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History · Caledonia

Caledonia’s post office opened in 1883, and 66% of its homes were built before 1940

Below: 4 old photos and papers, maps from 1918 on, and the census since 1880.

1883first post office
0on the National Register
66%homes built before 1940
4old photos & papers
Add an old photoShare a memory
From Caledonia’s archive · credits on each photo
Quick answers

How Caledonia began

When was Caledonia founded?

1883

The Caledonia post office opened in 1883, the earliest record of the town by name. Another post office, Caledonia Station (1853), opened inside today’s town and later closed.

First census: 134 in 18802020 census: 183143 years
Founding year: the first Caledonia post office (Blevins & Helbock, CC0).The full story ↓

What stands out about Caledonia’s past

Read from the archive, the National Register and the record. The page puts what stands out first.

A history waiting to be writtenOnly 4 old photos are in the public archives. The rest are in attics and albums.Old housesHalf of Caledonia’s homes were built before 1938.On the map since 19184 editions of the USGS map, 1918 to 1993. Watch Caledonia change.
★ What stands out · Help out

Start Caledonia’s collection

The first neighbors to add old photos shape how Caledonia’s history is told.

Decades since 1900 with photos
00s10s20s30s40s50s60s70s80s90s
2 of 10 decades. The empty ones are waiting for someone’s album.
Retake an old viewBarn in: stand where they stood+15Share a family photoSign in to add one+10
The story

How Caledonia came to be

From Wikipedia’s history of Caledonia.

Read it all →

A post office was established as Caledonia Station in 1853, one year before the settlement was established. Caledonia Station was shortened to Caledonia in 1883. Caledonia is a literary name of Scotland. Caledonia Congregational Church was founded in 1894. In 1996, Caledonia was officially incorporated as a village.

Caledonia was struck by an EF-2 tornado on November 22, 2010, around 3:04 pm; several homes were destroyed, a grain bin collapsed, the local Elementary school was set on lockdown, and six minor injuries were reported when a bus was blown over near Argyle and Harlem Roads.

Text from Wikipedia, licensed CC BY-SA 4.0.

On the map

Caledonia on the map, 1918 to 1993

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

Caledonia on the 1918 USGS mapCaledonia on the 1944 USGS mapCaledonia on the 1970 USGS mapCaledonia on the 1993 USGS map1918Belvidere 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 Caledonia.

Timeline

Caledonia, 1853 to 1980

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

  1. 19th century
  2. 1853Post officeThe Caledonia Station post office opens
  3. 1883Post officeThe Caledonia Station post office closes
  4. 1883Post officeThe Caledonia post office opens
  5. 20th century
  6. 1918On the mapFirst mapped by the U.S. Geological Survey
  7. 1924In the archiveMap-locating-first-cabins-argyle-illinois
  8. 1980In the archiveBarn in
By decade

Caledonia, decade by decade

2 decades in the archive, from the 1920s to the 1980s. Scroll each row; tap a photo for its story.

1920s1 item
Map-locating-first-cabins-argyle-illinois1924Map-locating-first-cabins-argyle-illinoisMap
1930s–1970snothing yet
Nothing in the archives for these yearsWeddings on Main Street, storms, parades, school pictures, the old store. If it’s in your family album, it belongs here.
Add from your album
1980s3 items
Barn in1980Barn inBarn1980BarnRural farm scene in Illinois1980Rural farm scene in Illinois
1990snothing yet
Nothing in the archives for these yearsWeddings on Main Street, storms, parades, school pictures, the old store. If it’s in your family album, it belongs here.
Add from your album
Today1 recent
ILMap-doton-Caledonia2006ILMap-doton-Caledonia
Then & now

Stand where they stood

No then-and-now pairs yet. Take a photo from the same spot as an old one and they appear here side by side.

Barn in
Retake this viewBarn in, 1980

Find the spot, match the angle, and add your photo. It becomes the first then-and-now pair on Caledonia’s page.

Retake this view · +15
People over time

Caledonia, census by census

010020018801900192019401960198020002020Peak: 199

Between 134 and 199 people in every census since 1880.

5 censuses, 1880–2020.

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

Famous people

Famous people close to Caledonia

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

See all →
J
Jodi BensonAmerican actress · b. 1961
James Henry BreastedAmerican archaeologist, Egyptologist and histor… · b. 1865
Steve CherundoloAmerican soccer player and manager · b. 1979
Virgil AblohAmerican fashion designer · b. 1980
Michelle WilliamsAmerican singer and actress · b. 1979
Travis FrederickAmerican football player · b. 1991
Places that used to be

Lost post offices, old corners and places now gone

Caledonia’s post office has been open since 1883. Another post office, Caledonia Station, opened and closed inside today’s town.

Caledonia Station
1853–1883
Caledonia
1883–today
18501940today
Hamlets and corners on the map
North Caledonia
Gone or out of use
Caledonia Junctionlocale

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.

Poplar GroveIts storyB−

Questions about Caledonia’s history

What year was Caledonia founded?

The Caledonia post office opened in 1883, 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 (3), the Library of Congress (2), 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.