Timeline

Bear Creek Township, 1871 to 1946

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

  1. 19th century
  2. 1871Post officeThe Clarksdale post office opens
  3. 1890CensusPopulation peaks at 1,321
  4. 20th century
  5. 1931Post officeThe Clarksdale post office closes
  6. 1946On the mapFirst mapped by the U.S. Geological Survey
By decade

Bear Creek Township, decade by decade

Today2 recent
Palmer elevator 2026-07-032026Palmer elevator 2026-07-03Bear Creek township building 2026-07-032026Bear Creek township building 2026-07-03
On the map

Bear Creek Township on the map, 1946 to 1998

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

Bear Creek Township on the 1946 USGS mapBear Creek Township on the 1980 USGS mapBear Creek Township on the 1998 USGS map1946Nokomis 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 Bear Creek Township.

Famous people

Famous people close to Bear Creek Township

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

See all →
Edward Mills PurcellAmerican physicist · b. 1912
Jon CorzineAmerican politician in New Jersey · b. 1947
Yvonne CraigAmerican actress · b. 1937
Larry BucshonAmerican politician and physician · b. 1962
Joyce TaylorAmerican actress · b. 1932
George LloydActor · b. 1892
Places that used to be

Lost post offices, old corners, places now gone and burying grounds

Another post office, Clarksdale, opened and closed inside today’s town.

Hamlets and corners on the map
Clarksdale
Gone or out of use
Brookside SchoolschoolMaple Grove SchoolschoolMeader SchoolschoolRosedale SchoolschoolWenzler Schoolschool
3cemeteries and burying grounds inside Bear Creek Township
DurbinHarpers FerryThomas Anderson

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.

Ricks TownshipIts storyBKing TownshipIts storynot graded: under 1,000 residents or part of its townJohnson TownshipIts storynot graded: under 1,000 residents or part of its town

Questions about Bear Creek Township’s history

What is on the National Register in Bear Creek Township?

One place: the Central Springfield Historic District (listed 2016).

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). How TownRatings grades history →

From Wikimedia Commons (2), the National Register of Historic Places (1), 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.