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History · Biggsville

Biggsville’s post office opened in 1856, and 51% 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
51%homes built before 1940
1old photo or paper
2famous people
Add an old photoShare a memory
From Biggsville’s archive · credits on each photo
Quick answers

How Biggsville began

When was Biggsville founded?

1856

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

First census: 63 in 18602020 census: 300170 years
Founding year: the first Biggsville post office (Blevins & Helbock, CC0).

What stands out about Biggsville’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.Old housesHalf of Biggsville’s homes were built before 1938.Boom and bustPeaked at 487 in 1890; 300 people lived here in 2020.
★ What stands out · Help out

Start Biggsville’s collection

The first neighbors to add old photos shape how Biggsville’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
The story so far

Biggsville, in brief

Wikipedia doesn’t have a history of Biggsville 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. Its population held steady between the last two censuses: 304 in 2010, 300 in 2020.

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

People over time

Biggsville, 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’s Wikipedia page.

From the old history books

What they wrote about Biggsville in 1882

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

In 1869 an election was again held to vote upon the question of removal to the town of Biggsville, a town on the Chicago, Burlington & Quincy railroad, about ten miles south and east of Oquawka. The majority in this case was also against removal.
History of Mercer County1882 · page 910Read the page →
Read the text

In 1869 an election was again held to vote upon the question of removal to the town of Biggsville, a town on the Chicago, Burlington & Quincy railroad, about ten miles south and east of Oquawka. The majority in this case was also against removal.

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

Biggsville, 1856 to 1934

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

  1. 19th century
  2. 1856Post officeThe Biggsville post office opens
  3. 1876Born hereJohn P. Stewart is born here
  4. 1880Born hereClifford Bell is born here
  5. 1890CensusPopulation peaks at 487
  6. 20th century
  7. 1934On the mapFirst mapped by the U.S. Geological Survey
By decade

Biggsville, 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 on the map, 1934 to 1982

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

Biggsville on the 1934 USGS mapBiggsville on the 1940 USGS mapBiggsville 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.

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’s page.

Retake this view · +15
Famous people

2 famous people were born in Biggsville

Writers, athletes, leaders and more, ranked by how widely they’re known.

See all →
John P. StewartAmerican football coach · b. 1876
C
Clifford BellAmerican football player · b. 1880

Questions about Biggsville’s history

What year was Biggsville founded?

The Biggsville 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), Wikidata and Wikipedia for famous people, 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.