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History · Bell Plain Township

Bell Plain Township’s post office opened in 1838, and 45% of its homes were built before 1940

Below: maps from 1955 on.

1838first post office
0on the National Register
45%homes built before 1940
Add an old photoShare a memory
Quick answers

How Bell Plain Township began

When was Bell Plain Township founded?

1838

The Bell Plain Township post office opened in 1838, the earliest record of the town by name. Three smaller post offices, Crow Meadows (1834), Bell Plain (1838) and Belle Plain (1851), opened inside today’s town and later closed.

2020 census: 332188 years
Founding year: the first Bell Plain Township post office (Blevins & Helbock, CC0).

What stands out about Bell Plain 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 Bell Plain Township are in the public archives yet. The rest are in attics and albums.Lost villages3 post offices opened and closed inside today’s Bell Plain Township, and 1 old place names are still on the map.Old housesHalf of Bell Plain Township’s homes were built before 1951.Deep rootsA post office since 1838: 188 years of Bell Plain Township.
★ What stands out · Help out

Start Bell Plain Township’s collection

The first neighbors to add old photos shape how Bell Plain 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
Places that used to be

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

Three other post offices opened and closed inside today’s town.

Crow Meadows
1834–1866
Bell Plain
1838–1843
Belle Plain
1851–1902
18301930today
Hamlets and corners on the map
Pattonsburg
Gone or out of use
Sulphur Spring Schoolschool
5cemeteries and burying grounds inside Bell Plain Township
BellBell Plain BaptistCrow Meadow PresbyterianMartinTrinity Lutheran

US Post Offices dataset (Blevins & Helbock, CC0). Places and cemeteries from the USGS Geographic Names Information System (2021).

The story so far

Bell Plain Township, in brief

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

Pattonsburg is an unincorporated community in Marshall County, Illinois, United States, located 6 miles (9.7 km) east-northeast of Washburn.

Its first post office opened in 1838. Between the 2010 and 2020 censuses its population fell from 400 to 332 (-17%).

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

Timeline

Bell Plain Township, 1834 to 1955

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

  1. 19th century
  2. 1834Post officeThe Crow Meadows post office opens
  3. 1838Post officeThe Bell Plain post office opens
  4. 1843Post officeThe Bell Plain post office closes
  5. 1851Post officeThe Belle Plain post office opens
  6. 1866Post officeThe Crow Meadows post office closes
  7. 20th century
  8. 1902Post officeThe Belle Plain post office closes
  9. 1955On the mapFirst mapped by the U.S. Geological Survey
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

Bell Plain Township on the map, 1955 to 1983

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

Bell Plain Township on the 1955 USGS mapBell Plain Township on the 1983 USGS map1955Minonk 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 Bell Plain Township.

Famous people

Famous people close to Bell Plain Township

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

See all →
C
Charles ThomAmerican mycologist · b. 1872
Clifford C. IrelandAmerican politician · b. 1878
Frank FrantzAmerican territorial governor · b. 1872
J. Frank DuryeaAmerican inventor · b. 1869
Ted KennedyAmerican baseball player · b. 1865
B
Bob BarnesAmerican baseball player · b. 1902
Stories next door

History across the town line

Each neighbor’s History grade, on the same three inputs.

Richland TownshipIts storynot graded: under 1,000 residents or part of its townBennington TownshipIts storyB+Roberts TownshipIts storynot graded: under 1,000 residents or part of its townLinn TownshipIts storynot graded: under 1,000 residents or part of its town

Questions about Bell Plain Township’s history

What year was Bell Plain Township founded?

The Bell Plain Township post office opened in 1838, 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 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.