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History · Durham Township

Durham Township dates to 1839, and 34% of its homes were built before 1940

Below: maps from 1932 on.

1839founded
0on the National Register
34%homes built before 1940
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Quick answers

How Durham Township began

When was Durham Township founded?

1839

Durham Township dates its founding to 1839 (Wikipedia’s history). Its post office opened in 1850.

2020 census: 248187 years
Founding year: Wikipedia. First post office: 1850.The full story ↓

What stands out about Durham 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 Durham Township are in the public archives yet. The rest are in attics and albums.Deep rootsEstablished in 1839: 187 years of Durham Township.
★ What stands out · Help out

Start Durham Township’s collection

The first neighbors to add old photos shape how Durham 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
Timeline

Durham Township, 1839 to 1932

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

  1. 19th century
  2. 1839
    FoundingDurham Township is established
  3. 1850Post officeThe Durham post office opens
  4. 20th century
  5. 1905Post officeThe Durham post office closes
  6. 1932On the mapFirst mapped by the U.S. Geological Survey
The story

How Durham Township came to be

From Wikipedia’s history of Durham Township.

Read it all →

Durham was laid out in 1839. A large share of the early settlers being natives of Durham, Connecticut caused the name to be selected. A post office was established at Durham in 1850, and remained in operation until 1905.

Text from Wikipedia, licensed CC BY-SA 4.0.

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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On the map

Durham Township on the map, 1932 to 1964

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

Durham Township on the 1932 USGS mapDurham Township on the 1964 USGS map1932Lomax 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 Durham Township.

Places that used to be

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

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

Hamlets and corners on the map
Durham
Gone or out of use
Alma Mater SchoolschoolDurham SchoolschoolEnterprise SchoolschoolFairview SchoolschoolIndependence SchoolschoolPleasant Hill SchoolschoolTilton SchoolschoolVictory SchoolschoolWashington Schoolschool
5cemeteries and burying grounds inside Durham Township
BylerDurhamGittingsGittings MoundVandruff

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.

Dallas City TownshipIts storynot graded: under 1,000 residents or part of its townPilot Grove TownshipIts storynot graded: under 1,000 residents or part of its townLomax TownshipIts storynot graded: under 1,000 residents or part of its townLa Harpe Township2 historic placesnot graded: under 1,000 residents or part of its town

Questions about Durham Township’s history

What year was Durham Township founded?

In 1839, according to Wikipedia’s history of the town. Durham Township’s post office opened in 1850.

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 Wikipedia, 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.