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History · Bernadotte Township

Bernadotte Township dates to 1823, and 34% of its homes were built before 1940

Its Register listing is the Bernadotte Bridge. Below: 4 old photos and papers, maps from 1918 on, and the census since 1830.

1823founded
1on the National Register
34%homes built before 1940
4old photos & papers
Add an old photoShare a memory
From Bernadotte Township’s archive · credits on each photo
Quick answers

How Bernadotte Township began

When was Bernadotte Township founded?

1823

Bernadotte Township dates its founding to 1823 (Wikidata). The census first counted it in 1830.

First census: 1,841 in 18302020 census: 249203 years
Founding year: Wikidata. First post office: 1833.The full story ↓

What stands out about Bernadotte 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 writtenOnly 4 old photos are in the public archives. The rest are in attics and albums.Lost villages3 post offices opened and closed inside today’s Bernadotte Township, and 1 old place names are still on the map.Boom and bustPeaked at 49,549 in 1910; 33,609 people lived here in 2020.On the map since 19183 editions of the USGS map, 1918 to 1948. Watch Bernadotte Township change.
★ What stands out · Help out

Start Bernadotte Township’s collection

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

Decades since 1900 with photos
00s10s20s30s40s50s60s70s80s90s
2 of 10 decades. The empty ones are waiting for someone’s album.
Retake an old viewC.B. & Q. Depot and Train, Astoria, Ill…: stand where they stood+15Share 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.

Bennington
1833–1837
Bernadotte
1837–1905
Jonas
1881–1882
18301930today
Hamlets and corners on the map
Bernadotte
Gone or out of use
Elrod BridgebridgeElrod SchoolschoolHulvey SchoolschoolJones SchoolschoolOak Ridge SchoolschoolReese Schoolschool
4cemeteries and burying grounds inside Bernadotte Township
EngleProvidenceRandallStites

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

People over time

Bernadotte Township, census by census

05,00010,00015,00020,00025,00030,00035,00040,00045,00050,00055,0001850190019502000Peak: 49,549

Peaked at 49,549 in 1910; 33,609 people lived here in 2020.

20 censuses, 1830–2020.

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

The story

How Bernadotte Township came to be

From Wikipedia’s history of Bernadotte Township.

Read it all →

Fulton County was organized in 1823 from Pike County. It is named for Robert Fulton, developer of the first commercially successful steamboat. American poet and writer Edgar Lee Masters lived in Fulton County during the 1890s; he later became famous for the Spoon River Anthology, written in 1915.

The county is known for the annual Spoon River Scenic Drive, which occurs the first 2 weekends in October. This has been a tradition since 1968 and attracts thousands of participants from all over the country.

Fulton County is home to the Ogden-Fettie Site, a significant site for Havana Hopewell Native culture. It is the largest collection of Woodland Mounds in Illinois, with 35 Mounds, dating from 400 BC, arranged in a crescent.

Text from Wikipedia, licensed CC BY-SA 4.0.

Timeline

Bernadotte Township, 1823 to 1940

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

  1. 19th century
  2. 1823
    FoundingBernadotte Township is established
  3. 1833Post officeThe Bennington post office opens
  4. 1837Post officeThe Bennington post office closes
  5. 1837Post officeThe Bernadotte post office opens
  6. 1881Post officeThe Jonas post office opens
  7. 1882Post officeThe Jonas post office closes
  8. 20th century
  9. 1905Post officeThe Bernadotte post office closes
  10. 1910CensusPopulation peaks at 49,549
  11. 1914In the archiveC.B. & Q. Depot and Train, Astoria, Ill. 17288
  12. 1918On the mapFirst mapped by the U.S. Geological Survey
  13. 1940In the archiveWoman reading (NBY 506)
By decade

Bernadotte Township, decade by decade

2 decades in the archive, from the 1910s to the 1940s. Scroll each row; tap a photo for its story.

1910s–1940s4 items
C.B. & Q. Depot and Train, Astoria, Ill. 172881914C.B. & Q. Depot and Train, Astoria, Ill. 17288PostcardC.B. & Q. Depot and Train, Astoria, Ill. 172881914C.B. & Q. Depot and Train, Astoria, Ill. 17288PostcardWoman reading (NBY 506)1940Woman reading (NBY 506)Greetings from (NBY 2343)1943Greetings from (NBY 2343)Postcard
1950s–1990snothing yet
Nothing in the archives for these yearsWeddings on Main Street, storms, parades, school pictures, the old store. If it’s in your family album, it belongs here.
Add from your album
Today1 recent
Dickson-museum2008Dickson-museum
On the map

Bernadotte Township on the map, 1918 to 1948

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

Bernadotte Township on the 1918 USGS mapBernadotte Township on the 1921 USGS mapBernadotte Township on the 1948 USGS map1918Vermont 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 Bernadotte Township.

Then & now

Stand where they stood

No then-and-now pairs yet. Take a photo from the same spot as an old one and they appear here side by side.

C.B. & Q. Depot and Train, Astoria, Ill. 17288
Retake this viewC.B. & Q. Depot and Train, Astoria, Ill. 17288, 1914

Find the spot, match the angle, and add your photo. It becomes the first then-and-now pair on Bernadotte Township’s page.

Retake this view · +15
On the National Register

1 historic place in Bernadotte Township

The country’s official list of buildings and places worth saving.

place listed
1
National Historic Landmarks
0
none yet
historic buildings protected
1
each building in a district counts
first listed
1980
Bernadotte Bridge
Bernadotte Bridge
Structures

Architectural styles listings

Pratt1
Bernadotte BridgePratt

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

Stories next door

History across the town line

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

Farmers Township2 historic placesnot graded: under 1,000 residents or part of its townLewistown Township2 historic placesACass TownshipIts storynot graded: under 1,000 residents or part of its townPleasant TownshipIts storynot graded: under 1,000 residents or part of its townPutman TownshipIts storyB−

Questions about Bernadotte Township’s history

What year was Bernadotte Township founded?

In 1823, according to Wikidata. Bernadotte Township’s post office opened in 1833, and the census of 1830 counted 1,841 people here.

What is on the National Register in Bernadotte Township?

One place: the Bernadotte Bridge (listed 1980).

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 (5), the National Register of Historic Places (1), Wikipedia, 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.