History · Erie

Erie’s post office opened in 1850, and 23% of its homes were built before 1940

More historic than 43% of U.S. towns. What drives it

Below: 2 old photos and papers from 1996 on and old-book passages.

1850first post office

0on the National Register

23%homes built before 1940

2old photos & papers

1famous people

Add an old photo Share a memory

From Erie’s archive · credits on each photo

Quick answers

How Erie began

When was Erie founded?

1850

The Erie post office opened in 1850, the earliest record of the town by name.

2020 census: 1,518176 years

How historic is Erie?

C⁺

More historic than 43% of U.S. towns, on its age, its old homes and the National Register.

What drives the grade ↓

Founding year: the first Erie post office (Blevins & Helbock, CC0).

History grade

What drives Erie’s History grade

On its age, its old homes and the National Register, Erie is more historic than 43% of U.S. towns. Its share of homes from before 1940 holds the grade up; its National Register listings pull it down.

C⁺

HistoryA character grade: shown, never part of Erie’s overall grade.

Founding era1850, from the first post office: founded 1850–1899, an older era than 37% of U.S. townsC⁺Homes built before 194022.8% of homes (±5.8) · typical IL town 10.6% · U.S. 8.4%B⁺National RegisterNo listings counted · typical IL town 0.5 per 10,000 · U.S. 2.4C

All U.S. towns we grade (21,289)Ahead of 43%

NewerOlder

Few Illinois towns list much on the Register (a typical Illinois town has 0.5 per 10,000 residents, the U.S. 2.4), so Erie’s 0.0 sits below most of its state (28% of Illinois towns have fewer) while its 0 listings outnumber those of 23% of U.S. towns.

How sure. Graded on any two of the three inputs instead, the letter would range from C− to B−. The pre-1940 share is a Census survey estimate (±5.8 points). The founding year is the first post office, not a stated founding date.

Founding year: the first post office (other dates in Quick answers). Homes: Census ACS 2020–24. National Register: National Park Service, May 2026 list; each listing counted once (boundary changes and added documentation belong to their listing), and a historic district counts its contributing buildings. How TownRatings grades history →

What stands out about Erie’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 2 old photos are in the public archives. The rest are in attics and albums.

★ What stands out · Help out

Start Erie’s collection

The first neighbors to add old photos shape how Erie’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 view19960106 21 BNSF: stand where they stood+15 Share a family photoSign in to add one+10

The story so far

Erie, in brief

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

Erie is a village in Whiteside County, Illinois, United States. As of the 2020 census, Erie had a population of 1,518. It is known for its unusual layout, specifically its "town triangle".

Its first post office opened in 1850. Between the 2010 and 2020 censuses its population fell from 1,602 to 1,518 (-5%).

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

From the old history books

What they wrote about Erie in 1877

Passages that mention Erie, cut from the printed page as they were published.

The township of Erie was formed from Erie Precinct under the Township Organization Laws in 1852, and contains 14,392 acres. The village of Erie, within the township, contains 195 lots. The township upon the south and east is skirted by Rock river, the borders of the stream being fringed by timber o… — **History of Whiteside county, Illinois, from its first settlement to the present time**1877 · page 147Read the page →
Read the text
The township of Erie was formed from Erie Precinct under the Township Organization Laws in 1852, and contains 14,392 acres. The village of Erie, within the township, contains 195 lots. The township upon the south and east is skirted by Rock river, the borders of the stream being fringed by timber of a fine quality. The land is usually savanna, which by drainage is being rapidly reclaimed, and is of unexhaustible fertility. Within the borders of the township is a large body of sandy land, portions of which is not valuable for agricultural purposes. Rock Island county borders the township on the
Text read by machine from the scan; it may contain errors.

Mr. Alvin Brooks, now of Clyde, Kansas, one of the original settlers of Erie township, furnishes the following in regard to the early settlement of Erie. His statements are confirmed by the surviving pioneers of Erie township. He says: "The first man who crossed the river to make a claim commenced … — **History of Whiteside county, Illinois, from its first settlement to the present time**1877 · page 148Read the page →
Read the text
Mr. Alvin Brooks, now of Clyde, Kansas, one of the original settlers of Erie township, furnishes the following in regard to the early settlement of Erie. His statements are confirmed by the surviving pioneers of Erie township. He says: "The first man who crossed the river to make a claim commenced cutting timber to erect a cabin and was frightened away by the Indians.
Text read by machine from the scan; it may contain errors.

Scans and text from the Internet Archive. Books published in 1930 or earlier, which are in the public domain.

Timeline

Erie, 1850 to 1996

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

19th century
1850Post officeThe Erie post office opens
1861Born hereHettie Belle Ege is born here
20th century
1996In the archive19960106 21 BNSF

By decade

Erie, decade by decade

One decade in the archive so far: the 1990s. Scroll each row; tap a photo for its story.

1990s2 items

199619960106 21 BNSF

199619960106 22 BNSF

Today4 recent

2014Erie, Illinois

2007Erie Township Whiteside

2006ILMap-doton-Erie

200420040522 14 BNSF

Stories next door

History across the town line

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

Erie TownshipIts storyC⁺Fenton TownshipIts storynot graded: under 1,000 residents or part of its town

Questions about Erie’s history

What year was Erie founded?

The Erie post office opened in 1850, the earliest record of the town by name (U.S. post office records).

How does Erie rank for history?

Erie is more historic than 43% of U.S. towns. The History grade combines the town’s founding era, the share of homes built before 1940 and its National Register listings. It’s a character grade, so it isn’t part of the overall grade. How it works.

How old are the homes in Erie?

23% of Erie’s homes were built before 1940 (Census estimate, ±5.8 points), against a typical 11% for an Illinois town; the median home was built in 1969.

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).

From Wikimedia Commons (6), Wikidata and Wikipedia for famous people, the US Post Offices dataset (Blevins & Helbock), the USGS Geographic Names Information System and old county and town histories (Internet Archive). Archive images are copied here with their credits and licenses, shown on each photo’s page. Refreshed monthly.

Post to Erie

Check your email