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History · Duncan Township

62% of Duncan Township’s homes were built before 1940

Below: maps from 1916 on.

0on the National Register
62%homes built before 1940
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What stands out about Duncan 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 Duncan Township are in the public archives yet. The rest are in attics and albums.Old housesHalf of Duncan Township’s homes were built before 1938.On the map since 19165 editions of the USGS map, 1916 to 1991. Watch Duncan Township change.
★ What stands out · Help out

Start Duncan Township’s collection

The first neighbors to add old photos shape how Duncan Township’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

Duncan Township, in brief

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

Duncan Township is located in Mercer County, Illinois. As of the 2010 census, its population was 272 and it contained 124 housing units. Duncan Township bears the name of Buford Duncan, a pioneer settler. Educational Attainment: 16.4% Bachelor's Degree or Higher in Duncan township, Mercer County, Illinois

Between the 2010 and 2020 censuses its population grew from 272 to 301 (+11%).

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

On the map

Duncan Township on the map, 1916 to 1991

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

Duncan Township on the 1916 USGS mapDuncan Township on the 1938 USGS mapDuncan Township on the 1953 USGS mapDuncan Township on the 1975 USGS mapDuncan Township on the 1991 USGS map1916Edgington 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 Duncan Township.

Timeline

Duncan Township, 1881 to 1916

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

  1. 19th century
  2. 1881Post officeThe Marston post office opens
  3. 20th century
  4. 1907Post officeThe Marston post office closes
  5. 1916On 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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Famous people

Famous people close to Duncan Township

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

See all →
Suzy BoggussAmerican musician · b. 1956
D
Doris LeeAmerican painter, printmaker and muralist · b. 1905
C
Charles CarpenterAmerican Army officer · b. 1913
Judson Churchill WelliverAmerican speechwriter · b. 1870
C
Charles S. WhartonU.S. Representative · b. 1875
H. L. CarnahanAmerican politician (1879–1941); Lieutenant Gov… · b. 1879
Places that used to be

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

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

Hamlets and corners on the map
Marston
Gone or out of use
Buffalo Prairie ChurchchurchExcelsor SchoolschoolMarston SchoolschoolOakdale SchoolschoolPoint Pleasant SchoolschoolRosedale Schoolschool
3cemeteries and burying grounds inside Duncan Township
Buffalo Prairie Latter Day SaintsDuncanOak Ridge

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.

Perryton TownshipIts storynot graded: under 1,000 residents or part of its townMillersburg TownshipIts storynot graded: under 1,000 residents or part of its townEliza TownshipIts storynot graded: under 1,000 residents or part of its townBuffalo Prairie TownshipIts storynot graded: under 1,000 residents or part of its town

Questions about Duncan Township’s history

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) 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.