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History · Dowell

Dowell’s post office opened in 1918, and 32% of its homes were built before 1940

Below: 1 old photo or paper, maps from 1910 on, and the census since 1920.

1918first post office
0on the National Register
32%homes built before 1940
1old photo or paper
Add an old photoShare a memory
From Dowell’s archive · credits on each photo
Quick answers

How Dowell began

When was Dowell founded?

1918

The Dowell post office opened in 1918, the earliest record of the town by name.

First census: 422 in 19202020 census: 368108 years
Founding year: the first Dowell post office (Blevins & Helbock, CC0).The full story ↓

What stands out about Dowell’s past

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

A history waiting to be writtenOnly 1 old photo is in the public archives. The rest are in attics and albums.Boom and bustPeaked at 832 in 1930; 368 people lived here in 2020.On the map since 19104 editions of the USGS map, 1910 to 1978. Watch Dowell change.
★ What stands out · Help out

Start Dowell’s collection

The first neighbors to add old photos shape how Dowell’s history is told.

Decades since 1900 with photos
00s10s20s30s40s50s60s70s80s90s
1 of 10 decades. The empty ones are waiting for someone’s album.
Retake an old viewKathleen Mine at Dowell, Ill. Where the…: stand where they stood+15Share a family photoSign in to add one+10
People over time

Dowell, census by census

0200400600800192019401960198020002020Peak: 832

Peaked at 832 in 1930; 368 people lived here in 2020.

11 censuses, 1920–2020.

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

On the map

Dowell on the map, 1910 to 1978

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

Dowell on the 1910 USGS mapDowell on the 1936 USGS mapDowell on the 1968 USGS mapDowell on the 1978 USGS map1910Herrin 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 Dowell.

The story

How Dowell came to be

From Wikipedia’s history of Dowell.

Read it all →

Dowell was founded as a coal town and named by Du Quoin attorney George Dowell and William Lafont. They requested bids for property development as early as 1917. In 1922, the town's population was over 2,000.

In February 1920, the Dowell State Bank was opened in the town. Town founders George Dowell and William Lafont were among the first directors of the bank. It was the scene of a bank robbery on September 30, 1924. The bank closed in 1932 following embezzlement charges against its president, William Lafont.

In late 1920, construction began on a railroad depot serving the Illinois Central Railroad. At one time the rail line had a spur into the Kathleen Coal Mine

ChaptersKathleen Coal MineBaseball teamDowell today

Text from Wikipedia, licensed CC BY-SA 4.0.

Timeline

Dowell, 1910 to 1930

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

  1. 20th century
  2. 1910On the mapFirst mapped by the U.S. Geological Survey
  3. 1918Post officeThe Dowell post office opens
  4. 1922In the archiveKathleen Mine at Dowell, Ill. Where the Clean, Clinkerless Southern Illinois Coal Comes F…
  5. 1930CensusPopulation peaks at 832
By decade

Dowell, decade by decade

One decade in the archive so far: the 1920s. Scroll each row; tap a photo for its story.

1920s1 item
Kathleen Mine at Dowell, Ill. Where the Clean, Clinkerless Southern Illinois Coal Comes From,... (NBY 428839)1922Kathleen Mine at Dowell, Ill. Where the Clean, Clinke…
1930s–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
Today5 recent
Dowell air2024Dowell airMemorial to the former Dowell Russian Orthodox Church2014Memorial to the former Dowell Russian Orthodox ChurchFormer company store2014Former company storeEntering2014EnteringDowell, IL2014Dowell, IL
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.

Kathleen Mine at Dowell, Ill. Where the Clean, Clinkerless Southern Illinois Coal Comes From,... (NBY 428839)
Retake this viewKathleen Mine at Dowell, Ill. Where the Clean, Clinkerless Southern Illinois Coal Comes From,... (NBY 428839), 1922

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

Retake this view · +15
Famous people

Famous people close to Dowell

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

See all →
John MalkovichAmerican actor · b. 1953
Nick HolonyakAmerican physicist · b. 1928
Doug CollinsAmerican basketball player and coach · b. 1951
K
Ken SwoffordAmerican actor · b. 1933
John A. LoganAmerican soldier and politician · b. 1826
Mike BostAmerican politician · b. 1960

Questions about Dowell’s history

What year was Dowell founded?

The Dowell post office opened in 1918, 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 Wikimedia Commons (6), Wikipedia, U.S. Geological Survey historical maps, U.S. Census counts (via Wikipedia), 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.