Guest, Sign inJoin

Post to Gillespie Township

We’ll email a one-tap link to publish your post. No password, and nothing is public until you click it.
Already a member? Sign in
–Not graded
History · Gillespie Township

Gillespie Township dates to 1853, and 30% of its homes were built before 1940

Below: 1 old photo or paper, maps from 1912 on, and the census since 1880.

1853founded
0on the National Register
30%homes built before 1940
1old photo or paper
Add an old photoShare a memory
Photo: Green254 · CC BY-SA 4.0
Quick answers

How Gillespie Township began

When was Gillespie Township founded?

1853

Gillespie Township dates its founding to 1853 (Wikipedia’s history). The census first counted it in 1880.

First census: 432 in 18802020 census: 3,684173 years
Founding year: Wikipedia. First post office: 1829.The full story ↓

What stands out about Gillespie 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.Boom and bustPeaked at 5,111 in 1930; 3,168 people lived here in 2020.Old housesHalf of Gillespie Township’s homes were built before 1954.
★ What stands out · Help out

Start Gillespie Township’s collection

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

Decades since 1900 with photos
00s10s20s30s40s50s60s70s80s90s
0 of 10 decades. The empty ones are waiting for someone’s album.
Retake an old view1950 Census Enumeration District Maps -…: stand where they stood+15Share a family photoSign in to add one+10
People over time

Gillespie Township, census by census

05001,0001,5002,0002,5003,0003,5004,0004,5005,0005,50018801900192019401960198020002020Peak: 5,111

Peaked at 5,111 in 1930; 3,168 people lived here in 2020.

15 censuses, 1880–2020.

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

The story

How Gillespie Township came to be

From Wikipedia’s history of Gillespie Township.

Read it all →

The first group of settlers arrived to the area of Gillespie in the late 1820s from Kentucky, Ohio, and Indiana. The township thrived in the 1830s, increasing in population and businesses. In 1835 the first schoolhouse was built. Gillespie was incorporated as a town in the spring of 1853. By 1904, the population rose to 3,100 and there were a number of businesses, churches, and schools. On January 29, 1905, a fire swept through the business district and destroyed most businesses and some homes.

For years, Gillespie's main source of employment were the multiple coal mines scattered throughout the township operated by the Chicago & Northwestern Railway. It is said that Gillespie boasted three of the largest coal mines in the world.

Text from Wikipedia, licensed CC BY-SA 4.0.

Timeline

Gillespie Township, 1853 to 1930

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

  1. 19th century
  2. 1853
    FoundingGillespie Township is established
  3. 1880In the archive1950 Census Enumeration District Maps - Illinois (IL) - Macoupin County - Gillespie - ED …
  4. 20th century
  5. 1912On the mapFirst mapped by the U.S. Geological Survey
  6. 1930CensusPopulation peaks at 5,111
By decade

Gillespie Township, decade by decade

One decade in the archive so far: the 1880s. Scroll each row; tap a photo for its story.

1880s1 item
1950 Census Enumeration District Maps - Illinois (IL) - Macoupin County - Gillespie - ED 59-13 to 2018801950 Census Enumeration District Maps - Illinois (IL)…
1890s–1990snothing yet
Nothing in the archives for these yearsWeddings on Main Street, storms, parades, school pictures, the old store. If it’s in your family album, it belongs here.
Add from your album
Today4 recent
Gillespie-Dock-Wide2021Gillespie-Dock-WideGillespie, IL2021Gillespie, ILGillespie IL Downtown2021Gillespie IL DowntownGillespie City Hall Pavilion2021Gillespie City Hall Pavilion
On the map

Gillespie Township on the map, 1912 to 1974

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

Gillespie Township on the 1912 USGS mapGillespie Township on the 1974 USGS map1912Gillespie 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 Gillespie 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.

1950 Census Enumeration District Maps - Illinois (IL) - Macoupin County - Gillespie - ED 59-13 to 20
Retake this view1950 Census Enumeration District Maps - Illinois (IL) - Macoupin County - Gillespie - ED 59-13 to 20, 1880

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

Retake this view · +15
Places that used to be

Old corners, places now gone and burying grounds

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

Hamlets and corners on the map
Baylestown
Gone or out of use
Adams SchoolschoolElmwood SchoolschoolGrimes Schoolschool
3cemeteries and burying grounds inside Gillespie Township
ClarkMorrisonWheeler

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.

Dorchester TownshipIts storyCCahokia TownshipIts storyBHillyard TownshipIts storynot graded: under 1,000 residents or part of its townBrushy Mound TownshipIts storynot graded: under 1,000 residents or part of its townBenldIts storyC+Mount ClareIts storynot graded: under 1,000 residents or part of its townDorchesterIts storynot graded: under 1,000 residents or part of its town

Questions about Gillespie Township’s history

What year was Gillespie Township founded?

In 1853, according to Wikipedia’s history of the town. Gillespie Township’s post office opened in 1829, and the census of 1880 counted 432 people here.

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). How TownRatings grades history →

From Wikimedia Commons (5), 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.