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History · Equality

Equality dates to 1735, and 27% of its homes were built before 1940

Below: 1 old photo or paper, maps from 1916 on, and the census since 1860.

1735founded
0on the National Register
27%homes built before 1940
1old photo or paper
1famous people
Add an old photoShare a memory
From Equality’s archive · credits on each photo
Quick answers

How Equality began

When was Equality founded?

1735

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

First census: 369 in 18602020 census: 539291 years
Founding year: Wikidata. First post office: 1829.The full story ↓

What stands out about Equality’s past

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

A history waiting to be writtenOnly 1 old photo is in the public archives. 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 change.
★ What stands out · Help out

Start Equality’s collection

The first neighbors to add old photos shape how Equality’s history is told.

Decades since 1900 with photos
00s10s20s30s40s50s60s70s80s90s
1 of 10 decades. The empty ones are waiting for someone’s album.
Retake an old viewFlood refugees at Equality, Illinois: stand where they stood+15Share a family photoSign in to add one+10
People over time

Equality, census by census

02004006008001,0001,2001,400190019502000Peak: 1,332

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’s Wikipedia page.

Timeline

Equality, 1735 to 1937

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

  1. 18th century
  2. 1735
    FoundingEquality is established
  3. 19th century
  4. 1829Post officeThe Equality post office opens
  5. 20th century
  6. 1916On the mapFirst mapped by the U.S. Geological Survey
  7. 1920CensusPopulation peaks at 1,332
  8. 1932Born hereCedric Dempsey is born here
  9. 1937In the archiveFlood refugees at Equality, Illinois
The story

How Equality came to be

From Wikipedia’s history of Equality.

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, decade by decade

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

1930s1 item
Flood refugees at Equality, Illinois1937Flood refugees at Equality, Illinois
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
Today1 recent
Equality-Illinois-Monument2010Equality-Illinois-Monument
On the map

Equality on the map, 1916 to 1990

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

Equality on the 1916 USGS mapEquality on the 1959 USGS mapEquality on the 1990 USGS map1916Equality 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.

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.

Flood refugees at Equality, Illinois
Retake this viewFlood refugees at Equality, Illinois, 1937

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

Retake this view · +15

Questions about Equality’s history

What year was Equality founded?

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

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 Library of Congress (1), Wikipedia, Wikidata and Wikipedia for famous people, 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.