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History · Brookport

Brookport’s post office opened in 1901

Most of Brookport was built recently: 10% of its homes predate 1940 and the median home dates from 1967. Below: maps from 1926 on and the census since 1870.

1901first post office
0on the National Register
10%homes built before 1940
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Photo: Brian Stansberry · CC BY 4.0
Quick answers

How Brookport began

When was Brookport founded?

1901

The Brookport post office opened in 1901, the earliest record of the town by name. Another post office, Pellonia (1854), opened inside today’s city and later closed.

First census: 104 in 18702020 census: 725125 years
Founding year: the first Brookport post office (Blevins & Helbock, CC0).The full story ↓

What stands out about Brookport’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 Brookport are in the public archives yet. The rest are in attics and albums.Boom and bustPeaked at 1,443 in 1910; 725 people lived here in 2020.
★ What stands out · Help out

Start Brookport’s collection

The first neighbors to add old photos shape how Brookport’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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People over time

Brookport, census by census

02004006008001,0001,2001,4001,60018801900192019401960198020002020Peak: 1,443

Peaked at 1,443 in 1910; 725 people lived here in 2020.

15 censuses, 1870–2020.

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

The story

How Brookport came to be

From Wikipedia’s history of Brookport.

Read it all →

Brookport was founded by Charles Pell in 1855. It was originally known as "Pellonia," after Pell. The small city declined within a few years, but saw a resurgence with the construction of the Illinois Central Railroad nearby in the late 1880s. It was reincorporated as "Brooklyn" in 1888. The name was changed to "Brookport", a portmanteau of "Brooklyn" and "port," in 1901.

Text from Wikipedia, licensed CC BY-SA 4.0.

Timeline

Brookport, 1854 to 1926

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

  1. 19th century
  2. 1854Post officeThe Pellonia post office opens
  3. 20th century
  4. 1901Post officeThe Pellonia post office closes
  5. 1901Post officeThe Brookport post office opens
  6. 1910CensusPopulation peaks at 1,443
  7. 1926On the mapFirst mapped by the U.S. Geological Survey
By decade

Brookport, decade by decade

Today6 recent
Brookport-post-office-il2017Brookport-post-office-ilBrookport-bell-il2017Brookport-bell-ilBrookport-US45-il2017Brookport-US45-ilBrookport-PD-CH-il2017Brookport-PD-CH-ilBrookport-Ohio-Street-il2017Brookport-Ohio-Street-ilBrookport-Hearing-Aids-building-il2017Brookport-Hearing-Aids-building-il
On the map

Brookport on the map, 1926 to 1968

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

Brookport on the 1926 USGS mapBrookport on the 1940 USGS mapBrookport on the 1968 USGS map1926Paducah 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 Brookport.

Famous people

Famous people close to Brookport

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

See all →
Rumer WillisAmerican actress · b. 1988
John T. ScopesAmerican schoolteacher · b. 1900
Boots RandolphAmerican musician · b. 1927
Oscar MicheauxAmerican writer and director · b. 1884
Irvin S. CobbAmerican writer · b. 1876
Mason RamseyAmerican singer, born 2006 · b. 2006
Places that used to be

Lost post offices

Brookport’s post office has been open since 1901. Another post office, Pellonia, opened and closed inside today’s town.

Pellonia
1854–1901
Brookport
1901–today
18501940today

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

Questions about Brookport’s history

What year was Brookport founded?

The Brookport post office opened in 1901, 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 Wikimedia Commons (6), Wikipedia, 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.