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History · Chenoa Township

Chenoa Township dates to 1854, and 41% of its homes were built before 1940

2 places in town are on the National Register. Below: 7 old photos and papers, maps from 1926 on, and the census since 1880.

1854founded
2on the National Register
41%homes built before 1940
7old photos & papers
Add an old photoShare a memory
From Chenoa Township’s archive · credits on each photo
Quick answers

How Chenoa Township began

When was Chenoa Township founded?

1854

Chenoa Township dates its founding to 1854 (Wikidata). The census first counted it in 1880.

First census: 1,063 in 18802020 census: 1,970172 years
Founding year: Wikidata. First post office: 1856.The full story ↓

What stands out about Chenoa Township’s past

Read from the archive, the National Register and the record. The page puts what stands out first.

Lost villages2 post offices opened and closed inside today’s Chenoa Township, and 1 old place names are still on the map.Old housesHalf of Chenoa Township’s homes were built before 1952.
★ What stands out · Places that used to be

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

Two other post offices opened and closed inside today’s town.

Meadows
1872–1962
Ballard
1883–1931
18701950today
Hamlets and corners on the map
Meadows
Gone or out of use
Ballard SchoolschoolBowman SchoolschoolCenter SchoolschoolEnterprise SchoolschoolMeadows Post Officepost officePayne Schoolschool
1cemetery inside Chenoa Township
Chenoa

US Post Offices dataset (Blevins & Helbock, CC0). Places and cemeteries from the USGS Geographic Names Information System (2021).

The story

How Chenoa Township came to be

From Wikipedia’s history of Chenoa Township.

Read it all →

The Town of Chenoa was laid out on May 13, 1856, by Matthew T. Scott. At this time, the Chicago and Alton Railroad had been running trains for almost two years but the survey for the east-west Toledo, Peoria and Oquawka (soon to be the Toledo, Peoria and Western) had not reached McLean County. Scott anticipated the place where the railroads would cross and platted the town which he called Chenoa. Scott (February 24, 1828 - May 21, 1891) was the son of a Kentucky banker, and, by the time he reached Illinois, was an experienced land developer who led a group of well-financed investors. The European settlement history of Chenoa began in 1854 when Matthew T. Scott began buying thousands of acres of land in this area.

ChaptersFounding of ChenoaThe Name ChenoaDesign of ChenoaSelling ChenoaDevelopment of ChenoaDevelopment continues

Text from Wikipedia, licensed CC BY-SA 4.0.

From the old history books

What they wrote about Chenoa Township in 1924

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

The T. P. & W. Railroad crosses the township. Chenoa and Lexington are the nearest trading towns in McLean County for the Yates Township people. Owing to the lack of timber, Yates was not settled early, the first entries of lands being in 1855-6. It was part of Chenoa Township from its organization…
History of McLean County, Illinois1924 · page 121Read the page →
Read the text

The T. P. & W. Railroad crosses the township. Chenoa and Lexington are the nearest trading towns in McLean County for the Yates Township people. Owing to the lack of timber, Yates was not settled early, the first entries of lands being in 1855-6. It was part of Chenoa Township from its organization in 1858 until 1862. This was first called Union Township owing to the sentiments of its people, but there were others of the same name in the state, and the name was changed to Yates in honor of the Civil War governor of Illinois. Yates Township had a great

Text read by machine from the scan; it may contain errors.
Chenoa Township. — The name of this township was meant for Che- •nowa, which Matthew T. Scott, its earliest settler, gave it. He came from Kentucky, and Chenowa was the Indian name of Kentucky and he bestowed it upon his new settlement. The postoffice department made a mistake in first noting the n…
History of McLean County, Illinois1924 · page 91Read the page →
Read the text

Chenoa Township. — The name of this township was meant for Che- •nowa, which Matthew T. Scott, its earliest settler, gave it. He came from Kentucky, and Chenowa was the Indian name of Kentucky and he bestowed it upon his new settlement. The postoffice department made a mistake in first noting the name, leaving out the "w", and refused ever afterward to correct it, hence Chenoa was the word that stuck. The prairie lands of Chenoa Township long remained unsettled after other portions were taken up. The Chicago & Alton railroad having been built

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

Chenoa Township, 1854 to 1962

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

  1. 19th century
  2. 1854
    FoundingChenoa Township is established
  3. 1869In the archiveBird's eye view of Chenoa, McLean County, Illinois 1869
  4. 1872Post officeThe Meadows post office opens
  5. 1883Post officeThe Ballard post office opens
  6. 20th century
  7. 1900In the archiveStation at Chenoa, Ill's
  8. 1926On the mapFirst mapped by the U.S. Geological Survey
  9. 1931Post officeThe Ballard post office closes
  10. 1962Post officeThe Meadows post office closes
By decade

Chenoa Township, decade by decade

2 decades in the archive, from the 1860s to the 1900s. Scroll each row; tap a photo for its story.

