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History · Equality Township

Equality Township dates to 1735, and 20% of its homes were built before 1940

Its Register listing is the Crenshaw House. Below: maps from 1916 on and the census since 1860.

1735founded

1on the National Register

20%homes built before 1940

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Quick answers

How Equality Township began

When was Equality Township founded?

1735

Equality Township dates its founding to 1735 (Wikidata). The census first counted it in 1860.

First census: 369 in 18602020 census: 765291 years

Founding year: Wikidata. First post office: 1829.The full story ↓

What stands out about Equality 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 Equality Township are in the public archives yet. The rest are in attics and albums.Boom and bustPeaked at 1,332 in 1920; 539 people lived here in 2020.Older than the countryEstablished in 1735, 41 years before the Declaration of Independence.On the map since 19163 editions of the USGS map, 1916 to 1990. Watch Equality Township change.

★ What stands out · Help out

Start Equality Township’s collection

The first neighbors to add old photos shape how Equality 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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People over time

Equality Township, census by census

Peaked at 1,332 in 1920; 539 people lived here in 2020.

17 censuses, 1860–2020.

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

Timeline

Equality Township, 1735 to 1920

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

18th century
1735
FoundingEquality Township is established
20th century
1916On the mapFirst mapped by the U.S. Geological Survey
1920CensusPopulation peaks at 1,332

The story

How Equality Township came to be

From Wikipedia’s history of Equality Township.

Read it all →

On Jan. 26, 1826, Equality was officially established by the General Assembly as the county seat of Gallatin County. The courthouse was built in 1827 for the amount of $1,300.00. Court was held there until 1851, when all legal documents were removed to Shawneetown. The building was later used as a school, church and local society meetings. It was destroyed by fire Nov. 28, 1894.

ChaptersSalt Works

Text from Wikipedia, licensed CC BY-SA 4.0.

By decade

Equality Township, decade by decade

Today1 recent

2010Equality-Illinois-Monument

On the map

Equality Township on the map, 1916 to 1990

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

1916Equality 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 Equality Township.

On the National Register

1 historic place in Equality Township

The country’s official list of buildings and places worth saving.

place listed

National Historic Landmarks

none yet

historic buildings protected

each building in a district counts

first listed

1985

Crenshaw House

Buildings

Crenshaw HouseBuilding

National Park Service, National Register of Historic Places. Photos from Wikimedia Commons, credited on each place’s page.

Places that used to be

Old corners, places now gone and burying grounds

Old hamlets and crossroads still carry their names on the map.

Hamlets and corners on the map

Lawler

Gone or out of use

Dorsey SchoolschoolHickory Hill SchoolschoolIsland Ripple BridgebridgeOlive Schoolschool

3cemeteries and burying grounds inside Equality Township

ElmwoodLawlerLeavell Hill

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.

North Fork TownshipIts storynot graded: under 1,000 residents or part of its town Gold Hill Township1 historic placeB Cottage TownshipIts storynot graded: under 1,000 residents or part of its town Eagle Creek TownshipIts storynot graded: under 1,000 residents or part of its town East Eldorado Township1 historic placeB⁺Mountain TownshipIts storynot graded: under 1,000 residents or part of its town

Questions about Equality Township’s history

What year was Equality Township founded?

In 1735, according to Wikidata. Equality Township’s post office opened in 1829, and the census of 1860 counted 369 people here.

What is on the National Register in Equality Township?

One place: the Crenshaw House (listed 1985).

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 (1), the National Register of Historic Places (1), Wikipedia, U.S. Geological Survey historical maps, U.S. Census counts (via Wikipedia) 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.

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