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History · Brooklyn Township

66% of Brooklyn Township’s homes were built before 1940

Below: maps from 1952 on.

0on the National Register
66%homes built before 1940
Add an old photoShare a memory

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

Start Brooklyn Township’s collection

The first neighbors to add old photos shape how Brooklyn 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

Brooklyn Township, in brief

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

Brooklyn Township is one of twenty-two townships in Lee County, Illinois, USA. As of the 2020 census, its population was 691 and it contained 336 housing units. In September 1858, Reynolds Township was formed from part of Brooklyn Township.

Between the 2010 and 2020 censuses its population fell from 793 to 691 (-13%).

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

Timeline

Brooklyn Township, 1841 to 1952

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

  1. 19th century
  2. 1841Post officeThe Melugin Grove post office opens
  3. 1873Post officeThe Melugin Grove post office closes
  4. 20th century
  5. 1952On 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

Brooklyn Township on the map, 1952 to 1993

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

Brooklyn Township on the 1952 USGS mapBrooklyn Township on the 1982 USGS mapBrooklyn Township on the 1993 USGS map1952Mendota 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 Brooklyn Township.

Famous people

Famous people close to Brooklyn Township

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

See all →
Gary K. WolfAmerican author · b. 1941
John F. McGeeUnited States federal judge · b. 1861
Allen DooneAmerican tenor and actor · b. 1878
E
Edward Edson LeeAmerican children's writer · b. 1884
Frank ShaughnessyAmerican football player and coach · b. 1884
Fritz CrislerAmerican football, basketball, and baseball pla… · b. 1899
Places that used to be

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

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

Hamlets and corners on the map
Melugin GroveThe Burg
Gone or out of use
Carnahan Stationlocale
2cemeteries and burying grounds inside Brooklyn Township
Brooklyn LutheranMelugin Grove

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.

Viola Township1 historic placenot graded: under 1,000 residents or part of its townWyoming Township1 historic placeAMendota TownshipIts storynot graded: under 1,000 residents or part of its town

Questions about Brooklyn 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, 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.