More historic than 13% of U.S. towns · #704 of 768 in Illinois. What drives it
Most of Colona Township was built recently: 6% of its homes predate 1940 and the median home dates from 1971. Below: maps from 1937 on and the census since 1910.
The Colona Township post office opened in 1906, the earliest record of the town by name. Another post office, Briar Bluff (1872), opened inside today’s town and later closed.
First census: 217 in 19102020 census: 6,706120 years
How historic is Colona Township?
D
More historic than 13% of U.S. towns, on its age, its old homes and the National Register.
Founding year: the first Colona Township post office (Blevins & Helbock, CC0).
History grade
What drives Colona Township’s History grade
On its age, its old homes and the National Register, Colona Township is more historic than 13% of U.S. towns, #704 of 768 in Illinois. Its share of homes from before 1940 holds the grade up; its age pulls it down.
D
HistoryA character grade: shown, never part of Colona Township’s overall grade.
Few Illinois towns list much on the Register (a typical Illinois town has 0.5 per 10,000 residents, the U.S. 2.4), so Colona Township’s 0.0 sits below most of its state (28% of Illinois towns have fewer) while its 0 listings outnumber those of 23% of U.S. towns.
How sure. Graded on any two of the three inputs instead, the letter would range from D to C−. The pre-1940 share is a Census survey estimate (±4.0 points). The founding year is the first post office, not a stated founding date.
Founding year: the first post office (other dates in Quick answers). Homes: Census ACS 2020–24. National Register: National Park Service, May 2026 list; each listing counted once (boundary changes and added documentation belong to their listing), and a historic district counts its contributing buildings. How TownRatings grades history →
What stands out about Colona Township’s past
Read from the archive, the National Register and the record. The page puts what stands out first.
Lost post offices, old corners, places now gone and burying grounds
Another post office, Briar Bluff, opened and closed inside today’s town.
Hamlets and corners on the map
Briar BluffDaytonLevel AcresTimber Ridge
Gone or out of use
Black Hawk MinemineGlenn SchoolschoolGreen River SchoolschoolMount Pleasant SchoolschoolStewart Schoolschool
3cemeteries and burying grounds inside Colona Township
ColonaDaytonGlenwood
US Post Offices dataset (Blevins & Helbock, CC0). Places and cemeteries from the USGS Geographic Names Information System (2021).
The story so far
Colona Township, in brief
Wikipedia doesn’t have a history of Colona Township yet. The photos, dates and memories neighbors add here are how it gets written.
Colona is a city in Henry County, Illinois, along the Green River. It is part of the Quad Cities metropolitan area. The population was 5,045 at the 2020 Census. The City of Colona was created in 1997 by the merger of the former City of Green Rock and the former Village of Colona. It was the first community in Illinois to merge by popular vote.
Its first post office opened in 1906. Its population held steady between the last two censuses: 6,822 in 2010, 6,706 in 2020.
Intro from Wikipedia. Population: U.S. Census Bureau.
From the old history books
What they wrote about Colona Township in 1885
Passages that mention Colona Township, cut from the printed page as they were published.
Portrait and biographical album of Henry County, Illinois1885 · page 299Read the page →
Read the text
and located in the county of Rock Island. He operated as a miner there until Jan. 20, 1856, when he came to Henry County. He engaged in mining in Minersville, in Colona Township, where he continued to work until his removal, in 1858, to the village of Colona. He bought a building for the purpose of engaging in mercantile affairs and put in a stock of goods. He embarked in the enterprise in company
Text read by machine from the scan; it may contain errors.
Portrait and biographical album of Henry County, Illinois1885 · page 321Read the page →
Read the text
turned to Hanna Township, where he operated his farm until 1875. He then went to his Iowa farm, and was its occupant until 1880. In that year he took possession of a farm in Colona Township, which he had purchased in 1870. The property is situated on sections 3 and 10. The place was wholly unimproved, and Mr. Stokes built on it and put it in a well improved condition. The property is considered
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
Colona Township, 1872 to 1937
Woven from the archive, old maps, post office records, the National Register and the people born here.
Every edition of the U.S. Geological Survey’s map of Colona Township. Tap a year, or press play to watch the town change.
1937Orion 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 Colona Township.
People over time
Colona Township, census by census
Between 211 and 5,173 people in every census since 1910.
12 censuses, 1910–2020.
U.S. Census Bureau decennial counts, from the census table on Colona Township’s Wikipedia page.
Stories next door
History across the town line
Each neighbor’s History grade, on the same three inputs.
The Colona Township post office opened in 1906, the earliest record of the town by name (U.S. post office records).
How does Colona Township rank for history?
Colona Township is more historic than 13% of U.S. towns, #704 of 768 in Illinois. The History grade combines the town’s founding era, the share of homes built before 1940 and its National Register listings. It’s a character grade, so it isn’t part of the overall grade. How it works.
How old are the homes in Colona Township?
6% of Colona Township’s homes were built before 1940 (Census estimate, ±4.0 points), against a typical 11% for an Illinois town; the median home was built in 1971.
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).
From Wikimedia Commons (3), 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.
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