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History · Jordan Township

45% of Jordan Township’s homes were built before 1940

Below: maps from 1946 on.

0on the National Register
45%homes built before 1940
Add an old photoShare a memory

What stands out about Jordan 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 Jordan Township are in the public archives yet. The rest are in attics and albums.Lost villages3 post offices opened and closed inside today’s Jordan Township, and 2 old place names are still on the map.Old housesHalf of Jordan Township’s homes were built before 1960.
★ What stands out · Help out

Start Jordan Township’s collection

The first neighbors to add old photos shape how Jordan Township’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
Places that used to be

Lost post offices, old corners, places now gone and burying grounds

Three other post offices opened and closed inside today’s town.

Sanfordsville
1854–1855
Penrose
1881–1900
Sanfordville
1892–1900
18501940today
Hamlets and corners on the map
PenroseSanfordville
Gone or out of use
Compton SchoolschoolFairview SchoolschoolGould SchoolschoolKapp SchoolschoolSiers QuarrymineStone SchoolschoolTalbott Schoolschool
5cemeteries and burying grounds inside Jordan Township
East JordanMaple RidgeOak KnollOak KnollPenrose Friends

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

The story so far

Jordan Township, in brief

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

Jordan Township is located in Whiteside County, Illinois. As of the 2010 census, its population was 899 and it contained 354 housing units.

Between the 2010 and 2020 censuses its population fell from 899 to 825 (-8%).

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

Timeline

Jordan Township, 1854 to 1946

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

  1. 19th century
  2. 1854Post officeThe Sanfordsville post office opens
  3. 1855Post officeThe Sanfordsville post office closes
  4. 1881Post officeThe Penrose post office opens
  5. 1892Post officeThe Sanfordville post office opens
  6. 20th century
  7. 1900Post officeThe Penrose post office closes
  8. 1900Post officeThe Sanfordville post office closes
  9. 1946On the mapFirst mapped by the U.S. Geological Survey
By decade

Jordan Township, decade by decade

Today1 recent
Jordan Township Whiteside2007Jordan Township Whiteside
On the map

Jordan Township on the map, 1946 to 1983

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

Jordan Township on the 1946 USGS mapJordan Township on the 1983 USGS map1946Sterling 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 Jordan Township.

Famous people

Famous people close to Jordan Township

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

See all →
Louie BellsonAmerican jazz drummer · b. 1924
I
Isaiah RobyAmerican basketball player · b. 1998
John DevineRoad bicycle racer · b. 1985
Rondi ReedAmerican actress · b. 1952
Zelma O'NealAmerican actress · b. 1903
John Adelbert ParkhurstAmerican astronomer · b. 1861
Stories next door

History across the town line

Each neighbor’s History grade, on the same three inputs.

Genesee TownshipIts storynot graded: under 1,000 residents or part of its townSterling Township2 historic placesnot graded: under 1,000 residents or part of its townPalmyra Township1 historic placeC+Elkhorn Grove Township1 historic placenot graded: under 1,000 residents or part of its townEagle Point TownshipIts storynot graded: under 1,000 residents or part of its townHopkins TownshipIts storyC+

Questions about Jordan Township’s history

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 Wikimedia Commons (1), 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.