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History · Canoe Creek Township

Canoe Creek Township dates to 1856, and 40% of its homes were built before 1940

Below: maps from 1952 on and old-book passages.

1856founded
0on the National Register
40%homes built before 1940
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Quick answers

How Canoe Creek Township began

When was Canoe Creek Township founded?

1856

Canoe Creek Township dates its founding to 1856 (Wikidata). Its post office opened in 1871.

2020 census: 632170 years
Founding year: Wikidata. First post office: 1871.

What stands out about Canoe Creek 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 Canoe Creek Township are in the public archives yet. The rest are in attics and albums.Old housesHalf of Canoe Creek Township’s homes were built before 1947.
★ What stands out · Help out

Start Canoe Creek Township’s collection

The first neighbors to add old photos shape how Canoe Creek 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

Canoe Creek Township, in brief

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

Canoe Creek Township is located in Rock Island County, Illinois. As of the 2010 census, its population was 711 and it contained 317 housing units.

Canoe Creek Township was established in 1856. Between the 2010 and 2020 censuses its population fell from 711 to 632 (-11%).

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

From the old history books

What they wrote about Canoe Creek Township in 1908

Passages that mention Canoe Creek Township, cut from the printed page as they were published.

Then going to Canoe Creek Township of Rock Island County, he remained until 1863. engaging in agricultural pursuits. Going into Coe Township in 1863, he remained tmtil 1881, at which time he .again moved to Port Byron, engaging in the manufacture of lumber and acting as local dealer in agricidtural…
Historic Rock Island County1908 · page 175Read the page →
Read the text

Then going to Canoe Creek Township of Rock Island County, he remained until 1863. engaging in agricultural pursuits. Going into Coe Township in 1863, he remained tmtil 1881, at which time he .again moved to Port Byron, engaging in the manufacture of lumber and acting as local dealer in agricidtural imjilements. Not until 1895 did he per-

Text read by machine from the scan; it may contain errors.

Scans and text from the Internet Archive. Books published in 1930 or earlier, which are in the public domain.

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

Canoe Creek Township on the map, 1952 to 1982

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

Canoe Creek Township on the 1952 USGS mapCanoe Creek Township on the 1982 USGS map1952Erie 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 Canoe Creek Township.

Famous people

Famous people close to Canoe Creek Township

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

See all →
Buffalo BillAmerican frontiersman and showman · b. 1846
R
Robert Almer HarperAmerican botanist · b. 1862
Clyde Howard TavennerAmerican politician · b. 1882
Bill MalarkeyAmerican baseball player · b. 1878
J
Jimmy JohnsonAmerican baseball player and manager · b. 1947
E
Eric WiselyAmerican mixed martial arts fighter · b. 1984
Places that used to be

Places now gone and burying grounds

Gone or out of use
Enterprise SchoolschoolPoplar Grove Schoolschool
2cemeteries and burying grounds inside Canoe Creek Township
BethesdaMount Moriah

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.

Erie TownshipIts storyC+Phenix TownshipIts storyCPortland TownshipIts storynot graded: under 1,000 residents or part of its townCoe TownshipIts storyC−Zuma TownshipIts storynot graded: under 1,000 residents or part of its townJoslinIts storynot graded: under 1,000 residents or part of its town

Questions about Canoe Creek Township’s history

What year was Canoe Creek Township founded?

In 1856, according to Wikidata. Canoe Creek Township’s post office opened in 1871.

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 USGS Geographic Names Information System and old county and town histories (Internet Archive). Archive images are copied here with their credits and licenses, shown on each photo’s page. Refreshed monthly.