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A−History
History · Kewanee Township

Kewanee Township dates to 1854, and 48% of its homes were built before 1940

More historic than 77% of U.S. towns · #207 of 768 in Illinois. What drives it

2 places in town are on the National Register. Below: 10 old photos and papers, maps from 1929 on, and the census since 1880.

1854founded
2on the National Register
48%homes built before 1940
10old photos & papers
Add an old photoShare a memory
From Kewanee Township’s archive · credits on each photo
Quick answers

How Kewanee Township began

When was Kewanee Township founded?

1854

Kewanee Township dates its founding to 1854 (Wikidata). The census first counted it in 1880.

First census: 2,704 in 18802020 census: 9,800172 years

How historic is Kewanee Township?

A−

More historic than 77% of U.S. towns, on its age, its old homes and the National Register.

What drives the grade ↓
Founding year: Wikidata. First post office: 1855.
History grade

What drives Kewanee Township’s History grade

On its age, its old homes and the National Register, Kewanee Township is more historic than 77% of U.S. towns, #207 of 768 in Illinois. Its share of homes from before 1940 holds the grade up; its age pulls it down.

A−
HistoryA character grade: shown, never part of Kewanee Township’s overall grade.
Founding era1854, from Wikidata: founded 1850–1899, an older era than 37% of U.S. townsC+Homes built before 194048.0% of homes (±6.6) · typical IL town 10.6% · U.S. 8.4%A+National Register2 listings, 2.1 per 10,000 residents · typical IL town 0.5 · U.S. 2.4B
All U.S. towns we grade (21,289)Ahead of 77%
NewerOlder
Illinois towns of 2,500+ (768)Ahead of 73%

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 Kewanee Township’s 2.1 sits above most of its state (67% of Illinois towns have fewer) while its 2 listings outnumber those of 60% of U.S. towns.

How sure. Graded on any two of the three inputs instead, the letter would range from B− to A. The pre-1940 share is a Census survey estimate (±6.6 points). Two sources give 1854.

Founding year: Wikidata (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 Kewanee Township’s past

Read from the archive, the National Register and the record. The page puts what stands out first.

Boom and bustPeaked at 17,093 in 1930; 12,509 people lived here in 2020.Old housesHalf of Kewanee Township’s homes were built before 1942.
★ What stands out · People over time

Kewanee Township, census by census

02,0004,0006,0008,00010,00012,00014,00016,00018,00018801900192019401960198020002020Peak: 17,093

Peaked at 17,093 in 1930; 12,509 people lived here in 2020.

15 censuses, 1880–2020.

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

The story so far

Kewanee Township, in brief

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

Kewanee ( ) is a city in Henry County, Illinois. "Kewanee" is the Winnebago word for greater prairie-chicken, which lived there. The population was 12,509 in the 2020 census, down from 12,916 in 2010.

Kewanee Township was established in 1854. Between the 2010 and 2020 censuses its population fell from 10,162 to 9,800 (-4%).

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

Timeline

Kewanee Township, 1854 to 1954

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

  1. 19th century
  2. 1854
    FoundingKewanee Township is established
  3. 20th century
  4. 1908In the archivePostcardKewaneeILWestSecondStreet1908
  5. 1929On the mapFirst mapped by the U.S. Geological Survey
  6. 1930CensusPopulation peaks at 17,093
  7. 1937In the archiveThreshing operations near Kewanee, Illinois
  8. 1954In the archiveGreetings from the "Hog Capital of the World" (NBY 429005)
By decade

Kewanee Township, decade by decade

3 decades in the archive, from the 1900s to the 1950s. Scroll each row; tap a photo for its story.

