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History · Foosland

Foosland dates to 1867, and 92% of its homes were built before 1940

Below: maps from 1928 on and the census since 1960.

1867founded
0on the National Register
92%homes built before 1940
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Photo: Dual Freq · CC BY 2.5
Quick answers

How Foosland began

When was Foosland founded?

1867

Foosland dates its founding to 1867 (Wikipedia’s history). The census first counted it in 1960.

First census: 150 in 19602020 census: 75159 years
Founding year: Wikipedia. First post office: 1874.The full story ↓

What stands out about Foosland’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 Foosland are in the public archives yet. The rest are in attics and albums.Old housesHalf of Foosland’s homes were built before 1938.
★ What stands out · Help out

Start Foosland’s collection

The first neighbors to add old photos shape how Foosland’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 Foosland came to be

From Wikipedia’s history of Foosland.

Read it all →

Foosland was founded in 1867 and a post office was established on June 6th or 7th that year. The town is named after William Foos, an Ohioan who was instrumental in the establishment of the town, and in the placement there of a station of the Chicago-Paducah railroad. He bought and drained about 6,700 acres of nearby land and, through a local superintendent, managed a tenant farming operation. Foosland was incorporated in 1959. Champaign County Judge Frederick S. Green approved a canvass of votes of elected officers. The first mayor was Paul Verkler, who introduced the enduring term for a resident of Foosland: A Fooser. The local residents continue to use this affectionate and endearing term in their daily interactions to this day. In an interview with a local resident, it was then revealed that the first school in Foosland was established in 1878. The original school building was situa…

Text from Wikipedia, licensed CC BY-SA 4.0.

Timeline

Foosland, 1867 to 1928

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

  1. 19th century
  2. 1867
    FoundingFoosland is established
  3. 1874Post officeThe Foosland post office opens
  4. 20th century
  5. 1928On the mapFirst mapped by the U.S. Geological Survey
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.

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On the map

Foosland on the map, 1928 to 1984

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

Foosland on the 1928 USGS mapFoosland on the 1957 USGS mapFoosland on the 1984 USGS map1928Gibson City 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 Foosland.

People over time

Foosland, census by census

01001960198020002020Peak: 172

Between 75 and 172 people in every census since 1960.

7 censuses, 1960–2020.

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

Questions about Foosland’s history

What year was Foosland founded?

In 1867, according to Wikipedia’s history of the town. Foosland’s post office opened in 1874, and the census of 1960 counted 150 people here.

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.