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History · La Harpe Township

La Harpe Township’s post office opened in 1836, and 30% of its homes were built before 1940

2 places in town are on the National Register. Below: 2 old photos and papers, maps from 1918 on, and the census since 1880.

1836first post office
2on the National Register
30%homes built before 1940
2old photos & papers
Add an old photoShare a memory
From La Harpe Township’s archive · credits on each photo
Quick answers

How La Harpe Township began

When was La Harpe Township founded?

1836

The La Harpe Township post office opened in 1836, the earliest record of the town by name. Wikidata gives 1859. Another post office, Disco (1872), opened inside today’s town and later closed.

First census: 958 in 18802020 census: 1,377190 years
Founding year: the first La Harpe Township post office (Blevins & Helbock, CC0). Wikidata: 1859.The full story ↓

What stands out about La Harpe 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 writtenOnly 2 old photos are in the public archives. The rest are in attics and albums.Boom and bustPeaked at 1,591 in 1900; 1,175 people lived here in 2020.Deep rootsA post office since 1836: 190 years of La Harpe Township.Old housesHalf of La Harpe Township’s homes were built before 1964.
★ What stands out · Help out

Start La Harpe Township’s collection

The first neighbors to add old photos shape how La Harpe Township’s history is told.

Decades since 1900 with photos
00s10s20s30s40s50s60s70s80s90s
2 of 10 decades. The empty ones are waiting for someone’s album.
Retake an old viewCaptain Henry King: stand where they stood+15Share a family photoSign in to add one+10
People over time

La Harpe Township, census by census

02004006008001,0001,2001,4001,60018801900192019401960198020002020Peak: 1,591

Peaked at 1,591 in 1900; 1,175 people lived here in 2020.

15 censuses, 1880–2020.

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

Timeline

La Harpe Township, 1872 to 1963

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

  1. 19th century
  2. 1872Post officeThe Disco post office opens
  3. 20th century
  4. 1900CensusPopulation peaks at 1,591
  5. 1916In the archiveCaptain Henry King
  6. 1918On the mapFirst mapped by the U.S. Geological Survey
  7. 1920Post officeThe Disco post office closes
  8. 1963In the archiveToledo, Peoria & Western depot at
The story

How La Harpe Township came to be

From Wikipedia’s history of La Harpe Township.

Read it all →

During the 18th century, French explorers headed by Bernard de la Harpe were forced to spend the winter just north of the present city of La Harpe. About 1896, four stone tablets dated June 15, 1715, and inscribed in French were reportedly found a few miles east of the old fortification built by the explorers. Stones were translated locally by the only French family in town as follows: "We are surrounded by indians and have no hope for survival unless help soon arrives." Said stone tablets were reported to be sent to the Smithsonian for authentication, and were ruled a hoax. Their whereabouts are currently unknown.

Text from Wikipedia, licensed CC BY-SA 4.0.

By decade

La Harpe Township, decade by decade

2 decades in the archive, from the 1910s to the 1960s. Scroll each row; tap a photo for its story.

1910s1 item
Captain Henry King1916Captain Henry King
1920s–1950snothing 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
1960s1 item
Toledo, Peoria & Western depot at1963Toledo, Peoria & Western depot at
1970s–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
Today4 recent
La Harpe Station - August 20162016La Harpe Station - August 2016Main and Center gas station2015Main and Center gas stationLa Harpe post office 614502015La Harpe post office 61450La Harpe City Hall2015La Harpe City Hall
On the map

La Harpe Township on the map, 1918 to 1974

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

La Harpe Township on the 1918 USGS mapLa Harpe Township on the 1974 USGS map1918La Harpe 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 La Harpe 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.

Captain Henry King
Retake this viewCaptain Henry King, 1916

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

Retake this view · +15
On the National Register

2 listings protect 16 historic buildings

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

places listed
2
National Historic Landmarks
0
none yet
historic buildings protected
16
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

Lost post offices, old corners and places now gone

Another post office, Disco, opened and closed inside today’s town.

Hamlets and corners on the map
Disco
Gone or out of use
Bradshaw SchoolschoolElm Grove SchoolschoolGilead SchoolschoolNorth Prairie SchoolschoolOak Hill SchoolschoolTarman SchoolschoolWesley Chapelchurch

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

Stories next door

History across the town line

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

Fountain Green TownshipIts storynot graded: under 1,000 residents or part of its townTerre Haute TownshipIts storynot graded: under 1,000 residents or part of its townBlandinsville TownshipIts storynot graded: under 1,000 residents or part of its townDurham TownshipIts storynot graded: under 1,000 residents or part of its town

Questions about La Harpe Township’s history

What year was La Harpe Township founded?

The La Harpe Township post office opened in 1836, the earliest record of the town by name (U.S. post office records). Wikidata gives 1859.

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 (6), Wikidata (2), Wikipedia, 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.