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History · Chili Township

Chili Township’s post office opened in 1838, and 43% of its homes were built before 1940

Below: maps from 1981 on.

1838first post office
0on the National Register
43%homes built before 1940
Add an old photoShare a memory
Quick answers

How Chili Township began

When was Chili Township founded?

1838

The Chili Township post office opened in 1838, the earliest record of the town by name. Two smaller post offices, Chili (1838) and Chili Centre (1857), opened inside today’s town and later closed.

2020 census: 630188 years
Founding year: the first Chili Township post office (Blevins & Helbock, CC0).

What stands out about Chili 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 Chili Township are in the public archives yet. The rest are in attics and albums.Lost villages2 post offices opened and closed inside today’s Chili Township, and 1 old place names are still on the map.Old housesHalf of Chili Township’s homes were built before 1951.Deep rootsA post office since 1838: 188 years of Chili Township.
★ What stands out · Help out

Start Chili Township’s collection

The first neighbors to add old photos shape how Chili Township’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
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.

Chili
1838–1903
Chili Centre
1857–1863
18301930today
Hamlets and corners on the map
Chili
Gone or out of use
Bethel SchoolschoolChili Center SchoolschoolClimax SchoolschoolCrossland Landing StripairportElm Grove SchoolschoolHazel Dell SchoolschoolLauderdale SchoolschoolPrairie View SchoolschoolRose Hill Schoolschool
5cemeteries and burying grounds inside Chili Township
BowenChiliForsythOld SixteenPayne

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

The story so far

Chili Township, in brief

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

Chili is an unincorporated community in Chili Township, Hancock County, Illinois, United States. Chili is located on County Route 10, 4.5 miles (7.2 km) west-southwest of Bowen. Chili consists of mostly farmland, a few homes, one auto repair shop, and the Chili Township Cemetery.

Its first post office opened in 1838. Between the 2010 and 2020 censuses its population fell from 657 to 630 (-4%).

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

Timeline

Chili Township, 1838 to 1981

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

  1. 19th century
  2. 1838Post officeThe Chili post office opens
  3. 1857Post officeThe Chili Centre post office opens
  4. 1863Post officeThe Chili Centre post office closes
  5. 20th century
  6. 1903Post officeThe Chili post office closes
  7. 1981On the mapFirst mapped by the U.S. Geological Survey
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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On the map

Chili Township on the map in 1981

The U.S. Geological Survey’s map of Chili Township.

Chili Township on the 1981 USGS map1981Bowen sheet · 1:24,000

U.S. Geological Survey historical topographic maps (public domain), via Esri’s collection of the scans. The red ring marks the center of Chili Township.

Famous people

Famous people close to Chili Township

Nobody well known was born in Chili Township itself, so here are the best known from just nearby.

See all →
Adelaide JohnsonAmerican sculptor · b. 1859
Edmond H. MadisonAmerican politician · b. 1865
E
Earl TyreeAmerican baseball player · b. 1890
T
Tesha BussAmerican politician from Vermont
Stories next door

History across the town line

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

Harmony TownshipIts storynot graded: under 1,000 residents or part of its townAugusta TownshipIts storynot graded: under 1,000 residents or part of its townSt. Albans TownshipIts storynot graded: under 1,000 residents or part of its townHouston Township1 historic placenot graded: under 1,000 residents or part of its town

Questions about Chili Township’s history

What year was Chili Township founded?

The Chili Township post office opened in 1838, 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 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.