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History · Buckley

Buckley’s post office opened in 1865, and 39% of its homes were built before 1940

Below: maps from 1898 on and the census since 1880.

1865first post office
0on the National Register
39%homes built before 1940
2famous people
Add an old photoShare a memory
Photo: TCP04 · CC BY 4.0
Quick answers

How Buckley began

When was Buckley founded?

1865

The Buckley post office opened in 1865, the earliest record of the town by name. Another post office, Bulkley (1858), opened inside today’s town and later closed.

First census: 324 in 18802020 census: 495161 years
Founding year: the first Buckley post office (Blevins & Helbock, CC0).

What stands out about Buckley’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 Buckley are in the public archives yet. The rest are in attics and albums.Boom and bustPeaked at 690 in 1960; 495 people lived here in 2020.Mapped building by building3 fire insurance maps, 1898 to 1914, drew every building in Buckley.Old housesHalf of Buckley’s homes were built before 1953.
★ What stands out · Help out

Start Buckley’s collection

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

Buckley, census by census

010020030040050060070018801900192019401960198020002020Peak: 690

Peaked at 690 in 1960; 495 people lived here in 2020.

15 censuses, 1880–2020.

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

Every building

Buckley, building by building, 1898–1914

Fire insurance maps drew every building, what it was made of and what it was used for, so insurers could price the risk of fire. Pick a year, then a sheet.

Buckley fire insurance map, 1898, sheet 11898Sheet 1 of 1
Edition
Sheets
BrickWoodStone

Sanborn Map Company, via the Library of Congress. Editions published in 1930 or earlier, which are in the public domain.

The story so far

Buckley, in brief

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

Buckley is a village in Artesia Township, Iroquois County, Illinois, United States. The population was 495 at the 2020 census. Buckley celebrated its sesquicentennial in 2006.

Its first post office opened in 1865. Between the 2010 and 2020 censuses its population fell from 600 to 495 (-18%).

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

Timeline

Buckley, 1858 to 1960

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

  1. 19th century
  2. 1858Post officeThe Bulkley post office opens
  3. 1865Post officeThe Bulkley post office closes
  4. 1865Post officeThe Buckley post office opens
  5. 1884Born hereWild Bill Luhrsen is born here
  6. 20th century
  7. 1904Born hereCarroll Vincent Newsom is born here
  8. 1948On the mapFirst mapped by the U.S. Geological Survey
  9. 1960CensusPopulation peaks at 690
By decade

Buckley, decade by decade

Today2 recent
St Johns Lutheran Church2026St Johns Lutheran ChurchBuckley, IL2026Buckley, IL
On the map

Buckley on the map, 1948 to 1986

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

Buckley on the 1948 USGS mapBuckley 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 Buckley.

Famous people

2 famous people were born in Buckley

Writers, athletes, leaders and more, ranked by how widely they’re known.

See all →
W
Wild Bill LuhrsenMajor League Baseball pitcher · b. 1884
C
Carroll Vincent NewsomAmerican writer · b. 1904
Places that used to be

Lost post offices

Buckley’s post office has been open since 1865. Another post office, Bulkley, opened and closed inside today’s town.

Bulkley
1858–1865
Buckley
1865–today
18501940today

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

Questions about Buckley’s history

What year was Buckley founded?

The Buckley 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 Wikimedia Commons (2), Wikidata and Wikipedia for famous people, U.S. Geological Survey historical maps, U.S. Census counts (via Wikipedia), the US Post Offices dataset (Blevins & Helbock), the USGS Geographic Names Information System and Sanborn fire insurance maps (Library of Congress). Archive images are copied here with their credits and licenses, shown on each photo’s page. Refreshed monthly.