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History · Bismarck

Bismarck’s post office opened in 1873, and 24% of its homes were built before 1940

Below: maps from 1938 on and the census since 1880.

1873first post office
0on the National Register
24%homes built before 1940
Add an old photoShare a memory
Photo: Omnedon · Public domain
Quick answers

How Bismarck began

When was Bismarck founded?

1873

The Bismarck post office opened in 1873, the earliest record of the town by name. Two smaller post offices, Myers' Mills (1850) and Myersville (1858), opened inside today’s town and later closed.

First census: 1,380 in 18802020 census: 582153 years
Founding year: the first Bismarck post office (Blevins & Helbock, CC0).The full story ↓

What stands out about Bismarck’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 Bismarck are in the public archives yet. The rest are in attics and albums.Lost villages2 post offices opened and closed inside today’s Bismarck.
★ What stands out · Help out

Start Bismarck’s collection

The first neighbors to add old photos shape how Bismarck’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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Places that used to be

Lost post offices

Bismarck’s post office has been open since 1873. Two other post offices opened and closed inside today’s town.

Myers' Mills
1850–1857
Myersville
1858–1873
Bismarck
1873–today
18501940today

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

The story

How Bismarck came to be

From Wikipedia’s history of Bismarck.

Read it all →

The original settlement in this immediate area was to the west of Bismarck's location, where the Hubbard Trail and the North Fork of the Vermilion River crossed. It was originally called Franklin when it was founded in 1837, but it lasted only a few years. Later, in 1843, Brothers John and Samuel Myers built a grist (flour) mill near the site of Franklin, and a town called Myersville, named after the two brothers, later grew up there. The nearby Gundy Cemetery, established in the 1820s–1830s, serves as a pioneer burial ground for the Myersville area and includes the grave of Revolutionary War soldier Jacob Gundy (d. 1845).”

Text from Wikipedia, licensed CC BY-SA 4.0.

Timeline

Bismarck, 1850 to 1938

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

  1. 19th century
  2. 1850Post officeThe Myers' Mills post office opens
  3. 1857Post officeThe Myers' Mills post office closes
  4. 1858Post officeThe Myersville post office opens
  5. 1873Post officeThe Myersville post office closes
  6. 1873Post officeThe Bismarck post office opens
  7. 20th century
  8. 1938On the mapFirst mapped by the U.S. Geological Survey
By decade

Bismarck, decade by decade

Today2 recent
Bismarck Illinois2007Bismarck IllinoisBismarck Illinois grade school2007Bismarck Illinois grade school
On the map

Bismarck on the map, 1938 to 1964

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

Bismarck on the 1938 USGS mapBismarck on the 1964 USGS map1938Hoopeston 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 Bismarck.

People over time

Bismarck, census by census

02004006008001,0001,2001,40018801900192019401960198020002020Peak: 1,380

Between 542 and 1,380 people in every census since 1880.

4 censuses, 1880–2020.

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

Famous people

Famous people close to Bismarck

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

See all →
Ned LukeAmerican actor · b. 1958
Jerry Van DykeAmerican actor and comedian · b. 1931
Joseph R. TannerWelsh-American astronaut · b. 1950
Helen MorganAmerican jazz singer and actress · b. 1900
Morris AnkrumAmerican actor · b. 1896
Albert Lee Stephens, Sr.American judge · b. 1874

Questions about Bismarck’s history

What year was Bismarck founded?

The Bismarck 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 (2), 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.