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History · Edford Township

28% of Edford Township’s homes were built before 1940

Below: maps from 1937 on and the census since 2000.

0on the National Register
28%homes built before 1940
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What stands out about Edford 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 Edford Township are in the public archives yet. The rest are in attics and albums.
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Start Edford Township’s collection

The first neighbors to add old photos shape how Edford 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

Edford Township, in brief

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

Edford Township is one of twenty-four townships in Henry County, Illinois, USA. As of the 2020 census, its population was 685 and it contained 278 housing units.

Between the 2010 and 2020 censuses its population grew from 667 to 685 (+3%).

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

Timeline

Edford Township, 1837 to 1937

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

  1. 19th century
  2. 1837Post officeThe Green River post office opens
  3. 20th century
  4. 1931Post officeThe Green River post office closes
  5. 1937On 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

Edford Township on the map, 1937 to 1992

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

Edford Township on the 1937 USGS mapEdford Township on the 1953 USGS mapEdford Township on the 1975 USGS mapEdford Township on the 1992 USGS map1937Orion 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 Edford Township.

People over time

Edford Township, census by census

020040060080020002020Peak: 715

Between 667 and 715 people in every census since 2000.

3 censuses, 2000–2020.

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

Places that used to be

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

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

Hamlets and corners on the map
Green River
Gone or out of use
Bostze MinemineDuff SchoolschoolEdford SchoolschoolHart SchoolschoolHoward SchoolschoolSchool Number 151schoolWood Schoolschool
1cemetery inside Edford Township
Edford

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.

Hanna TownshipIts storyC−Osco TownshipIts storynot graded: under 1,000 residents or part of its townGeneseo Township2 historic placesnot graded: under 1,000 residents or part of its townColona TownshipIts storyDColonaIts storyD

Questions about Edford 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, 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.