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History · Keensburg

Keensburg’s post office opened in 1874, and 43% of its homes were built before 1940

Below: maps from 1903 on and the census since 1880.

1874first post office
0on the National Register
43%homes built before 1940
1famous people
Add an old photoShare a memory
Photo: Brian Stansberry · CC BY 4.0
Quick answers

How Keensburg began

When was Keensburg founded?

1874

The Keensburg post office opened in 1874, the earliest record of the town by name.

First census: 68 in 18802020 census: 174152 years
Founding year: the first Keensburg post office (Blevins & Helbock, CC0).The full story ↓

What stands out about Keensburg’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 Keensburg are in the public archives yet. The rest are in attics and albums.Boom and bustPeaked at 421 in 1940; 174 people lived here in 2020.Old housesHalf of Keensburg’s homes were built before 1955.
★ What stands out · Help out

Start Keensburg’s collection

The first neighbors to add old photos shape how Keensburg’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

Keensburg, census by census

010020030040018801900192019401960198020002020Peak: 421

Peaked at 421 in 1940; 174 people lived here in 2020.

13 censuses, 1880–2020.

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

The story

How Keensburg came to be

From Wikipedia’s history of Keensburg.

Read it all →

Keensburg was founded in the mid-1870s, and named for the Keen family.

Text from Wikipedia, licensed CC BY-SA 4.0.

Timeline

Keensburg, 1874 to 1940

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

  1. 19th century
  2. 1874Post officeThe Keensburg post office opens
  3. 20th century
  4. 1903On the mapFirst mapped by the U.S. Geological Survey
  5. 1924Born hereRalph Gibson is born here
  6. 1940CensusPopulation peaks at 421
By decade

Keensburg, decade by decade

Today2 recent
Keensburg-water-tower-il2020Keensburg-water-tower-ilKeensburg-post-office-il2020Keensburg-post-office-il
On the map

Keensburg on the map, 1903 to 1989

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

Keensburg on the 1903 USGS mapKeensburg on the 1989 USGS map1903Patoka sheet · 1:125,000

U.S. Geological Survey historical topographic maps (public domain), via Esri’s collection of the scans. The red ring marks the center of Keensburg.

Questions about Keensburg’s history

What year was Keensburg founded?

The Keensburg post office opened in 1874, 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 (2), Wikipedia, 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.