1900s–1930s9 items
PostcardKewaneeILWestSecondStreet19081908PostcardKewaneeILWestSecondStreet1908PostcardThreshing operations near Kewanee, Illinois1937Threshing operations near Kewanee, IllinoisThreshing operations near Kewanee, Illinois1937Threshing operations near Kewanee, IllinoisThreshing oats near Kewanee, Illinois1937Threshing oats near Kewanee, IllinoisAbandoned "gospel car" near Kewanee, Illinois1937Abandoned "gospel car" near Kewanee, IllinoisSteam-operated threshing machine near Kewanee, Illinois1937Steam-operated threshing machine near Kewanee, Illino…Threshing machinery and crew near Kewanee, Illinois1937Threshing machinery and crew near Kewanee, IllinoisUntitled photo, possibly related to: Threshing operations near Kewanee, Illinois1937Untitled photo, possibly related to: Threshing operat…Untitled photo, possibly related to: Abandoned "gospel car" near Kewanee, Illinois1937Untitled photo, possibly related to: Abandoned "gospe…
1950s1 item
Greetings from the "Hog Capital of the World" (NBY 429005)1954Greetings from the "Hog Capital of the World" (NBY 42…
1960s–1990snothing yet
Nothing in the archives for these yearsWeddings on Main Street, storms, parades, school pictures, the old store. If it’s in your family album, it belongs here.
Add from your album
On the map

Kewanee Township on the map, 1929 to 1983

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

Kewanee Township on the 1929 USGS mapKewanee Township on the 1932 USGS mapKewanee Township on the 1983 USGS map1929Annawan 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 Kewanee Township.

Then & now

Stand where they stood

No then-and-now pairs yet. Take a photo from the same spot as an old one and they appear here side by side.

PostcardKewaneeILWestSecondStreet1908
Retake this viewPostcardKewaneeILWestSecondStreet1908, 1908

Find the spot, match the angle, and add your photo. It becomes the first then-and-now pair on Kewanee Township’s page.

Retake this view · +15
On the National Register

2 historic places in Kewanee Township

The country’s official list of buildings and places worth saving.

places listed
2
National Historic Landmarks
0
none yet
historic buildings protected
2
each building in a district counts

National Park Service, National Register of Historic Places. Photos from Wikimedia Commons, credited on each place’s page.

Places that used to be

Places now gone and burying grounds

Gone or out of use
Beyer SchoolschoolBobtown SchoolschoolEnslow SchoolschoolGreenberg SchoolschoolHenning SchoolschoolHuntville SchoolschoolKuster SchoolschoolMonroe SchoolschoolWalker SchoolschoolWeston Schoolschool
4cemeteries and burying grounds inside Kewanee Township
Garden of PeaceMount OlivetPaceSaint Michael

Places and cemeteries from the USGS Geographic Names Information System (2021).

Help out

Finish Kewanee Township’s story

Most archives stop around 1920. The photos from after that are in family albums, not libraries.

Decades since 1900 with photos
00s10s20s30s40s50s60s70s80s90s
3 of 10 decades. The empty ones are waiting for someone’s album.
Retake an old viewPostcardKewaneeILWestSecondStreet1908: stand where they stood+15Share a family photoSign in to add one+10
Stories next door

History across the town line

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

Neponset Township1 historic placenot graded: under 1,000 residents or part of its townWethersfield TownshipIts storyBBurns TownshipIts storynot graded: under 1,000 residents or part of its townAnnawan Township2 historic placesA−Elmira TownshipIts storynot graded: under 1,000 residents or part of its town

Questions about Kewanee Township’s history

What year was Kewanee Township founded?

In 1854, according to Wikidata. Kewanee Township’s post office opened in 1855, and the census of 1880 counted 2,704 people here.

How does Kewanee Township rank for history?

Kewanee Township is more historic than 77% of U.S. towns, #207 of 768 in Illinois. 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 Kewanee Township?

48% of Kewanee Township’s homes were built before 1940 (Census estimate, ±6.6 points), against a typical 11% for an Illinois town; the median home was built in 1942.

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).

From Wikimedia Commons (2), the Library of Congress (8), Wikidata (1), U.S. Geological Survey historical maps, U.S. Census counts (via Wikipedia) 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.