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History · Cedarville

Cedarville’s post office opened in 1853, and 27% of its homes were built before 1940

Below: maps from 1939 on and the census since 1890.

1853first post office
0on the National Register
27%homes built before 1940
2famous people
Add an old photoShare a memory
Photo: IvoShandor · CC BY 2.5
Quick answers

How Cedarville began

When was Cedarville founded?

1853

The Cedarville post office opened in 1853, the earliest record of the town by name.

First census: 326 in 18902020 census: 663173 years
Founding year: the first Cedarville post office (Blevins & Helbock, CC0).

What stands out about Cedarville’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 Cedarville are in the public archives yet. The rest are in attics and albums.Shrank, then grewLost a third of its people between 1900 and 1920, then more than doubled.Old housesHalf of Cedarville’s homes were built before 1957.
★ What stands out · Help out

Start Cedarville’s collection

The first neighbors to add old photos shape how Cedarville’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

Cedarville, census by census

02004006008001900192019401960198020002020377 in 1900Low: 258

Lost a third of its people between 1900 and 1920, then more than doubled.

14 censuses, 1890–2020.

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

The story so far

Cedarville, in brief

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

Cedarville is a village in Stephenson County, Illinois, United States. As of the 2020 census, Cedarville had a population of 663. It is the birthplace of social activist Jane Addams, the 1931 Nobel Peace Prize winner.

Its first post office opened in 1853. Between the 2010 and 2020 censuses its population fell from 741 to 663 (-11%).

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

From the old history books

What they wrote about Cedarville in 1880

Passages that mention Cedarville, cut from the printed page as they were published.

Cedarville Flour Mills — Among the oldest establishments of the kind in the county, owe their origin to Dr. Thomas Van Valzah, who put up a sawmill near 'the site of the present building, in 1837. The affair was of the simplest pattern, and during the following year he increased his responsibilitie…
The History of Stephenson County, Illinois1880 · page 541Read the page →
Read the text

Cedarville Flour Mills — Among the oldest establishments of the kind in the county, owe their origin to Dr. Thomas Van Valzah, who put up a sawmill near 'the site of the present building, in 1837. The affair was of the simplest pattern, and during the following year he increased his responsibilities by the addition of a grist-mill, supplied with one run of buhrs and a pair of " choppers." Dr. Van Valzah retained control until 1840, when he sold to David Neidigh, who, in turn, disposed of the property to Conrad Epley and John W. Shuey. These gentlemen held the title until 1844, when it became

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.

Timeline

Cedarville, 1853 to 1980

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

  1. 19th century
  2. 1853Born hereAlice Haldeman is born here
  3. 1853Post officeThe Cedarville post office opens
  4. 1860Born hereJane Addams is born here
  5. 20th century
  6. 1939On the mapFirst mapped by the U.S. Geological Survey
  7. 1980CensusPopulation peaks at 766
By decade

Cedarville, decade by decade

Today2 recent
Cedarville Il Historical Museum12007Cedarville Il Historical Museum1ILMap-doton-Cedarville2005ILMap-doton-Cedarville
On the map

Cedarville on the map, 1939 to 1981

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

Cedarville on the 1939 USGS mapCedarville on the 1944 USGS mapCedarville on the 1981 USGS map1939Freeport 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 Cedarville.

Famous people

2 famous people were born in Cedarville

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

See all →
Jane AddamsAmerican feminist social activist, reformer, so… · b. 1860
Alice HaldemanAmerican banker and philanthropist · b. 1853

Questions about Cedarville’s history

What year was Cedarville founded?

The Cedarville post office opened in 1853, 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 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.