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History · Brenton Township

Brenton Township’s post office opened in 1865, and 46% of its homes were built before 1940

Below: maps from 1948 on and the census since 2000.

1865first post office
0on the National Register
46%homes built before 1940
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Quick answers

How Brenton Township began

When was Brenton Township founded?

1865

The Brenton Township post office opened in 1865, the earliest record of the town by name. Another post office, Brenton (1865), opened inside today’s town and later closed.

First census: 892 in 20002020 census: 861161 years
Founding year: the first Brenton Township post office (Blevins & Helbock, CC0).

What stands out about Brenton 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 Brenton Township are in the public archives yet. The rest are in attics and albums.Old housesHalf of Brenton Township’s homes were built before 1944.
★ What stands out · Help out

Start Brenton Township’s collection

The first neighbors to add old photos shape how Brenton 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

Brenton Township, in brief

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

Brenton Township is one of twelve townships in Ford County, Illinois, USA. As of the 2020 census, its population was 861 and it contained 413 housing units. The township was originally called Stockton Township and was formed from a portion of Patton Township on March 15, 1859; the name was changed to Brenton Township on May 9, 1864.

Its first post office opened in 1865. Between the 2010 and 2020 censuses its population fell from 973 to 861 (-12%).

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

Timeline

Brenton Township, 1865 to 1948

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

  1. 19th century
  2. 1865Post officeThe Brenton post office opens
  3. 1865Post officeThe Brenton post office closes
  4. 20th century
  5. 1948On 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.
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On the map

Brenton Township on the map, 1948 to 1986

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

Brenton Township on the 1948 USGS mapBrenton Township on the 1986 USGS map1948Buckley 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 Brenton Township.

People over time

Brenton Township, census by census

02004006008001,00020002020Peak: 973

Between 861 and 973 people in every census since 2000.

3 censuses, 2000–2020.

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

Famous people

Famous people close to Brenton Township

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

See all →
A
Arnold BeckmanAmerican chemist · b. 1900
Alice GentleAmerican opera singer · b. 1885
Leslie C. ArendsAmerican politician · b. 1895
Ed WalkerAmerican radio personality · b. 1932
J
Jan BachAmerican composer · b. 1937
F
Frank GriffithAmerican baseball player · b. 1872
Places that used to be

Lost post offices, places now gone and burying grounds

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

Gone or out of use
Bishop SchoolschoolBradbury AirportairportBurger SchoolschoolFuoss SchoolschoolHerr SchoolschoolSouth Brenton SchoolschoolWagner Schoolschool
1cemetery inside Brenton Township
Brenton

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.

Pella TownshipIts storynot graded: under 1,000 residents or part of its townLyman TownshipIts storynot graded: under 1,000 residents or part of its townChatsworth TownshipIts storynot graded: under 1,000 residents or part of its town

Questions about Brenton Township’s history

What year was Brenton Township founded?

The Brenton Township post office opened in 1865, 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 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.