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A−History
History · Leaf River Township

Leaf River Township’s post office opened in 1844, and 39% of its homes were built before 1940

More historic than 75% of U.S. towns. What drives it

1844first post office
0on the National Register
39%homes built before 1940
Add an old photoShare a memory
Photo: Ben Jacobson (Kranar Drogin) · CC BY 2.5
Quick answers

How Leaf River Township began

When was Leaf River Township founded?

1844

The Leaf River Township post office opened in 1844, the earliest record of the town by name. Wikidata gives 1882. Two smaller post offices, Wales (1850) and Myrtle (1889), opened inside today’s town and later closed.

2020 census: 1,098182 years

How historic is Leaf River Township?

A−

More historic than 75% of U.S. towns, on its age, its old homes and the National Register.

What drives the grade ↓
Founding year: the first Leaf River Township post office (Blevins & Helbock, CC0). Wikidata: 1882.
History grade

What drives Leaf River Township’s History grade

On its age, its old homes and the National Register, Leaf River Township is more historic than 75% of U.S. towns. Its share of homes from before 1940 holds the grade up; its National Register listings pull it down.

A−
HistoryA character grade: shown, never part of Leaf River Township’s overall grade.
Founding era1844, from the first post office: founded 1776–1849, an older era than 75% of U.S. townsA−Homes built before 194038.6% of homes (±7.8) · typical IL town 10.6% · U.S. 8.4%ANational RegisterNo listings counted · typical IL town 0.5 per 10,000 · U.S. 2.4C
All U.S. towns we grade (21,289)Ahead of 75%
NewerOlder

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 Leaf River Township’s 0.0 sits below most of its state (28% of Illinois towns have fewer) while its 0 listings outnumber those of 23% 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 (±7.8 points). The founding year is the first post office, not a stated founding date; Wikidata gives 1882.

Founding year: the first post office (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 Leaf River 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 Leaf River Township are in the public archives yet. The rest are in attics and albums.Lost villages2 post offices opened and closed inside today’s Leaf River Township, and 3 old place names are still on the map.Deep rootsA post office since 1844: 182 years of Leaf River Township.Old housesHalf of Leaf River Township’s homes were built before 1958.
★ What stands out · Help out

Start Leaf River Township’s collection

The first neighbors to add old photos shape how Leaf River 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.

Wales
1850–1887
Myrtle
1889–1936
Egan
1897–today
18501940today
Hamlets and corners on the map
EganLightsvilleMyrtle
Gone or out of use
Duane E Davis AirportairportMount Pleasant SchoolschoolMud Creek SchoolschoolMyrtle SchoolschoolNorth Grove SchoolschoolPrairie SchoolschoolTriumph Schoolschool
4cemeteries and burying grounds inside Leaf River Township
EganLightsvilleNorth Grove ChristianNorth Grove Evangelical

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

Timeline

Leaf River Township, 1850 to 1936

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

  1. 19th century
  2. 1850Post officeThe Wales post office opens
  3. 1887Post officeThe Wales post office closes
  4. 1889Post officeThe Myrtle post office opens
  5. 1897Post officeThe Egan post office opens
  6. 20th century
  7. 1936Post officeThe Myrtle post office closes
The story so far

Leaf River Township, in brief

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

Leaf River is a village in Leaf River Township, Ogle County, Illinois, United States, along a stream of the same name. As of the 2020 census, Leaf River had a population of 432.

Its first post office opened in 1844. Between the 2010 and 2020 censuses its population fell from 1,137 to 1,098 (-3%).

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

By decade

Leaf River Township, decade by decade

Today5 recent
Leaf 622024Leaf 62FEMA - 44923 - Damaged wheelchair in a flood damaged home in Illinois2010FEMA - 44923 - Damaged wheelchair in a flood damaged …Leaf River, IL Sign 012007Leaf River, IL Sign 01Leaf River, IL Post Office2007Leaf River, IL Post OfficeLeaf River, IL Fire Dept 012007Leaf River, IL Fire Dept 01
Famous people

Famous people close to Leaf River Township

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

See all →
Carl BarksAmerican cartoonist · b. 1901
Mary Frances Winston NewsonAmerican mathematician · b. 1869
Ralph Waldo TrineAmerican author · b. 1866
Frank WhiteAmerican politician · b. 1856
Harry Leon WilsonAmerican novelist · b. 1867
G
George BirdAmerican Major League Baseball player · b. 1850
Stories next door

History across the town line

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

Maryland TownshipIts storynot graded: under 1,000 residents or part of its townRockvale Township1 historic placeC+Seward TownshipIts storynot graded: under 1,000 residents or part of its townByron Township1 historic placeB+Ridott TownshipIts storyB−

Questions about Leaf River Township’s history

What year was Leaf River Township founded?

The Leaf River Township post office opened in 1844, the earliest record of the town by name (U.S. post office records). Wikidata gives 1882.

How does Leaf River Township rank for history?

Leaf River Township is more historic than 75% of U.S. towns. 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 Leaf River Township?

39% of Leaf River Township’s homes were built before 1940 (Census estimate, ±7.8 points), against a typical 11% for an Illinois town; the median home was built in 1958.

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 (5), 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.