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History · Lexington Township

Lexington Township dates to 1836, and 19% of its homes were built before 1940

2 places in town are on the National Register. Below: 8 old photos and papers, maps from 1981 on, and the census since 1880.

1836founded
2on the National Register
19%homes built before 1940
8old photos & papers
Add an old photoShare a memory
From Lexington Township’s archive · credits on each photo
Quick answers

How Lexington Township began

When was Lexington Township founded?

1836

Lexington Township dates its founding to 1836 (Wikidata and Wikipedia’s history agree). The census first counted it in 1880.

First census: 1,254 in 18802020 census: 2,374190 years
Founding year: Wikidata; Wikipedia’s history section gives the same year. First post office: 1837.The full story ↓

What stands out about Lexington Township’s past

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

Deep rootsEstablished in 1836: 190 years of Lexington Township.Mystery photos6 old photos have no date. Neighbors can guess the decade.
★ What stands out · Timeline

Lexington Township, 1836 to 1981

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

  1. 19th century
  2. 1836
    FoundingLexington Township is established
  3. 1850Post officeThe Selma post office opens
  4. 20th century
  5. 1900Post officeThe Selma post office closes
  6. 1973In the archiveCITY HALL AND MEN'S ROOM IN
  7. 1981On the mapFirst mapped by the U.S. Geological Survey
Help out

Start Lexington Township’s collection

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

Decades since 1900 with photos
00s10s20s30s40s50s60s70s80s90s
1 of 10 decades. The empty ones are waiting for someone’s album.
Date a photo6 archive items have no date. Guess the decade.+2Retake an old viewCITY HALL AND MEN'S ROOM IN: stand where they stood+15Share a family photoSign in to add one+10
The story

How Lexington Township came to be

From Wikipedia’s history of Lexington Township.

Read it all →

Lexington was laid out on 4 January 1836 by Asahel Gridley (1810–1881) and James Brown (c. 1802- ?). Gridley was a lawyer and banker from Bloomington who would eventually become the richest man in McLean County; Brown was born in Lexington, Kentucky, and Lexington, Illinois, seems to have been his only attempt at founding a town. Its founding was part of a great real estate boom that swept across the nation. Within a few months of the founding of the town seven other new towns were laid out in McLean County: Concord (now Danvers), Hudson, Le Roy, Livingston, Lytleville, Mt. Hope and Wilksborough. In common with other towns founded during the 1836 boom, and unlike many later towns, Lexington was designed around a central public square with streets running true north–south and east–west. In the case of Lexington, the original town consisted of 36 blocks, each containing six lots. Like mos…

ChaptersOrigin and original town designFirst advertisement and sale of town lotsThe pre-railroad eraThe railroad comes to LexingtonPeople v. Chicago and Alton Railroad CompanyPresident Roosevelt comes to LexingtonLexington and Route 66

Text from Wikipedia, licensed CC BY-SA 4.0.

From the old history books

What they wrote about Lexington Township in 1924

Passages that mention Lexington Township, cut from the printed page as they were published.

Lexington Township had two villages, one of which survived, the other passed away. The village of Lexington was laid out by James Brown and Asahel Gridley in 1837, taking its name from Lexington, Ky.
History of McLean County, Illinois1924 · page 107Read the page →
Read the text

Lexington Township had two villages, one of which survived, the other passed away. The village of Lexington was laid out by James Brown and Asahel Gridley in 1837, taking its name from Lexington, Ky.

Text read by machine from the scan; it may contain errors.
many of the fears among the settlers of this county. Nevertheless, General Bartholomew believed in "preparedness," hence he advised the building of rude forts or block houses as means of defense. One such was erected at the home of John Patton near Selma in Lexington Township and the Henlines also …
History of McLean County, Illinois1924 · page 111Read the page →
Read the text

many of the fears among the settlers of this county. Nevertheless, General Bartholomew believed in "preparedness," hence he advised the building of rude forts or block houses as means of defense. One such was erected at the home of John Patton near Selma in Lexington Township and the Henlines also erected one. General Bartholomew and his son Marston laid out the village of Clarksville on July 13, 1836. In a few years it had grown to quite a town, with a hotel, store, shoe shop, carding mill, cabinet shop and saloon, there being about twenty buildings. Gen-

Text read by machine from the scan; it may contain errors.

Scans and text from the Internet Archive. Books published in 1930 or earlier, which are in the public domain.

By decade

Lexington Township, decade by decade

One decade in the archive so far: the 1970s. Scroll each row; tap a photo for its story.

1970s2 items
CITY HALL AND MEN'S ROOM IN1973CITY HALL AND MEN'S ROOM INPLAYGROUND IN1973PLAYGROUND IN
1980s–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
Date unknown6 to date
Lexington Motel, Mrs. C. Christianson owner (NBY 427795)Date?Lexington Motel, Mrs. C. Christianson owner (NBY 4277…Lexington Motel, Mrs. C. Christianson owner (NBY 427796)Date?Lexington Motel, Mrs. C. Christianson owner (NBY 4277…Lexington Motel, Mrs. C. Christianson owner (NBY 433048)Date?Lexington Motel, Mrs. C. Christianson owner (NBY 4330…Lexington Motel, Mrs. C. Christianson owner (NBY 433049)Date?Lexington Motel, Mrs. C. Christianson owner (NBY 4330…Stucky's (NBY 433396)Date?Stucky's (NBY 433396)Stucky's (NBY 433397)Date?Stucky's (NBY 433397)
Today4 recent
Lexington, IL2026Lexington, ILLexington Illinois Aerial2016Lexington Illinois AerialImage Van Dolah House2015Image Van Dolah HouseLexington, IL Lexington Park12007Lexington, IL Lexington Park1
On the map

Lexington Township on the map in 1981

The U.S. Geological Survey’s map of Lexington Township.

Lexington Township on the 1981 USGS map1981Lexington sheet · 1:24,000

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

CITY HALL AND MEN'S ROOM IN
Retake this viewCITY HALL AND MEN'S ROOM IN, 1973

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

Retake this view · +15
On the National Register

2 historic places in Lexington Township

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

places listed
2
National Historic Landmarks
0
none yet
historic buildings protected
3
each building in a district counts

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

People over time

Lexington Township, census by census

05001,0001,5002,00018801900192019401960198020002020Peak: 2,090

Between 1,181 and 2,090 people in every census since 1880.

15 censuses, 1880–2020.

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

Places that used to be

Lost post offices, old corners, places now gone and burying grounds

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

Hamlets and corners on the map
Pleasant Hill
Gone or out of use
Horney SchoolschoolPopejoy Schoolschool
3cemeteries and burying grounds inside Lexington Township
Indian FieldPleasant HillWiley

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.

Blue Mound TownshipIts storynot graded: under 1,000 residents or part of its townMoney Creek TownshipIts storyC+Lawndale TownshipIts storynot graded: under 1,000 residents or part of its townLexington2 historic placesA−

Questions about Lexington Township’s history

What year was Lexington Township founded?

In 1836, according to Wikidata and Wikipedia’s history of the town. Lexington Township’s post office opened in 1837, and the census of 1880 counted 1,254 people here.

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 (12), Wikidata (1), Wikipedia, U.S. Geological Survey historical maps, U.S. Census counts (via Wikipedia), the US Post Offices dataset (Blevins & Helbock), the USGS Geographic Names Information System and old county and town histories (Internet Archive). Archive images are copied here with their credits and licenses, shown on each photo’s page. Refreshed monthly.