On its age, its old homes and the National Register, Cedar Township is more historic than 65% of U.S. towns, #294 of 768 in Illinois. Its share of homes from before 1940 holds the grade up; its National Register listings pull it down.
B
HistoryA character grade: shown, never part of Cedar Township’s overall grade.
Few Illinois towns list much on the Register (a typical Illinois town has 0.5 per 10,000 residents, the U.S. 2.4), so Cedar Township’s 0.0 sits below most of its state (28% of Illinois towns have fewer) while its 0 listings outnumber those of 23% of U.S. towns.
How sure. Graded on two of the three inputs, so a change in either one moves the letter more than it would with three. The pre-1940 share is a Census survey estimate (±8.7 points).
Founding year: our sources. Homes: Census ACS 2020–24. National Register: National Park Service, May 2026 list; each listing counted once (boundary changes and added documentation belong to their listing), and a historic district counts its contributing buildings. How TownRatings grades history →
What stands out about Cedar Township’s past
Read from the archive, the National Register and the record. The page puts what stands out first.
Lost post offices, old corners, places now gone and burying grounds
Two other post offices opened and closed inside today’s town.
Brush Creek
1847–1852
Saluda
1856–1859
18401930today
Hamlets and corners on the map
Saluda
Gone or out of use
Brush Creek SchoolschoolCherry Grove SchoolschoolCross Lane SchoolschoolEarl SchoolschoolHeller SchoolschoolLouisville SchoolschoolMalone Landing StripairportOak Grove SchoolschoolSaluda StationlocaleWarren Schoolschool
2cemeteries and burying grounds inside Cedar Township
Brush CreekCherry Grove
US Post Offices dataset (Blevins & Helbock, CC0). Places and cemeteries from the USGS Geographic Names Information System (2021).
The story so far
Cedar Township, in brief
Wikipedia doesn’t have a history of Cedar Township yet. The photos, dates and memories neighbors add here are how it gets written.
Cedar Township is one of twenty-one townships in Knox County, Illinois, USA. As of the 2020 census, its population was 3,047 and it contained 1,481 housing units. Its name was changed from Cherry Grove Township on June 8, 1853.
Between the 2010 and 2020 censuses its population fell from 3,270 to 3,047 (-7%).
Intro from Wikipedia. Population: U.S. Census Bureau.
Timeline
Cedar Township, 1847 to 1925
Woven from the archive, old maps, post office records, the National Register and the people born here.
Every edition of the U.S. Geological Survey’s map of Cedar Township. Tap a year, or press play to watch the town change.
1925Galesburg 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 Cedar Township.
Famous people
Famous people close to Cedar Township
Nobody well known was born in Cedar Township itself, so here are the best known from just nearby.
Cedar Township is more historic than 65% of U.S. towns, #294 of 768 in Illinois. The History grade combines the town’s founding era, the share of homes built before 1940 and its National Register listings. It’s a character grade, so it isn’t part of the overall grade. How it works.
How old are the homes in Cedar Township?
36% of Cedar Township’s homes were built before 1940 (Census estimate, ±8.7 points), against a typical 11% for an Illinois town; the median home was built in 1951.
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).
From U.S. Geological Survey historical maps, 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.
