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History · Belknap

Belknap’s post office opened in 1873, and 27% of its homes were built before 1940

Below: maps from 1918 on and the census since 1890.

1873first post office
0on the National Register
27%homes built before 1940
Add an old photoShare a memory
Photo: Brian Stansberry · CC BY-SA 4.0
Quick answers

How Belknap began

When was Belknap founded?

1873

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

First census: 358 in 18902020 census: 88153 years
Founding year: the first Belknap post office (Blevins & Helbock, CC0).The full story ↓

What stands out about Belknap’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 Belknap are in the public archives yet. The rest are in attics and albums.Boom and bustPeaked at 424 in 1920; 88 people lived here in 2020.On the map since 19183 editions of the USGS map, 1918 to 1966. Watch Belknap change.
★ What stands out · Help out

Start Belknap’s collection

The first neighbors to add old photos shape how Belknap’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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People over time

Belknap, census by census

01002003004001900192019401960198020002020Peak: 424

Peaked at 424 in 1920; 88 people lived here in 2020.

14 censuses, 1890–2020.

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

On the map

Belknap on the map, 1918 to 1966

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

Belknap on the 1918 USGS mapBelknap on the 1942 USGS mapBelknap on the 1966 USGS map1918Vienna 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 Belknap.

The story

How Belknap came to be

From Wikipedia’s history of Belknap.

Read it all →

Belknap was established 1873 as a stop along what would become the Big Four Railroad. It was likely named for William Worth Belknap, who served as U.S. Secretary of War during this period. A post office was established that same year, and the village incorporated in 1880.

Text from Wikipedia, licensed CC BY-SA 4.0.

From the old history books

What they wrote about Belknap in 1925

Passages that mention Belknap, cut from the printed page as they were published.

at Burnside. There has been a number of attempts since 1910 to discover oil in this county but the wells sunk never reached the fountain; although experts contend there is oil here. Near the village of Belknap there are some tile ovens as the clay in that locality is suitable for this business. The…
A history of Johnson County, Illinois1925 · page 31Read the page →
Read the text

at Burnside. There has been a number of attempts since 1910 to discover oil in this county but the wells sunk never reached the fountain; although experts contend there is oil here. Near the village of Belknap there are some tile ovens as the clay in that locality is suitable for this business. The ovens are operated only part of the year. Charcoal is also manufactured in shipping quantities at this plant.

Text read by machine from the scan; it may contain errors.
combe Cavitt, Clyde, Buncombe Shawmeeker, Wm. W., Vienna Miller, James A., Belknap Riley, John R., Belknap Porter, George E., Belknap Lokey, Wm. A., Belknap Sandifer, Henry, Belknap
A history of Johnson County, Illinois1925 · page 209Read the page →
Read the text

combe Cavitt, Clyde, Buncombe Shawmeeker, Wm. W., Vienna Miller, James A., Belknap Riley, John R., Belknap Porter, George E., Belknap Lokey, Wm. A., Belknap Sandifer, Henry, Belknap

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

Belknap, 1873 to 1920

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

  1. 19th century
  2. 1873Post officeThe Belknap post office opens
  3. 20th century
  4. 1918On the mapFirst mapped by the U.S. Geological Survey
  5. 1920CensusPopulation peaks at 424
By decade

Belknap, decade by decade

Today12 recent
Scene at Heron Pond and the Little Black Slough in the Cache River State Natural Area near Belknap, Illinois2019Scene at Heron Pond and the Little Black Slough in th…Scene at Heron Pond and the Little Black Slough in the Cache River State Natural Area near Belknap, Illinois2019Scene at Heron Pond and the Little Black Slough in th…Scene at Heron Pond and the Little Black Slough in the Cache River State Natural Area near Belknap, Illinois2019Scene at Heron Pond and the Little Black Slough in th…Belknap-welcome-sign-il2017Belknap-welcome-sign-ilBelknap-post-office-il2017Belknap-post-office-ilBelknap-farm-il2017Belknap-farm-ilBelknap-Tunnel-Hill-trail-il2017Belknap-Tunnel-Hill-trail-ilBelknap-Mikes-Saw-Shop-il2017Belknap-Mikes-Saw-Shop-ilBelknap-Community-Church-il2017Belknap-Community-Church-ilCentral Newt (Notophthalmus viridescens louisianensis) - Flickr - GregTheBusker2010Central Newt (Notophthalmus viridescens louisianensis…Central Newt (Notophthalmus viridescens louisianensis) - Flickr - GregTheBusker (2)2010Central Newt (Notophthalmus viridescens louisianensis…Central Newt (Notophthalmus viridescens louisianensis) - Flickr - GregTheBusker (1)2010Central Newt (Notophthalmus viridescens louisianensis…
Famous people

Famous people close to Belknap

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

See all →
Rumer WillisAmerican actress · b. 1988
John T. ScopesAmerican schoolteacher · b. 1900
Boots RandolphAmerican musician · b. 1927
Oscar MicheauxAmerican writer and director · b. 1884
Irvin S. CobbAmerican writer · b. 1876
Steven Curtis ChapmanAmerican contemporary Christian music singer-so… · b. 1962

Questions about Belknap’s history

What year was Belknap founded?

The Belknap 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 →
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 (9), the Library of Congress (3), Wikipedia, 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 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.