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History · Irving

Irving’s post office opened in 1856, and 48% of its homes were built before 1940

Below: maps from 1947 on and the census since 1870.

1856first post office
0on the National Register
48%homes built before 1940
1famous people
Add an old photoShare a memory
Quick answers

How Irving began

When was Irving founded?

1856

The Irving post office opened in 1856, the earliest record of the town by name.

First census: 751 in 18702020 census: 373170 years
Founding year: the first Irving post office (Blevins & Helbock, CC0).

What stands out about Irving’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 Irving are in the public archives yet. The rest are in attics and albums.Boom and bustPeaked at 2,484 in 2000; 373 people lived here in 2020.Old housesHalf of Irving’s homes were built before 1945.
★ What stands out · Help out

Start Irving’s collection

The first neighbors to add old photos shape how Irving’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

Irving, census by census

05001,0001,5002,0002,50018801900192019401960198020002020Peak: 2,484

Peaked at 2,484 in 2000; 373 people lived here in 2020.

16 censuses, 1870–2020.

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

The story so far

Irving, in brief

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

Irving is a village in Montgomery County, Illinois, United States. The population was 373 at the 2020 census, down from 495 in 2010.

Its first post office opened in 1856. Between the 2010 and 2020 censuses its population fell from 495 to 373 (-25%).

Intro from Wikipedia. Population: U.S. Census Bureau.

Timeline

Irving, 1856 to 2000

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

  1. 19th century
  2. 1856Post officeThe Irving post office opens
  3. 20th century
  4. 1911Born hereJohn A. Graham is born here
  5. 1947On the mapFirst mapped by the U.S. Geological Survey
  6. 21st century
  7. 2000CensusPopulation peaks at 2,484
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

Irving on the map, 1947 to 1974

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

Irving on the 1947 USGS mapIrving on the 1974 USGS map1947Hillsboro 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 Irving.

Questions about Irving’s history

What year was Irving founded?

The Irving post office opened in 1856, 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 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) 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.