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History · Cooperstown Township

Cooperstown Township’s post office opened in 1852, and 54% of its homes were built before 1940

1 place in town is on the National Register, among them a historic district with 1 buildings. Below: maps from 1928 on.

1852first post office
1on the National Register
54%homes built before 1940
2famous people
Add an old photoShare a memory
Quick answers

How Cooperstown Township began

When was Cooperstown Township founded?

1852

The Cooperstown Township post office opened in 1852, the earliest record of the town by name. Another post office, Cooperstown (1852), opened inside today’s town and later closed.

2020 census: 264174 years
Founding year: the first Cooperstown Township post office (Blevins & Helbock, CC0).

What stands out about Cooperstown 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 Cooperstown Township are in the public archives yet. The rest are in attics and albums.Old housesHalf of Cooperstown Township’s homes were built before 1938.
★ What stands out · Help out

Start Cooperstown Township’s collection

The first neighbors to add old photos shape how Cooperstown 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
The story so far

Cooperstown Township, in brief

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

Cooperstown is an unincorporated community in Brown County, Illinois, United States. It is located east of Mount Sterling and southeast of Ripley. William H. Dieterich, member of the Illinois House of Representatives, U.S. Representative from Illinois, and U.S. Senator from Illinois, was born near Cooperstown.

Its first post office opened in 1852. Between the 2010 and 2020 censuses its population fell from 311 to 264 (-15%).

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

Timeline

Cooperstown Township, 1852 to 1943

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

  1. 19th century
  2. 1852Post officeThe Cooperstown post office opens
  3. 1861Born hereJohn Bell Hatcher is born here
  4. 1876Born hereWilliam H. Dieterich is born here
  5. 20th century
  6. 1928On the mapFirst mapped by the U.S. Geological Survey
  7. 1943Post officeThe Cooperstown 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.
Add from your album
On the map

Cooperstown Township on the map, 1928 to 1980

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

Cooperstown Township on the 1928 USGS mapCooperstown Township on the 1931 USGS mapCooperstown Township on the 1980 USGS map1928Meredosia 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 Cooperstown Township.

On the National Register

1 historic place in Cooperstown Township

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

place listed
1
National Historic Landmarks
0
none yet
historic buildings protected
1
each building in a district counts
first listed
2004
La Grange Lock and Dam Historic District
La Grange Lock and Dam Historic District
Districts

Architectural styles listings

Lock and Dam1
La Grange Lock and Dam Historic DistrictLock and Dam

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

Famous people

2 famous people were born in Cooperstown Township

Writers, athletes, leaders and more, ranked by how widely they’re known.

See all →
John Bell HatcherAmerican paleontologist · b. 1861
William H. DieterichAmerican politician · b. 1876
Places that used to be

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

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

Hamlets and corners on the map
CooperstownLa Grange
Gone or out of use
Barton SchoolschoolDe Witts SchoolschoolFagar SchoolschoolHill SchoolschoolLa Grange SchoolschoolMyers SchoolschoolPerry SchoolschoolPetri Schoolschool
11cemeteries and burying grounds inside Cooperstown Township
ClarkCooperstownCross RoadsDe WittHuffmanHulettLogan CreekLogsdon Number 1Logsdon Number 2PerryTebo

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.

Bainbridge TownshipIts storynot graded: under 1,000 residents or part of its townWoodstock TownshipIts storynot graded: under 1,000 residents or part of its townHagener TownshipIts storynot graded: under 1,000 residents or part of its townVersailles TownshipIts storynot graded: under 1,000 residents or part of its townBeardstown Township1 historic placenot graded: under 1,000 residents or part of its townRipley TownshipIts storynot graded: under 1,000 residents or part of its townMount Sterling TownshipIts storyB

Questions about Cooperstown Township’s history

What year was Cooperstown Township founded?

The Cooperstown Township post office opened in 1852, the earliest record of the town by name (U.S. post office records).

What is on the National Register in Cooperstown Township?

One place: the La Grange Lock and Dam Historic District (listed 2004).

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 the National Register of Historic Places (1), Wikidata and Wikipedia for famous people, 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.