1860s1 item
Bird's eye view of Chenoa, McLean County, Illinois 18691869Bird's eye view of Chenoa, McLean County, Illinois 18…
1900s2 items
Station at Chenoa, Ill's1900Station at Chenoa, Ill'sStation & buildings at Chenoa, Ill's1900Station & buildings at Chenoa, Ill's
1910s–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 unknown4 to date
Chenoa Motel, Mr. and Mrs. Roy Williams prop., Mr. and Mrs. Ralph Weaver prop. (NBY 433393)Date?Chenoa Motel, Mr. and Mrs. Roy Williams prop., Mr. an…Roster, 1905. Chenoa Post, no. 185, G.A.RDate?Roster, 1905. Chenoa Post, no. 185, G.A.RBookSteve's Cafe, Texaco (NBY 432901)Date?Steve's Cafe, Texaco (NBY 432901)Steve's Cafe, Texaco (NBY 432902)Date?Steve's Cafe, Texaco (NBY 432902)
Today11 recent
Abraham Lincoln statue sits in front of the McLean County museum2023Abraham Lincoln statue sits in front of the McLean Co…Statue of Charlie created by W.D. Neher donated to the Chenoa Historical Society by the Lyle King Family in Princeton, …2023Statue of Charlie created by W.D. Neher donated to th…Downtown Chenoa, Illinois located on Route 662023Downtown Chenoa, Illinois located on Route 66Chenoa Il downtown42007Chenoa Il downtown4Chenoa Il downtown32007Chenoa Il downtown3Chenoa Il downtown22007Chenoa Il downtown2Chenoa Il Scott House32007Chenoa Il Scott House3Chenoa Il Scott House22007Chenoa Il Scott House2Chenoa Il Rail Sta22007Chenoa Il Rail Sta2Chenoa Il Rail Sta12007Chenoa Il Rail Sta1Chenoa Crossroads2007Chenoa Crossroads
On the map

Chenoa Township on the map, 1926 to 1981

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

Chenoa Township on the 1926 USGS mapChenoa Township on the 1930 USGS mapChenoa Township on the 1981 USGS map1926Normal 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 Chenoa Township.

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.

Bird's eye view of Chenoa, McLean County, Illinois 1869
Retake this viewBird's eye view of Chenoa, McLean County, Illinois 1869, 1869

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

Retake this view · +15
On the National Register

2 historic places in Chenoa Township

The country’s official list of buildings and places worth saving.

places listed
2
National Historic Landmarks
0
none yet
historic buildings protected
2
each building in a district counts

National Park Service, National Register of Historic Places. Photos from Wikimedia Commons, credited on each place’s page.

People over time

Chenoa Township, census by census

05001,0001,5002,00018801900192019401960198020002020Peak: 1,860

Between 1,063 and 1,860 people in every census since 1880.

15 censuses, 1880–2020.

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

Help out

Start Chenoa Township’s collection

The first neighbors to add old photos shape how Chenoa Township’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 photo4 archive items have no date. Guess the decade.+2Retake an old viewBird's eye view of Chenoa, McLean Count…: stand where they stood+15Share a family photoSign in to add one+10
Stories next door

History across the town line

Each neighbor’s History grade, on the same three inputs.

Gridley TownshipIts storyC+Pike TownshipIts storynot graded: under 1,000 residents or part of its townYates TownshipIts storynot graded: under 1,000 residents or part of its town

Questions about Chenoa Township’s history

What year was Chenoa Township founded?

In 1854, according to Wikidata. Chenoa Township’s post office opened in 1856, and the census of 1880 counted 1,063 people here.

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 (13), the Library of Congress (5), Wikipedia, 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.