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History · Curran

Curran’s post office opened in 1861, and 12% of its homes were built before 1940

Below: maps from 1981 on and old-book passages.

1861first post office
0on the National Register
12%homes built before 1940
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Quick answers

How Curran began

When was Curran founded?

1861

The Curran post office opened in 1861, the earliest record of the town by name. Wikidata gives 2005.

2020 census: 213165 years
Founding year: the first Curran post office (Blevins & Helbock, CC0). Wikidata: 2005.

What stands out about Curran’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 Curran are in the public archives yet. The rest are in attics and albums.
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The first neighbors to add old photos shape how Curran’s history is told.

Decades since 1900 with photos
00s10s20s30s40s50s60s70s80s90s
0 of 10 decades. The empty ones are waiting for someone’s album.
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The story so far

Curran, in brief

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

Curran is a village in Curran Township, Sangamon County, Illinois, United States. It was incorporated in 2005. As of the 2020 census, Curran had a population of 213. Curran is located a few miles west of Springfield and is part of the Springfield Metropolitan Statistical Area.

Its first post office opened in 1861. Its population held steady between the last two censuses: 212 in 2010, 213 in 2020.

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

From the old history books

What they wrote about Curran, 1881–1912

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

1882, when he located in Springfield, buying a house on the corner of Edwards and New Street, which he later sold and moved to the village of Curran. He kept a general store there four years, then moved to a farm southeast of Curran, where he was engaged in farming until 1894, when he moved to his …
Historical Encyclopedia of Illinois and history of Sangamon County1912 · page 1236Read the page →
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1882, when he located in Springfield, buying a house on the corner of Edwards and New Street, which he later sold and moved to the village of Curran. He kept a general store there four years, then moved to a farm southeast of Curran, where he was engaged in farming until 1894, when he moved to his present residence, 701 South English Avenue, Spring-

Text read by machine from the scan; it may contain errors.
The township of Curran is situated in the second tier of townships from the west and the third from the south, and comprises township fifteen, range six west.
History of Sangamon County, Illinois1881 · page 883Read the page →
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The township of Curran is situated in the second tier of townships from the west and the third from the south, and comprises township fifteen, range six west.

Text read by machine from the scan; it may contain errors.
riage he engaged in farming and in 1867 came to Sangamon County. For two years he lived near Sanger, Il., and then broke a section of land near Curran, Ill., and lived there some years, paying a large amount of money out in rent. He then purchased 204 acres situated one and one-half miles north of …
Historical Encyclopedia of Illinois and history of Sangamon County1912 · page 1480Read the page →
Read the text

riage he engaged in farming and in 1867 came to Sangamon County. For two years he lived near Sanger, Il., and then broke a section of land near Curran, Ill., and lived there some years, paying a large amount of money out in rent. He then purchased 204 acres situated one and one-half miles north of Curran, which he later increased to 284 acres, and resided there

Text read by machine from the scan; it may contain errors.
The township of Gardner comprises township sixteen north, range six west, and is bounded on the east by Springfield, on the west by Cartwright, north by Salisbury, and south by Curran townsliip, and was so named in honor of John Gardner, who was for many years, and until his death, one of the princ…
History of Sangamon County, Illinois1881 · page 913Read the page →
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The township of Gardner comprises township sixteen north, range six west, and is bounded on the east by Springfield, on the west by Cartwright, north by Salisbury, and south by Curran townsliip, and was so named in honor of John Gardner, who was for many years, and until his death, one of the principal citizens of the township, and one of the three commissioners ap-

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

Curran, 1861 to 1981

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

  1. 19th century
  2. 1861Post officeThe Curran post office opens
  3. 20th century
  4. 1962Post officeThe Curran post office closes
  5. 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.

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On the map

Curran on the map in 1981

The U.S. Geological Survey’s map of Curran.

Curran on the 1981 USGS map1981Loami 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 Curran.

Places that used to be

Lost post offices

Curran had its own post office from 1861 to 1962.

Curran
1861–1962
18601940today

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

Questions about Curran’s history

What year was Curran founded?

The Curran post office opened in 1861, the earliest record of the town by name (U.S. post office records). Wikidata gives 2005.

Memory lane

What the archives can’t tell you, neighbors can.

Town Square →
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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), 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.