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History · Boynton Township

Boynton Township’s post office opened in 1857, and 70% of its homes were built before 1940

Below: maps from 1951 on.

1857first post office
0on the National Register
70%homes built before 1940
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Quick answers

How Boynton Township began

When was Boynton Township founded?

1857

The Boynton Township post office opened in 1857, the earliest record of the town by name. Another post office, Boynton (1857), opened inside today’s town and later closed.

2020 census: 212169 years
Founding year: the first Boynton Township post office (Blevins & Helbock, CC0).

What stands out about Boynton 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 Boynton Township are in the public archives yet. The rest are in attics and albums.Old housesHalf of Boynton Township’s homes were built before 1938.
★ What stands out · Help out

Start Boynton Township’s collection

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

Boynton Township, in brief

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

Boynton Township is located in Tazewell County, Illinois. As of the 2010 census, its population was 275 and it contained 94 housing units. Formed as Boyington Township in November, 1854, but the name was changed to Boynton on an unknown date.

Its first post office opened in 1857. Between the 2010 and 2020 censuses its population fell from 275 to 212 (-23%).

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

Timeline

Boynton Township, 1857 to 1951

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

  1. 19th century
  2. 1857Post officeThe Boynton post office opens
  3. 20th century
  4. 1931Post officeThe Boynton post office closes
  5. 1951On the mapFirst mapped by the U.S. Geological Survey
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.
Add from your album
On the map

Boynton Township on the map, 1951 to 1996

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

Boynton Township on the 1951 USGS mapBoynton Township on the 1980 USGS mapBoynton Township on the 1996 USGS map1951Minier 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 Boynton Township.

Famous people

Famous people close to Boynton Township

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

See all →
Thomas W. EwingAmerican politician · b. 1935
Eleanor Sophia SmithAmerican composer and music educator · b. 1858
Jeremiah D. BotkinAmerican politician · b. 1849
Paul CallawayAmerican organist and choral conductor · b. 1909
L
Lee DunhamAmerican baseball player · b. 1902
E
Edward BuehrigAmerican political scientist · b. 1910
Places that used to be

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

Another post office, Boynton, opened and closed inside today’s town.

Hamlets and corners on the map
Boynton
Gone or out of use
Boynton ChurchchurchHobby Hideaway RLA Airportairport
1cemetery inside Boynton Township
Freeman

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.

Orvil TownshipIts storynot graded: under 1,000 residents or part of its townHopedale TownshipIts storyC+Delavan Township3 historic placesA+Hittle TownshipIts storynot graded: under 1,000 residents or part of its townPrairie Creek TownshipIts storynot graded: under 1,000 residents or part of its town

Questions about Boynton Township’s history

What year was Boynton Township founded?

The Boynton Township post office opened in 1857, 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 →
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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.