The Hollis Township post office opened in 1850, the earliest record of the town by name. Three smaller post offices, Hollis (1850), Orchard Mine (1870) and Orchard Mines (1882), opened inside today’s town and later closed.
2020 census: 1,829176 years
How historic is Hollis Township?
C
More historic than 28% of U.S. towns, on its age, its old homes and the National Register.
Founding year: the first Hollis Township post office (Blevins & Helbock, CC0).
History grade
What drives Hollis Township’s History grade
On its age, its old homes and the National Register, Hollis Township is more historic than 28% of U.S. towns. Its share of homes from before 1940 holds the grade up; its National Register listings pull it down.
C
HistoryA character grade: shown, never part of Hollis 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 Hollis 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 C− to C. The pre-1940 share is a Census survey estimate (±5.5 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 Hollis Township’s past
Read from the archive, the National Register and the record. The page puts what stands out first.
Lost post offices, old corners, places now gone and burying grounds
Three other post offices opened and closed inside today’s town.
Hollis
1850–1870
Orchard Mine
1870–1877
Orchard Mines
1882–1899
18501940today
Hamlets and corners on the map
HollisTuscarora
Gone or out of use
Canton Road Minemine
2cemeteries and burying grounds inside Hollis Township
HollisMaple Ridge
US Post Offices dataset (Blevins & Helbock, CC0). Places and cemeteries from the USGS Geographic Names Information System (2021).
On the map
Hollis Township on the map, 1905 to 1996
Every edition of the U.S. Geological Survey’s map of Hollis Township. Tap a year, or press play to watch the town change.
1905Peoria 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 Hollis Township.
The story so far
Hollis Township, in brief
Wikipedia doesn’t have a history of Hollis Township yet. The photos, dates and memories neighbors add here are how it gets written.
Hollis Township is located in Peoria County, Illinois. As of the 2010 census, its population was 1,881 and it contained 768 housing units. The village of Mapleton is the only incorporated town in the township.
Its first post office opened in 1850. Between the 2010 and 2020 censuses its population fell from 1,881 to 1,829 (-3%).
Intro from Wikipedia. Population: U.S. Census Bureau.
Timeline
Hollis Township, 1850 to 1905
Woven from the archive, old maps, post office records, the National Register and the people born here.
The Hollis Township post office opened in 1850, the earliest record of the town by name (U.S. post office records).
How does Hollis Township rank for history?
Hollis Township is more historic than 28% 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 Hollis Township?
9% of Hollis Township’s homes were built before 1940 (Census estimate, ±5.5 points), against a typical 11% for an Illinois town; the median home was built in 1979.
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 U.S. Geological Survey historical maps, 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.
