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History · Bowdre Township

46% of Bowdre Township’s homes were built before 1940

Below: maps from 1936 on and the census since 1930.

0on the National Register
46%homes built before 1940
Add an old photoShare a memory

What stands out about Bowdre 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 Bowdre Township are in the public archives yet. The rest are in attics and albums.Lost villages2 post offices opened and closed inside today’s Bowdre Township, and 2 old place names are still on the map.Old housesHalf of Bowdre Township’s homes were built before 1949.
★ What stands out · Help out

Start Bowdre Township’s collection

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

Decades since 1900 with photos
00s10s20s30s40s50s60s70s80s90s
0 of 10 decades. The empty ones are waiting for someone’s album.
Share a family photoSign in to add one+10
Places that used to be

Lost post offices, old corners, places now gone and burying grounds

Two other post offices opened and closed inside today’s town.

Hugo
1872–1903
Kemp
1895–1966
18701950today
Hamlets and corners on the map
HugoKemp
Gone or out of use
Ashland SchoolschoolBeasley SchoolschoolChocktaw SchoolschoolDeer Creek SchoolschoolDry Point SchoolschoolDuffle SchoolschoolHemingway SchoolschoolKemp Post Officepost office
3cemeteries and burying grounds inside Bowdre Township
Antioch - HugoGillVan Voorhis

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

The story so far

Bowdre Township, in brief

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

Bowdre Township is one of nine townships in Douglas County, Illinois, USA. As of the 2020 census, its population was 620 and it contained 311 housing units. Its name was changed from Deer Creek to Bowdre on June 5, 1868.

Between the 2010 and 2020 censuses its population fell from 668 to 620 (-7%).

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

Timeline

Bowdre Township, 1872 to 1966

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

  1. 19th century
  2. 1872Post officeThe Hugo post office opens
  3. 1895Post officeThe Kemp post office opens
  4. 20th century
  5. 1903Post officeThe Hugo post office closes
  6. 1936On the mapFirst mapped by the U.S. Geological Survey
  7. 1966Post officeThe Kemp post office closes
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.

Be the first to add onePhotograph a print flat, in daylight, no flash.
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On the map

Bowdre Township on the map, 1936 to 1998

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

Bowdre Township on the 1936 USGS mapBowdre Township on the 1942 USGS mapBowdre Township on the 1982 USGS mapBowdre Township on the 1998 USGS map1936Oakland 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 Bowdre Township.

People over time

Bowdre Township, census by census

02004006008001,0001,2001,4001,60019401960198020002020Peak: 1,454

Between 620 and 1,454 people in every census since 1930.

10 censuses, 1930–2020.

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

Famous people

Famous people close to Bowdre Township

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

See all →
Gregg TolandAmerican cinematographer · b. 1904
J
James GammonAmerican actor · b. 1940
Charles ClaryActor · b. 1873
Charlotte MartinAmerican musician · b. 1976
R
Rex MorganBasketball player · b. 1948
A
Alice BaberAmerican painter and activist · b. 1928
Stories next door

History across the town line

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

Sargent TownshipIts storynot graded: under 1,000 residents or part of its townCamargo Township1 historic placeAArcola Township1 historic placenot graded: under 1,000 residents or part of its townMorgan TownshipIts storynot graded: under 1,000 residents or part of its townSeven Hickory TownshipIts storynot graded: under 1,000 residents or part of its townMurdock TownshipIts storynot graded: under 1,000 residents or part of its town

Questions about Bowdre Township’s history

Memory lane

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

Town Square →
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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, 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.