The story
Read it all →How Loraine came to be
From Wikipedia’s history of Loraine.
Loraine was platted in 1870 as a town on the Carthage Branch of the Chicago, Burlington and Quincy Railroad.
Text from Wikipedia, licensed CC BY-SA 4.0.
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History · Loraine
Loraine’s post office opened in 1871, and 43% of its homes were built before 1940
Below: old-book passages.
1871first post office
0on the National Register
43%homes built before 1940
Quick answers
How Loraine began
When was Loraine founded?
1871
The Loraine post office opened in 1871, the earliest record of the town by name.
2020 census: 300155 years
Founding year: the first Loraine post office (Blevins & Helbock, CC0).The full story ↓
What stands out about Loraine’s past
Read from the archive, the National Register and the record. The page puts what stands out first.
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Start Loraine’s collection
The first neighbors to add old photos shape how Loraine’s history is told.
Decades since 1900 with photos
00s10s20s30s40s50s60s70s80s90s
0 of 10 decades. The empty ones are waiting for someone’s album.From the old history books
What they wrote about Loraine, 1879–1919
Passages that mention Loraine, cut from the printed page as they were published.
Quincy and Adams County history1919 · page 963Read the page →
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After their marriage John T. Arnold and wife located on a farm at Big Neck near Loraine, and lived there manjyears. He finally moved into the Village of Loraine, where they are now living, and he is giving his attention to the coal business. They are members of the Methodist Church. John T. Arnold has been identified with the democratic part.v in politics. He served as assessor of Houston and also collector in Kecne Township a number of years. He and his wife had three sons. The second, I. Otho, is a resident of Quincy, was connected with the Quincy postoffice twelve years, and is now with the Standard
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The history of Adams County, Illinois1879Read the page →
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Loraine is an outgrowth of the Cartilage Branch of the Chicago, Burlington and Quincy railroad. The town was laid out by ilessrs. Woods and Leinberger in December, 1870, during the time tlie railroad was in progress.
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Quincy and Adams County history1919Read the page →
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at Plymouth for one year, and then spent a year in college at Dixon, Illinois, where he completed a business course. Returning then to Plymouth he became a farmer and also a dealer in stock, buying and shipping in that vicinity and at Loraine for some time. Realizing the lack of good banking facilities at Loraine, which had become an important shipping point, Mr. Stuart in partnership with Jacob Klepper and George H. Eastman organized the Loraine State Bank. Mr. Stuart became cashier of the institution and served continuously for the next three years and then resigned because of failing health. Subsequently
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
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Add from your albumFamous people
See all →Famous people close to Loraine
Nobody well known was born in Loraine itself, so here are the best known from just nearby.
Questions about Loraine’s history
What year was Loraine founded?
The Loraine post office opened in 1871, the earliest record of the town by name (U.S. post office records).
Memory lane
What the archives can’t tell you, neighbors can.
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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 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.