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History · Kinderhook Township

Kinderhook Township’s post office opened in 1837, and 29% of its homes were built before 1940

1837first post office
0on the National Register
29%homes built before 1940
Add an old photoShare a memory
Quick answers

How Kinderhook Township began

When was Kinderhook Township founded?

1837

The Kinderhook Township post office opened in 1837, the earliest record of the town by name. Two smaller post offices, Seehorn (1872) and Shinn (1880), opened inside today’s town and later closed.

2020 census: 741189 years
Founding year: the first Kinderhook Township post office (Blevins & Helbock, CC0).The full story ↓

What stands out about Kinderhook 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 Kinderhook Township are in the public archives yet. The rest are in attics and albums.Lost villages2 post offices opened and closed inside today’s Kinderhook Township, and 3 old place names are still on the map.Old housesHalf of Kinderhook Township’s homes were built before 1954.Deep rootsA post office since 1837: 189 years of Kinderhook Township.
★ What stands out · Help out

Start Kinderhook Township’s collection

The first neighbors to add old photos shape how Kinderhook 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

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

Seehorn
1872–1911
Shinn
1880–1901
18701950today
Hamlets and corners on the map
SeehornShinnSpencer
Gone or out of use
Crabapple SchoolschoolHull AirportairportPrairie SchoolschoolRunning Slough SchoolschoolShinn SchoolschoolWalnut Creek Schoolschool
4cemeteries and burying grounds inside Kinderhook Township
Akers ChapelHouseJourneyLong

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

The story

How Kinderhook Township came to be

From Wikipedia’s history of Kinderhook Township.

Read it all →

In 1843, the Kinderhook Plates were "discovered" near this town.

Text from Wikipedia, licensed CC BY-SA 4.0.

Timeline

Kinderhook Township, 1872 to 1911

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

  1. 19th century
  2. 1872Post officeThe Seehorn post office opens
  3. 1880Post officeThe Shinn post office opens
  4. 20th century
  5. 1901Post officeThe Shinn post office closes
  6. 1911Post officeThe Seehorn post office closes
By decade

Kinderhook Township, decade by decade

Today6 recent
Kinderhook, Illinois - center of town2024Kinderhook, Illinois - center of townKinderhook, Illinois - alternate view of municipal building2024Kinderhook, Illinois - alternate view of municipal bu…Kinderhook, Illinois - The Hook Diner2024Kinderhook, Illinois - The Hook DinerKinderhook, Illinois - The Hook Diner in shadow2024Kinderhook, Illinois - The Hook Diner in shadowKinderhook, Illinois - House of Prayer Church2024Kinderhook, Illinois - House of Prayer ChurchIL-106-096EER2023IL-106-096EER
Stories next door

History across the town line

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

Barry Township1 historic placeA+Levee TownshipIts storynot graded: under 1,000 residents or part of its townCincinnati Township1 historic placenot graded: under 1,000 residents or part of its townPayson TownshipIts storyB

Questions about Kinderhook Township’s history

What year was Kinderhook Township founded?

The Kinderhook Township post office opened in 1837, 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 Wikimedia Commons (6), 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.