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–Not graded
History · Erin Township

58% of Erin Township’s homes were built before 1940

0on the National Register
58%homes built before 1940
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What stands out about Erin 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 Erin Township are in the public archives yet. The rest are in attics and albums.Old housesHalf of Erin Township’s homes were built before 1938.
★ What stands out · Help out

Start Erin Township’s collection

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

Decades since 1900 with photos
00s10s20s30s40s50s60s70s80s90s
0 of 10 decades. The empty ones are waiting for someone’s album.
Share a family photoSign in to add one+10
The story so far

Erin Township, in brief

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

Erin Township is located in Stephenson County, Illinois. As of the 2010 census, its population was 410 and it contained 177 housing units. The unincorporated community of Eleroy is located in the township.

Between the 2010 and 2020 censuses its population fell from 410 to 384 (-6%).

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

Timeline

Erin Township, 1847 to 1852

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

  1. 19th century
  2. 1847Post officeThe Eleroy post office opens
  3. 1850Post officeThe Elleroy post office opens
  4. 1852Post officeThe Elleroy post office closes
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.

Be the first to add onePhotograph a print flat, in daylight, no flash.
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Famous people

Famous people close to Erin Township

Nobody well known was born in Erin Township itself, so here are the best known from just nearby.

See all →
Jane AddamsAmerican feminist social activist, reformer, so… · b. 1860
Calista FlockhartAmerican actress · b. 1964
Louella ParsonsAmerican gossip columnist · b. 1881
George Kingsley ZipfAmerican statistician · b. 1902
Alfred A. CohnAmerican screenwriter · b. 1880
Carl CainAmerican basketball player · b. 1934
Places that used to be

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

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

Eleroy
1847–today
Elleroy
1850–1852
18401930today
Hamlets and corners on the map
EleroySalem
Gone or out of use
Heitter SchoolschoolPickard SchoolschoolStony Bluff Schoolschool
4cemeteries and burying grounds inside Erin Township
EleroyGrisbySalem EvangelicalSalem United Church of Christ

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.

Kent Township1 historic placenot graded: under 1,000 residents or part of its townLoran TownshipIts storyBHarlem Township2 historic placesALena2 historic placesAWaddams TownshipIts storynot graded: under 1,000 residents or part of its town

Questions about Erin 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 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.