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History · Broughton

Broughton’s post office opened in 1877, and 34% of its homes were built before 1940

Below: maps from 1905 on and the census since 1880.

1877first post office
0on the National Register
34%homes built before 1940
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Quick answers

How Broughton began

When was Broughton founded?

1877

The Broughton post office opened in 1877, the earliest record of the town by name.

First census: 200 in 18802020 census: 185149 years
Founding year: the first Broughton post office (Blevins & Helbock, CC0).

What stands out about Broughton’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 Broughton are in the public archives yet. The rest are in attics and albums.Boom and bustPeaked at 506 in 1920; 185 people lived here in 2020.Old housesHalf of Broughton’s homes were built before 1964.
★ What stands out · Help out

Start Broughton’s collection

The first neighbors to add old photos shape how Broughton’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

Broughton, census by census

010020030040050018801900192019401960198020002020Peak: 506

Peaked at 506 in 1920; 185 people lived here in 2020.

14 censuses, 1880–2020.

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

The story so far

Broughton, in brief

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

Broughton is a village in Hamilton County, Illinois, United States. The population was 185 at the 2020 census. It is part of the Mount Vernon Micropolitan Statistical Area. The village was founded in the 1720s as Saint Philippe du Grand Marais (called "St. Philippe") by French coureurs de bois. In the early 19th century, it was known as "Rectorville" for nearby Rector Creek, which had been named for federal land surveyor John Rector.

Its first post office opened in 1877. Between the 2010 and 2020 censuses its population fell from 194 to 185 (-5%).

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

Timeline

Broughton, 1877 to 1920

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

  1. 19th century
  2. 1877Post officeThe Broughton post office opens
  3. 20th century
  4. 1905On the mapFirst mapped by the U.S. Geological Survey
  5. 1920CensusPopulation peaks at 506
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

Broughton on the map, 1905 to 1963

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

Broughton on the 1905 USGS mapBroughton on the 1963 USGS map1905Eldorado 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 Broughton.

Questions about Broughton’s history

What year was Broughton founded?

The Broughton post office opened in 1877, 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, 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.