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AHistory
History · Fulton Township

Fulton Township’s post office opened in 1838, and 30% of its homes were built before 1940

More historic than 94% of U.S. towns · #39 of 768 in Illinois. What drives it

3 places in town are on the National Register, among them a historic district with 1 buildings. Below: 1 old photo or paper, maps from 1891 on, and the census since 1860.

1838first post office
3on the National Register
30%homes built before 1940
1old photo or paper
Add an old photoShare a memory
From Fulton Township’s archive · credits on each photo
Quick answers

How Fulton Township began

When was Fulton Township founded?

1838

The Fulton Township post office opened in 1838, the earliest record of the town by name.

First census: 1,512 in 18602020 census: 4,346188 years

How historic is Fulton Township?

A

More historic than 94% of U.S. towns, on its age, its old homes and the National Register.

What drives the grade ↓
Founding year: the first Fulton Township post office (Blevins & Helbock, CC0).The full story ↓
History grade

What drives Fulton Township’s History grade

On its age, its old homes and the National Register, Fulton Township is more historic than 94% of U.S. towns, #39 of 768 in Illinois. All 3 inputs are above most U.S. towns; its National Register listings ranks highest and its age lowest.

A
HistoryA character grade: shown, never part of Fulton Township’s overall grade.
Founding era1838, from the first post office: founded 1776–1849, an older era than 75% of U.S. townsA−Homes built before 194029.7% of homes (±7.0) · typical IL town 10.6% · U.S. 8.4%A−National Register3 listings, 34 historic buildings, 79.0 per 10,000 residents · typical IL town 0.5 · U.S. 2.4A
All U.S. towns we grade (21,289)Ahead of 94%
NewerOlder
Illinois towns of 2,500+ (768)Ahead of 95%

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 Fulton Township’s 79.0 sits above most of its state (93% of Illinois towns have fewer) while its 34 historic buildings outnumber those of 82% of U.S. towns.

How sure. Graded on any two of the three inputs instead, the letter would still be A. The pre-1940 share is a Census survey estimate (±7.0 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 Fulton 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 writtenOnly 1 old photo is in the public archives. The rest are in attics and albums.Deep rootsA post office since 1838: 188 years of Fulton Township.Old housesHalf of Fulton Township’s homes were built before 1963.
★ What stands out · Help out

Start Fulton Township’s collection

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

Decades since 1900 with photos
00s10s20s30s40s50s60s70s80s90s
0 of 10 decades. The empty ones are waiting for someone’s album.
Date a photo1 archive item has no date. Guess the decade.+2Retake an old viewUpper Mississippi River 9-Foot Channel …: stand where they stood+15Share a family photoSign in to add one+10
The story

How Fulton Township came to be

From Wikipedia’s history of Fulton Township.

Read it all →

A post office called Fulton has been in operation since 1838. The city was named for Robert Fulton, inventor of the steamboat.

Text from Wikipedia, licensed CC BY-SA 4.0.

By decade

Fulton Township, decade by decade

Date unknown1 to date
Upper Mississippi River 9-Foot Channel Project, Lock & Dam No. 13, Upper Mississippi RiverDate?Upper Mississippi River 9-Foot Channel Project, Lock …
Today19 recent
Lock and Dam No. 13 is a lock and dam located on the Upper Mississippi River above Fulton, Illinois. This facility, whi…2019Lock and Dam No. 13 is a lock and dam located on the …Lock and Dam No. 13 is a lock and dam located on the Upper Mississippi River above Fulton, Illinois. This facility, whi…2019Lock and Dam No. 13 is a lock and dam located on the …Estuary and a breakwater adjacent to Lock and Dam No. 13 on the Upper Mississippi River above Fulton, Illinois. This fa…2019Estuary and a breakwater adjacent to Lock and Dam No.…Estuary and a breakwater adjacent to Lock and Dam No. 13 on the Upper Mississippi River above Fulton, Illinois. This fa…2019Estuary and a breakwater adjacent to Lock and Dam No.…Estuary breakwater adjacent to Lock and Dam No. 13 on the Upper Mississippi River above Fulton, Illinois. This facility…2019Estuary breakwater adjacent to Lock and Dam No. 13 on…An excellent example of the changes that time brings: this once grand, if small, Whiteside County Bank building2019An excellent example of the changes that time brings:…The "de Immigrant" windmill on the flood-control dike2019The "de Immigrant" windmill on the flood-control dikeAdjoining buidings, one in--and one out--of business2019Adjoining buidings, one in--and one out--of businessVintage Cadillac, parked on a street2019Vintage Cadillac, parked on a streetWhimsical fisherman metal art2019Whimsical fisherman metal artWhimsical fisherman metal art2019Whimsical fisherman metal artFulton, United States (Unsplash)2017Fulton, United States (Unsplash)IL 136 through2016IL 136 throughImage Martin House2015Image Martin HouseImage Downtown2015Image DowntownFulton Illinois2014Fulton IllinoisClinton Iowa and2011Clinton Iowa andFulton Township Whiteside2007Fulton Township WhitesideILMap-doton-Fulton2006ILMap-doton-Fulton
On the map

Fulton Township on the map in 1891

The U.S. Geological Survey’s map of Fulton Township.

Fulton Township on the 1891 USGS map1891Clinton 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 Fulton Township.

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.

Upper Mississippi River 9-Foot Channel Project, Lock & Dam No. 13, Upper Mississippi River
Retake this viewUpper Mississippi River 9-Foot Channel Project, Lock & Dam No. 13, Upper Mississippi River

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

Retake this view · +15
On the National Register

3 listings protect 34 historic buildings

The country’s official list of buildings and places worth saving.

places listed
3
National Historic Landmarks
0
none yet
historic buildings protected
34
each building in a district counts
first listed
2004
Lock and Dam No. 13 Historic District
Lock and Dam No. 13 Historic District
Districts

Architectural styles listings

Lock and Dam1
Control Station1
Machinery1
Lock and Dam No. 13 Historic DistrictLock and Dam

National Park Service, National Register of Historic Places. Photos from Wikimedia Commons, credited on each place’s page.

People over time

Fulton Township, census by census

05001,0001,5002,0002,5003,0003,5004,000190019502000Peak: 3,936

Between 1,512 and 3,936 people in every census since 1860.

17 censuses, 1860–2020.

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

Places that used to be

Old corners and places now gone

Old hamlets and crossroads still carry their names on the map.

Hamlets and corners on the map
Little Oklahoma
Gone or out of use
Tehan Schoolschool

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.

Fulton2 historic placesAUstick TownshipIts storynot graded: under 1,000 residents or part of its townYork TownshipIts storyCGarden Plain TownshipIts storynot graded: under 1,000 residents or part of its town

Questions about Fulton Township’s history

What year was Fulton Township founded?

The Fulton Township post office opened in 1838, the earliest record of the town by name (U.S. post office records).

How does Fulton Township rank for history?

Fulton Township is more historic than 94% of U.S. towns, #39 of 768 in Illinois. 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.

What is on the National Register in Fulton Township?

3 listings: 1 historic district, the Lock and Dam No. 13 Historic District, with 1 contributing buildings. 34 historic buildings in all.

How old are the homes in Fulton Township?

30% of Fulton Township’s homes were built before 1940 (Census estimate, ±7.0 points), against a typical 11% for an Illinois town; the median home was built in 1963.

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 (8), the Library of Congress (12), Wikidata (2), the National Register of Historic Places (1), Wikipedia, U.S. Geological Survey historical maps, U.S. Census counts (via Wikipedia) 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.