The Henderson Township post office opened in 1837, the earliest record of the town by name. Another post office, Soperville (1893), opened inside today’s town and later closed.
First census: 198 in 18802020 census: 1,136189 years
How historic is Henderson Township?
B+
More historic than 66% of U.S. towns, on its age, its old homes and the National Register.
Founding year: the first Henderson Township post office (Blevins & Helbock, CC0).
History grade
What drives Henderson Township’s History grade
On its age, its old homes and the National Register, Henderson Township is more historic than 66% of U.S. towns. Its share of homes from before 1940 holds the grade up; its National Register listings pull it down.
B+
HistoryA character grade: shown, never part of Henderson Township’s overall grade.
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 Henderson Township’s 0.0 sits below most of its state (28% of Illinois towns have fewer) while its 0 listings outnumber those of 23% of U.S. towns.
How sure. Graded on any two of the three inputs instead, the letter would range from B− to A−. The pre-1940 share is a Census survey estimate (±10.4 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 Henderson Township’s past
Read from the archive, the National Register and the record. The page puts what stands out first.
Wikipedia doesn’t have a history of Henderson Township yet. The photos, dates and memories neighbors add here are how it gets written.
Henderson is a village in Knox County, Illinois, United States. The population was 266 at the 2020 census. It is part of the Galesburg Micropolitan Statistical Area.
Its first post office opened in 1837. Its population held steady between the last two censuses: 1,135 in 2010, 1,136 in 2020.
Intro from Wikipedia. Population: U.S. Census Bureau.
Every edition of the U.S. Geological Survey’s map of Henderson Township. Tap a year, or press play to watch the town change.
1947Woodhull 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 Henderson Township.
Places that used to be
Lost post offices, old corners, places now gone and burying grounds
Another post office, Soperville, opened and closed inside today’s town.
Hamlets and corners on the map
Henderson GroveSoperville
Gone or out of use
Center Point SchoolschoolCondra SchoolschoolDunlap SchoolschoolGreenleaf SchoolschoolMount Joy SchoolschoolPleasant Grove SchoolschoolSisson SchoolschoolSunrise SchoolschoolWest Point Schoolschool
9cemeteries and burying grounds inside Henderson Township
FullerGalesburg ResearchGumHendersonHenderson GroveJunkOak Lawn Memorial GardensRice - BlueSoperville
US Post Offices dataset (Blevins & Helbock, CC0). 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.
The Henderson Township post office opened in 1837, the earliest record of the town by name (U.S. post office records).
How does Henderson Township rank for history?
Henderson Township is more historic than 66% of U.S. towns. 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.
How old are the homes in Henderson Township?
24% of Henderson Township’s homes were built before 1940 (Census estimate, ±10.4 points), against a typical 11% for an Illinois town; the median home was built in 1970.
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 (1), 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.
2011
