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History · Eldorado Township

18% of Eldorado Township’s homes were built before 1940

Below: 7 old photos and papers and maps from 1914 on.

0on the National Register
18%homes built before 1940
7old photos & papers
1famous people
Add an old photoShare a memory
From Eldorado Township’s archive · credits on each photo

What stands out about Eldorado Township’s past

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

Old housesHalf of Eldorado Township’s homes were built before 1964.
★ What stands out · The story so far

Eldorado Township, in brief

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

Eldorado Township is located in McDonough County, Illinois. As of the 2010 census, its population was 134 and it contained 85 housing units.

Its population held steady between the last two censuses: 134 in 2010, 133 in 2020.

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

Timeline

Eldorado Township, 1856 to 1937

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

  1. 19th century
  2. 1856Born hereJ. Ross Mickey is born here
  3. 20th century
  4. 1914On the mapFirst mapped by the U.S. Geological Survey
  5. 1937In the archiveCupboard
By decade

Eldorado Township, decade by decade

One decade in the archive so far: the 1930s. Scroll each row; tap a photo for its story.

1930s7 items
Cupboard1937CupboardGoing to town. Near Eldorado, Illinois1937Going to town. Near Eldorado, IllinoisOld square piano in a home at Eldorado, Illinois1937Old square piano in a home at Eldorado, IllinoisEarly American secretary in a home at Eldorado, Illinois1937Early American secretary in a home at Eldorado, Illin…Shopping center of Eldorado, Illinois1939Shopping center of Eldorado, IllinoisMoving picture theaters charge only five cents for admission, indicating a poor population1939Moving picture theaters charge only five cents for ad…Rehabilitation Administration supervisor with client. Ridgeway, Illinois1939Rehabilitation Administration supervisor with client.…
1940s–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
On the map

Eldorado Township on the map, 1914 to 1974

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

Eldorado Township on the 1914 USGS mapEldorado Township on the 1974 USGS map1914Macomb 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 Eldorado Township.

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.

Cupboard
Retake this viewCupboard, 1937

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

Retake this view · +15
Places that used to be

Places now gone and burying grounds

Gone or out of use
Chalkey SchoolschoolColoma SchoolschoolEgypt SchoolschoolFoster Point SchoolschoolHarvey SchoolschoolMud Acre SchoolschoolNevada SchoolschoolPrice SchoolschoolSalem Meeting House of the Brethren in ChristchurchSchool Number 16schoolSugar Creek Cumberland Prestyterian Churchchurch
6cemeteries and burying grounds inside Eldorado Township
ChockleyDennisFoster PointHarrisMilesMoore

Places and cemeteries from the USGS Geographic Names Information System (2021).

Help out

Finish Eldorado Township’s story

Most archives stop around 1920. The photos from after that are in family albums, not libraries.

Decades since 1900 with photos
00s10s20s30s40s50s60s70s80s90s
1 of 10 decades. The empty ones are waiting for someone’s album.
Retake an old viewCupboard: stand where they stood+15Share a family photoSign in to add one+10
Stories next door

History across the town line

Each neighbor’s History grade, on the same three inputs.

Industry TownshipIts storynot graded: under 1,000 residents or part of its townOakland TownshipIts storynot graded: under 1,000 residents or part of its townNew Salem Township1 historic placenot graded: under 1,000 residents or part of its townVermont Township16 historic placesnot graded: under 1,000 residents or part of its town

Questions about Eldorado Township’s history

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 the Library of Congress (7), Wikidata and Wikipedia for famous people, U.S. Geological Survey historical maps 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.