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History · Chandlerville

Chandlerville’s post office opened in 1856, and 32% of its homes were built before 1940

Below: 2 old photos and papers, maps from 1894 on, and the census since 1870.

1856first post office
0on the National Register
32%homes built before 1940
2old photos & papers
1famous people
Add an old photoShare a memory
Photo: Ken Lund from Reno, Nevada, USA · CC BY-SA 2.0
Quick answers

How Chandlerville began

When was Chandlerville founded?

1856

The Chandlerville post office opened in 1856, the earliest record of the town by name.

First census: 401 in 18702020 census: 527170 years
Founding year: the first Chandlerville post office (Blevins & Helbock, CC0).The full story ↓

What stands out about Chandlerville’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 2 old photos are in the public archives. The rest are in attics and albums.Boom and bustPeaked at 940 in 1900; 527 people lived here in 2020.Mapped building by building3 fire insurance maps, 1894 to 1909, drew every building in Chandlerville.Old housesHalf of Chandlerville’s homes were built before 1957.
★ What stands out · Help out

Start Chandlerville’s collection

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

Decades since 1900 with photos
00s10s20s30s40s50s60s70s80s90s
1 of 10 decades. The empty ones are waiting for someone’s album.
Date a photo1 archive item has no date. Guess the decade.+2Retake an old viewIllinois, Chandlerville quadrangle: stand where they stood+15Share a family photoSign in to add one+10
People over time

Chandlerville, census by census

02004006008001,00018801900192019401960198020002020Peak: 940

Peaked at 940 in 1900; 527 people lived here in 2020.

16 censuses, 1870–2020.

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

Every building

Chandlerville, building by building, 1894–1909

Fire insurance maps drew every building, what it was made of and what it was used for, so insurers could price the risk of fire. Pick a year, then a sheet.

Chandlerville fire insurance map, 1894, sheet 11894Sheet 1 of 3
Edition
BrickWoodStone

Sanborn Map Company, via the Library of Congress. Editions published in 1930 or earlier, which are in the public domain.

The story

How Chandlerville came to be

From Wikipedia’s history of Chandlerville.

Read it all →

Chandlerville was named for its founder, Dr. Charles Chandler.

Text from Wikipedia, licensed CC BY-SA 4.0.

From the old history books

What they wrote about Chandlerville, 1882–1915

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

was much the same as in the districts which hare remained rural. In the Panther Creek settlement, which ultimately became the thriving village of Chandlerville, the first school was conducted by Mrs. Henry Ingalls, who opened and taught the school in her private residence, south of the Dr. Chandler…
history of cass county illinois1915 · page 741Read the page →
Read the text

was much the same as in the districts which hare remained rural. In the Panther Creek settlement, which ultimately became the thriving village of Chandlerville, the first school was conducted by Mrs. Henry Ingalls, who opened and taught the school in her private residence, south of the Dr. Chandler home. After several terms she discontinued the work and was succeeded by

Text read by machine from the scan; it may contain errors.
From the very earliest recollection of the white settlers the large creek running northwest, south of the village of Chandlerville. has been known as Panther Creek. but who bestowed the name cannot be ascertained. In earlier days it was by the natives called “Painter Crick.” but it was named after …
history of cass county illinois1915 · page 812Read the page →
Read the text

From the very earliest recollection of the white settlers the large creek running northwest, south of the village of Chandlerville. has been known as Panther Creek. but who bestowed the name cannot be ascertained. In earlier days it was by the natives called “Painter Crick.” but it was named after the most ferocious of the wild animals that infested the timber and hot-

Text read by machine from the scan; it may contain errors.
The town of Chandlerville was begun in 1848, by Dr. Charles Chandler; and Ashland in 1857.
History of Cass County, Illinois1882 · page 50Read the page →
Read the text

The town of Chandlerville was begun in 1848, by Dr. Charles Chandler; and Ashland in 1857.

Text read by machine from the scan; it may contain errors.
present highly cultivated condition. In 1876 he erected, from his own designs, a neat and commodious residence in the stirring little town of Chandlerville, and moved to the same in the spring of 1877, where he may now be found, surrounded with those comforts, and enjoying those pleasures that are …
History of Cass County, Illinois1882 · page 281Read the page →
Read the text

present highly cultivated condition. In 1876 he erected, from his own designs, a neat and commodious residence in the stirring little town of Chandlerville, and moved to the same in the spring of 1877, where he may now be found, surrounded with those comforts, and enjoying those pleasures that are ever the result of honesty, industry and economy. Mr.

