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History · Greenview

Greenview dates to 1857, and 26% of its homes were built before 1940

Below: maps from 1893 on and the census since 1870.

1857founded
0on the National Register
26%homes built before 1940
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Quick answers

How Greenview began, and where its name came from

When was Greenview founded?

1857

Greenview dates its founding to 1857 (Wikipedia’s history). The census first counted it in 1870.

First census: 373 in 18702020 census: 745169 years

How did Greenview get its name?

Greenview was named after William G. Greene of nearby Tallula Precinct, because he convinced the railroad to come through the town: located on the Chicago, Alton & St. Louis Railroad, Greenview was incorporated by a special act of the Illinois General Assembly on May 6, 1869, then re-incorporated under the new general municipal laws of the state on March 7, 1877.

Founding year: Wikipedia. First post office: 1858. Name: Wikipedia, licensed CC BY-SA 4.0.The full story ↓

What stands out about Greenview’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 Greenview are in the public archives yet. The rest are in attics and albums.Boom and bustPeaked at 1,106 in 1890; 745 people lived here in 2020.Mapped building by building4 fire insurance maps, 1893 to 1914, drew every building in Greenview.Old housesHalf of Greenview’s homes were built before 1958.
★ What stands out · Help out

Start Greenview’s collection

The first neighbors to add old photos shape how Greenview’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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People over time

Greenview, census by census

02004006008001,0001,20018801900192019401960198020002020Peak: 1,106

Peaked at 1,106 in 1890; 745 people lived here in 2020.

16 censuses, 1870–2020.

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

Every building

Greenview, building by building, 1893–1914

Fire insurance maps drew every building, what it was made of and what it was used for, so insurers could price the risk of fire. Pick a year, then a sheet.

Greenview fire insurance map, 1893, sheet 11893Sheet 1 of 2
Edition
BrickWoodStone

Sanborn Map Company, via the Library of Congress. Editions published in 1930 or earlier, which are in the public domain.

The story

How Greenview came to be

From Wikipedia’s history of Greenview.

Read it all →

Greenview was laid out in October 1857 by Menard County pioneer Willian Engle, on land originally owned by Charles Montgomery in section 23 of township 19 north, range 6 west of the Third Principal Meridian. It was named after William G. Greene of nearby Tallula Precinct, because he convinced the railroad to come through the town: located on the Chicago, Alton & St. Louis Railroad, Greenview was incorporated by a special act of the Illinois General Assembly on May 6, 1869, then re-incorporated under the new general municipal laws of the state on March 7, 1877.

Text from Wikipedia, licensed CC BY-SA 4.0.

Timeline

Greenview, 1857 to 1980

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

  1. 19th century
  2. 1857
    FoundingGreenview is established
  3. 1858Post officeThe Greenview post office opens
  4. 1890CensusPopulation peaks at 1,106
  5. 20th century
  6. 1980On the mapFirst mapped by the U.S. Geological Survey
By decade

Greenview, decade by decade

Today1 recent
Mason City and2012Mason City and
On the map

Greenview on the map, 1980 to 1998

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

Greenview on the 1980 USGS mapGreenview on the 1998 USGS map1980Greenview sheet · 1:24,000

U.S. Geological Survey historical topographic maps (public domain), via Esri’s collection of the scans. The red ring marks the center of Greenview.

Famous people

Famous people close to Greenview

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

See all →
William B. McKinleyUnited States Senator from Illinois · b. 1856
Edward LaningArtist · b. 1906
Jake StahlBaseball player and manager · b. 1879
Ernest Calvin WilliamsUnited States Marine Corps Medal of Honor recip… · b. 1887
S
Sam DaileyMajor League Baseball pitcher · b. 1904
Bill KriegAmerican baseball player · b. 1859

Questions about Greenview’s history

What year was Greenview founded?

In 1857, according to Wikipedia’s history of the town. Greenview’s post office opened in 1858, and the census of 1870 counted 373 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 (1), Wikipedia, U.S. Geological Survey historical maps, U.S. Census counts (via Wikipedia), the US Post Offices dataset (Blevins & Helbock), the USGS Geographic Names Information System and Sanborn fire insurance maps (Library of Congress). Archive images are copied here with their credits and licenses, shown on each photo’s page. Refreshed monthly.