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History · Irwin

Irwin’s post office opened in 1878, and 63% of its homes were built before 1940

Below: maps from 1922 on and the census since 1910.

1878first post office
0on the National Register
63%homes built before 1940
1famous people
Add an old photoShare a memory
Quick answers

How Irwin began

When was Irwin founded?

1878

The Irwin post office opened in 1878, the earliest record of the town by name.

First census: 74 in 19102020 census: 68148 years
Founding year: the first Irwin post office (Blevins & Helbock, CC0).

What stands out about Irwin’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 Irwin are in the public archives yet. The rest are in attics and albums.Old housesHalf of Irwin’s homes were built before 1938.Boom and bustPeaked at 112 in 1980; 68 people lived here in 2020.On the map since 19223 editions of the USGS map, 1922 to 1973. Watch Irwin change.
★ What stands out · Help out

Start Irwin’s collection

The first neighbors to add old photos shape how Irwin’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
The story so far

Irwin, in brief

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

Irwin is a village in Kankakee County, Illinois, United States. The population was 68 at the 2020 census. It is included in the Kankakee-Bradley, Illinois Metropolitan Statistical Area.

Its first post office opened in 1878. Between the 2010 and 2020 censuses its population fell from 74 to 68 (-8%).

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

People over time

Irwin, census by census

0100192019401960198020002020Peak: 112

Peaked at 112 in 1980; 68 people lived here in 2020.

12 censuses, 1910–2020.

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

Timeline

Irwin, 1878 to 1980

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

  1. 19th century
  2. 1878Post officeThe Irwin post office opens
  3. 1896Born hereArch Ward is born here
  4. 20th century
  5. 1922On the mapFirst mapped by the U.S. Geological Survey
  6. 1954Post officeThe Irwin post office closes
  7. 1980CensusPopulation peaks at 112
By decade

Irwin, decade by decade

Today1 recent
ILMap-doton-Irwin2006ILMap-doton-Irwin
On the map

Irwin on the map, 1922 to 1973

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

Irwin on the 1922 USGS mapIrwin on the 1964 USGS mapIrwin on the 1973 USGS map1922Kankakee 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 Irwin.

Places that used to be

Lost post offices

Irwin had its own post office from 1878 to 1954.

Irwin
1878–1954
18701950today

US Post Offices dataset (Blevins & Helbock, CC0). Places and cemeteries from the USGS Geographic Names Information System (2021).

Questions about Irwin’s history

What year was Irwin founded?

The Irwin post office opened in 1878, 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 →
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 (1), 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.