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History · Bluff Springs Township

17% of Bluff Springs Township’s homes were built before 1940

Below: maps from 1926 on.

0on the National Register
17%homes built before 1940
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What stands out about Bluff Springs 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 Bluff Springs Township are in the public archives yet. The rest are in attics and albums.
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Start Bluff Springs Township’s collection

The first neighbors to add old photos shape how Bluff Springs Township’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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The story so far

Bluff Springs Township, in brief

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

Bluff Springs is an unincorporated community in Cass County, Illinois, United States. Bluff Springs is located on Illinois Route 125, east of Beardstown.

Its population held steady between the last two censuses: 888 in 2010, 886 in 2020.

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

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.

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On the map

Bluff Springs Township on the map, 1926 to 1981

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

Bluff Springs Township on the 1926 USGS mapBluff Springs Township on the 1944 USGS mapBluff Springs Township on the 1981 USGS map1926Beardstown 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 Bluff Springs Township.

Famous people

Famous people close to Bluff Springs Township

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

See all →
John Bell HatcherAmerican paleontologist · b. 1861
Red NorvoAmerican musician · b. 1908
Eddie LyonsAmerican actor, film director · b. 1886
Andrew C. McLaughlinAmerican historian · b. 1861
Stanley J. KorsmeyerAmerican oncologist · b. 1950
N
Nell Brooker MayhewAmerican painter, etcher, and art instructor · b. 1875
Places that used to be

Old corners, places now gone and burying grounds

Old hamlets and crossroads still carry their names on the map.

Hamlets and corners on the map
Bluff SpringsClear Lake
Gone or out of use
Arenz SchoolschoolBiren SchoolschoolBluff Springs SchoolschoolCottonwood SchoolschoolGriggs ChapelchurchLimbo SchoolschoolRed Oak SchoolschoolStar SchoolschoolWarrior Schoolschool
7cemeteries and burying grounds inside Bluff Springs Township
BeardCarrDupesHagerLeeMcLaneWells

US Post Offices dataset (Blevins & Helbock, CC0). 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.

Lynchburg TownshipIts storynot graded: under 1,000 residents or part of its townBrowning TownshipIts storynot graded: under 1,000 residents or part of its townSangamon Valley TownshipIts storynot graded: under 1,000 residents or part of its townArenzville TownshipIts storynot graded: under 1,000 residents or part of its townBeardstown Township1 historic placenot graded: under 1,000 residents or part of its townFrederick TownshipIts storynot graded: under 1,000 residents or part of its town

Questions about Bluff Springs Township’s history

Memory lane

What the archives can’t tell you, neighbors can.

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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.