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History · Golden Gate

Golden Gate’s post office opened in 1888, and 65% of its homes were built before 1940

Below: maps from 1943 on and the census since 1900.

1888first post office
0on the National Register
65%homes built before 1940
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Quick answers

How Golden Gate began

When was Golden Gate founded?

1888

The Golden Gate post office opened in 1888, the earliest record of the town by name.

First census: 345 in 19002020 census: 65138 years
Founding year: the first Golden Gate post office (Blevins & Helbock, CC0).

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

Start Golden Gate’s collection

The first neighbors to add old photos shape how Golden Gate’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 so far

Golden Gate, in brief

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

Golden Gate is a village in Wayne County, Illinois, along the Little Wabash River. The population was 65 at the 2020 census.

Its first post office opened in 1888. Between the 2010 and 2020 censuses its population fell from 68 to 65 (-4%).

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

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

Golden Gate on the map, 1943 to 1971

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

Golden Gate on the 1943 USGS mapGolden Gate on the 1971 USGS map1943Albion 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 Golden Gate.

People over time

Golden Gate, census by census

01002003001900192019401960198020002020Peak: 345

Between 65 and 345 people in every census since 1900.

13 censuses, 1900–2020.

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

Questions about Golden Gate’s history

What year was Golden Gate founded?

The Golden Gate post office opened in 1888, 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 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.