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History · Biggsville Township

Biggsville Township’s post office opened in 1856, and 42% of its homes were built before 1940

Below: 1 old photo or paper, maps from 1934 on, and the census since 1860.

1856first post office
0on the National Register
42%homes built before 1940
1old photo or paper
Add an old photoShare a memory
From Biggsville Township’s archive · credits on each photo
Quick answers

How Biggsville Township began

When was Biggsville Township founded?

1856

The Biggsville Township post office opened in 1856, the earliest record of the town by name.

First census: 63 in 18602020 census: 514170 years
Founding year: the first Biggsville Township post office (Blevins & Helbock, CC0).

What stands out about Biggsville 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 1 old photo is in the public archives. The rest are in attics and albums.Boom and bustPeaked at 487 in 1890; 300 people lived here in 2020.Old housesHalf of Biggsville Township’s homes were built before 1956.
★ What stands out · Help out

Start Biggsville Township’s collection

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

Decades since 1900 with photos
00s10s20s30s40s50s60s70s80s90s
0 of 10 decades. The empty ones are waiting for someone’s album.
Date a photo1 archive item has no date. Guess the decade.+2Retake an old viewMacArthur Bridge, Spanning Mississippi …: stand where they stood+15Share a family photoSign in to add one+10
People over time

Biggsville Township, census by census

0100200300400500190019502000Peak: 487

Peaked at 487 in 1890; 300 people lived here in 2020.

17 censuses, 1860–2020.

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

The story so far

Biggsville Township, in brief

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

Biggsville is a village in Henderson County, Illinois, United States. The population was 300 at the 2020 census, down from 304 at the 2010 census. It is part of the Burlington, IA–IL Micropolitan Statistical Area.

Its first post office opened in 1856. Between the 2010 and 2020 censuses its population fell from 552 to 514 (-7%).

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

By decade

Biggsville Township, decade by decade

Date unknown1 to date
MacArthur Bridge, Spanning Mississippi River on Highway 34 between IA & IL, Burlington, Des Moines County, IADate?MacArthur Bridge, Spanning Mississippi River on Highw…
Today1 recent
Biggsville, Illinois2016Biggsville, Illinois
On the map

Biggsville Township on the map, 1934 to 1982

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

Biggsville Township on the 1934 USGS mapBiggsville Township on the 1940 USGS mapBiggsville Township on the 1982 USGS map1934Oquawka 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 Biggsville 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.

MacArthur Bridge, Spanning Mississippi River on Highway 34 between IA & IL, Burlington, Des Moines County, IA
Retake this viewMacArthur Bridge, Spanning Mississippi River on Highway 34 between IA & IL, Burlington, Des Moines County, IA

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

Retake this view · +15
Places that used to be

Places now gone and burying grounds

Gone or out of use
Biggsville QuarrymineCorzatt AirportairportDutch Row SchoolschoolFairview SchoolschoolGraham SchoolschoolGrove Hill SchoolschoolPrairie SchoolschoolRecord SchoolschoolSeymour Landing StripairportTwentieth Century Schoolschool
4cemeteries and burying grounds inside Biggsville Township
BiggsvilleCumberland PresbyterianHussSalter's Grove

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.

Gladstone Township3 historic placesnot graded: under 1,000 residents or part of its townMedia TownshipIts storynot graded: under 1,000 residents or part of its townTompkins TownshipIts storynot graded: under 1,000 residents or part of its townRozetta TownshipIts storynot graded: under 1,000 residents or part of its town

Questions about Biggsville Township’s history

What year was Biggsville Township founded?

The Biggsville Township post office opened in 1856, 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 (1), the Library of Congress (1), U.S. Geological Survey historical maps, U.S. Census counts (via Wikipedia) 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.