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History · Chalmers Township

17% of Chalmers Township’s homes were built before 1940

Below: maps from 1912 on.

0on the National Register
17%homes built before 1940
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What stands out about Chalmers 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 Chalmers Township are in the public archives yet. The rest are in attics and albums.On the map since 19123 editions of the USGS map, 1912 to 1997. Watch Chalmers Township change.
★ What stands out · Help out

Start Chalmers Township’s collection

The first neighbors to add old photos shape how Chalmers 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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On the map

Chalmers Township on the map, 1912 to 1997

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

Chalmers Township on the 1912 USGS mapChalmers Township on the 1974 USGS mapChalmers Township on the 1997 USGS map1912Macomb 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 Chalmers Township.

The story so far

Chalmers Township, in brief

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

Chalmers Township is located in McDonough County, Illinois. As of the 2010 census, its population was 686 and it contained 326 housing units.

Between the 2010 and 2020 censuses its population grew from 686 to 718 (+5%).

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

Timeline

Chalmers Township, 1871 to 1962

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

  1. 19th century
  2. 1871Post officeThe Fandon post office opens
  3. 20th century
  4. 1912On the mapFirst mapped by the U.S. Geological Survey
  5. 1962Post officeThe Fandon post office closes
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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Places that used to be

Lost post offices, old corners, places now gone and burying grounds

Another post office, Fandon, opened and closed inside today’s town.

Hamlets and corners on the map
Fandon
Gone or out of use
Excelsior SchoolschoolFandon SchoolschoolGooseneck SchoolschoolHagan SchoolschoolHarmony SchoolschoolLitchfield SchoolschoolLong Nine SchoolschoolOakwood SchoolschoolSalem Methodist Episcopal Churchchurch
7cemeteries and burying grounds inside Chalmers Township
BaileyForest LawnMiler GraveOld CatholicRidenStraderWayland

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.

Macomb5 historic placesAMacomb City Township5 historic placesAColchester Township2 historic placesA−Bethel TownshipIts storynot graded: under 1,000 residents or part of its townScotland TownshipIts storynot graded: under 1,000 residents or part of its townEmmet TownshipIts storynot graded: under 1,000 residents or part of its town

Questions about Chalmers Township’s history

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 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.