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History · Hennepin

Hennepin’s post office opened in 1831, and 27% of its homes were built before 1940

Its Register listings are the Putnam County Courthouse and the Edward Pulsifer House. Below: maps from 1893 on and the census since 1880.

1831first post office
2on the National Register
27%homes built before 1940
1famous people
Add an old photoShare a memory
Quick answers

How Hennepin began

When was Hennepin founded?

1831

The Hennepin post office opened in 1831, the earliest record of the town by name. Wikidata gives 1837.

First census: 623 in 18802020 census: 769195 years
Founding year: the first Hennepin post office (Blevins & Helbock, CC0). Wikidata: 1837.The full story ↓

What stands out about Hennepin’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 Hennepin are in the public archives yet. The rest are in attics and albums.Shrank, then grewLost half of its people between 1880 and 1930, then more than doubled.Mapped building by building3 fire insurance maps, 1893 to 1907, drew every building in Hennepin.Deep rootsA post office since 1831: 195 years of Hennepin.
★ What stands out · Help out

Start Hennepin’s collection

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

Decades since 1900 with photos
00s10s20s30s40s50s60s70s80s90s
0 of 10 decades. The empty ones are waiting for someone’s album.
Share a family photoSign in to add one+10
People over time

Hennepin, census by census

020040060080018801900192019401960198020002020623 in 1880Low: 312

Lost half of its people between 1880 and 1930, then more than doubled.

15 censuses, 1880–2020.

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

Every building

Hennepin, building by building, 1893–1907

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.

Hennepin fire insurance map, 1893, sheet 11893Sheet 1 of 1
Edition
Sheets
BrickWoodStone

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

The story

How Hennepin came to be

From Wikipedia’s history of Hennepin.

Read it all →

The Village of Hennepin was named for the explorer, Louis Hennepin.

The Putnam County Courthouse, in Hennepin, was built in 1837, and is the oldest county courthouse in Illinois still serving its original purpose. Abraham Lincoln visited the courthouse, including when he campaigned for a Congressional seat in September 1845. The Putnam County Courthouse is listed on the National Register of Historic Places.

Text from Wikipedia, licensed CC BY-SA 4.0.

Timeline

Hennepin, 1831 to 2020

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

  1. 19th century
  2. 1831Born hereThomas Dent is born here
  3. 1831Post officeThe Hennepin post office opens
  4. 1893On the mapFirst mapped by the U.S. Geological Survey
  5. 21st century
  6. 2020CensusPopulation peaks at 769
By decade

Hennepin, decade by decade

Today4 recent
Putnam County Courthouse2014Putnam County CourthouseInterstate 1802013Interstate 180Hennepin, Illinois2013Hennepin, IllinoisHennepin, Illinois2012Hennepin, Illinois
On the map

Hennepin on the map, 1893 to 1985

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

Hennepin on the 1893 USGS mapHennepin on the 1985 USGS map1893Hennepin 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 Hennepin.

On the National Register

2 historic places in Hennepin

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

places listed
2
National Historic Landmarks
0
none yet
historic buildings protected
2
each building in a district counts
first listed
1975
Putnam County Courthouse
Putnam County CourthouseEdward Pulsifer House
Buildings

Architectural styles listings

Federal Style1
Putnam County CourthouseBuilding
Edward Pulsifer HouseFederal Style

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

Places that used to be

Places now gone and burying grounds

Hennepin’s post office has been open since 1831.

Gone or out of use
Durley Schoolschool
1cemetery inside Hennepin
Hennepin Riverside

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.

Hennepin Township2 historic placesA−Leepertown TownshipIts storynot graded: under 1,000 residents or part of its town

Questions about Hennepin’s history

What year was Hennepin founded?

The Hennepin post office opened in 1831, the earliest record of the town by name (U.S. post office records). Wikidata gives 1837.

What is on the National Register in Hennepin?

Two places: the Putnam County Courthouse (listed 1975) and the Edward Pulsifer House (1979).

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 (4), Wikidata (2), the National Register of Historic Places (2), Wikipedia, Wikidata and Wikipedia for famous people, 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.