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

Chandlerville, 1856 to 1932

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

  1. 19th century
  2. 1856Post officeThe Chandlerville post office opens
  3. 1892Born hereScott W. Lucas is born here
  4. 20th century
  5. 1900CensusPopulation peaks at 940
  6. 1930On the mapFirst mapped by the U.S. Geological Survey
  7. 1932In the archiveIllinois, Chandlerville quadrangle
By decade

Chandlerville, decade by decade

One decade in the archive so far: the 1930s. Scroll each row; tap a photo for its story.

1930s1 item
Illinois, Chandlerville quadrangle1932Illinois, Chandlerville quadrangle
1940s–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
Date unknown1 to date
Chandlerville 1930 1-62,500 - PCL Map Collection - txu-pclmaps-topo-il-chandlerville-1930Date?Chandlerville 1930 1-62,500 - PCL Map Collection - tx…Map
Today27 recent
20240905-RMA-KLS-0031 TONED202420240905-RMA-KLS-0031 TONED20240905-RMA-KLS-0029 TONED202420240905-RMA-KLS-0029 TONED20240905-RMA-KLS-0027 TONED202420240905-RMA-KLS-0027 TONED20240905-RMA-KLS-0025 TONED202420240905-RMA-KLS-0025 TONED20240905-RMA-KLS-0024 TONED202420240905-RMA-KLS-0024 TONED20240905-RMA-KLS-0022 TONED202420240905-RMA-KLS-0022 TONED20240905-RMA-KLS-0019 TONED202420240905-RMA-KLS-0019 TONED20240905-RMA-KLS-0018 TONED202420240905-RMA-KLS-0018 TONED20240905-RMA-KLS-0015 TONED202420240905-RMA-KLS-0015 TONED20240905-RMA-KLS-0010 TONED202420240905-RMA-KLS-0010 TONED20240905-RMA-KLS-0007 TONED202420240905-RMA-KLS-0007 TONED20240905-RMA-KLS-0005 TONED202420240905-RMA-KLS-0005 TONED20240905-RMA-KLS-0001 TONED202420240905-RMA-KLS-0001 TONED20240905-RMA-JMS-0026 TONED202420240905-RMA-JMS-0026 TONED20240905-RMA-JMS-0024 TONED202420240905-RMA-JMS-0024 TONED20240905-RMA-JMS-0023 TONED202420240905-RMA-JMS-0023 TONED20240905-RMA-JMS-0019 TONED202420240905-RMA-JMS-0019 TONED20240905-RMA-JMS-0015 TONED202420240905-RMA-JMS-0015 TONED20240905-RMA-JMS-0013 TONED202420240905-RMA-JMS-0013 TONED20240905-RMA-JMS-0012 TONED202420240905-RMA-JMS-0012 TONED20240905-RMA-JMS-0011 TONED202420240905-RMA-JMS-0011 TONED20240905-RMA-JMS-0009 TONED202420240905-RMA-JMS-0009 TONED20240905-RMA-JMS-0004 TONED202420240905-RMA-JMS-0004 TONED20240905-RMA-JMS-0003 TONED202420240905-RMA-JMS-0003 TONED20240905-RMA-JMS-0001 TONED202420240905-RMA-JMS-0001 TONEDChandlerville, Illinois2012Chandlerville, IllinoisChandlerville, Illinois (7235196678) (cropped)2012Chandlerville, Illinois (7235196678) (cropped)
On the map

Chandlerville on the map, 1930 to 1981

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

Chandlerville on the 1930 USGS mapChandlerville on the 1981 USGS map1930Chandlerville 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 Chandlerville.

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.

Illinois, Chandlerville quadrangle
Retake this viewIllinois, Chandlerville quadrangle, 1932

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

Retake this view · +15

Questions about Chandlerville’s history

What year was Chandlerville founded?

The Chandlerville post office opened in 1856, 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 (29), Wikipedia, 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, Sanborn fire insurance maps (Library of Congress) 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.