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History · Fithian

Fithian’s post office opened in 1870, and 24% of its homes were built before 1940

Below: maps from 1943 on and the census since 1880.

1870first post office
0on the National Register
24%homes built before 1940
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Quick answers

How Fithian began

When was Fithian founded?

1870

The Fithian post office opened in 1870, the earliest record of the town by name.

First census: 165 in 18802020 census: 488156 years
Founding year: the first Fithian post office (Blevins & Helbock, CC0).The full story ↓

What stands out about Fithian’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 Fithian are in the public archives yet. The rest are in attics and albums.Old housesHalf of Fithian’s homes were built before 1958.
★ What stands out · Help out

Start Fithian’s collection

The first neighbors to add old photos shape how Fithian’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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The story

How Fithian came to be

From Wikipedia’s history of Fithian.

Read it all →

The town was named after Dr. William Fithian, who donated some of the land for the community; he came to Danville in 1830 and had a farm just a mile west of the site of the town of Fithian. He was a friend and supporter of Abraham Lincoln, who was reputed to have stayed at the farm often in the mid-19th century, as he traveled on his circuit prior to his presidency. Fithian served terms in the Illinois House and Senate. The town of Fithian was a center for trading livestock and grain; it thrived when the Illinois Traction System (an interurban railroad) went through in 1903, and declined along with the ITS, especially during the Great Depression.

Text from Wikipedia, licensed CC BY-SA 4.0.

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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On the map

Fithian on the map, 1943 to 1968

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

Fithian on the 1943 USGS mapFithian on the 1957 USGS mapFithian on the 1968 USGS map1943Fithian 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 Fithian.

People over time

Fithian, census by census

010020030040050060018801900192019401960198020002020Peak: 562

Between 165 and 562 people in every census since 1880.

14 censuses, 1880–2020.

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

Famous people

Famous people close to Fithian

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

See all →
M
Marianne DickersonAmerican distance runner · b. 1960
Frank HanlyAmerican politician · b. 1863
L
Lee MiglinAmerican real estate developer · b. 1924
B
Bert GrahamBaseball player · b. 1886
J
Joe CarpeAmerican footballer · b. 1903
M
Margaret HarperChief of the United States Army Nurse Corps · b. 1911

Questions about Fithian’s history

What year was Fithian founded?

The Fithian post office opened in 1870, the earliest record of the town by name (U.S. post office records).

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 Wikipedia, 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.