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History · Herrick Township

Herrick Township’s post office opened in 1883, and 14% of its homes were built before 1940

Below: maps from 1941 on and the census since 1900.

1883first post office
0on the National Register
14%homes built before 1940
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Quick answers

How Herrick Township began

When was Herrick Township founded?

1883

The Herrick Township post office opened in 1883, the earliest record of the town by name.

First census: 421 in 19002020 census: 530143 years
Founding year: the first Herrick Township post office (Blevins & Helbock, CC0).

What stands out about Herrick 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 writtenNo old photos of Herrick Township are in the public archives yet. The rest are in attics and albums.Boom and bustPeaked at 618 in 1910; 358 people lived here in 2020.
★ What stands out · Help out

Start Herrick Township’s collection

The first neighbors to add old photos shape how Herrick Township’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

Herrick Township, census by census

01002003004005006001900192019401960198020002020Peak: 618

Peaked at 618 in 1910; 358 people lived here in 2020.

13 censuses, 1900–2020.

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

The story so far

Herrick Township, in brief

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

Herrick is a village in Shelby County, Illinois, United States. As of the 2020 census, Herrick had a population of 358. According to the 2010 census, Herrick has a total area of 0.37 square miles (0.96 km2), all land.

Its first post office opened in 1883. Between the 2010 and 2020 censuses its population fell from 626 to 530 (-15%).

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

Herrick Township on the map, 1941 to 1998

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

Herrick Township on the 1941 USGS mapHerrick Township on the 1982 USGS mapHerrick Township on the 1998 USGS map1941St Elmo 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 Herrick Township.

Famous people

Famous people close to Herrick Township

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

See all →
Garet GarrettAmerican journalist · b. 1878
Jesse M. DonaldsonAmerican politician · b. 1885
Homer W. HallAmerican politician · b. 1870
Robert Marshall RootAmerican artist · b. 1863
Charles HendersonCanadian politician · b. 1883
James PearsonAmerican politician · b. 1873
Places that used to be

Places now gone and burying grounds

Gone or out of use
Moonshine SchoolschoolPleasant Union Schoolschool
3cemeteries and burying grounds inside Herrick Township
MyersPleasant UnionRhodes

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.

Oconee TownshipIts storynot graded: under 1,000 residents or part of its townBowling Green TownshipIts storynot graded: under 1,000 residents or part of its townCold Spring TownshipIts storynot graded: under 1,000 residents or part of its townDry Point Township1 historic placenot graded: under 1,000 residents or part of its town

Questions about Herrick Township’s history

What year was Herrick Township founded?

The Herrick Township post office opened in 1883, 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) 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.