Guest, Sign inJoin

Post to Lost Nation

We’ll email a one-tap link to publish your post. No password, and nothing is public until you click it.
Already a member? Sign in
–Not graded
History · Lost Nation

Half of Lost Nation’s homes were built after 1996

Most of Lost Nation was built recently: 0.0% of its homes predate 1940 and the median home dates from 1996. Below: maps from 1918 on.

0on the National Register
0.0%homes built before 1940
Add an old photoShare a memory
Photo: Ben Jacobson (Kranar Drogin) · CC BY 2.5

What stands out about Lost Nation’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 Lost Nation are in the public archives yet. The rest are in attics and albums.On the map since 19183 editions of the USGS map, 1918 to 1983. Watch Lost Nation change.
★ What stands out · Help out

Start Lost Nation’s collection

The first neighbors to add old photos shape how Lost Nation’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
On the map

Lost Nation on the map, 1918 to 1983

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

Lost Nation on the 1918 USGS mapLost Nation on the 1950 USGS mapLost Nation on the 1983 USGS map1918Dixon 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 Lost Nation.

The story so far

Lost Nation, in brief

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

Lost Nation, Illinois is an unincorporated community and census-designated place (CDP) in Ogle County, Illinois, United States. It is located south of the city of Oregon. As of the 2020 census, Lost Nation had a population of 714. Lost Nation has an area of 2.552 square miles (6.61 km2); 2.441 square miles (6.32 km2) of this is land, and 0.111 square miles (0.29 km2) is water. Lost Nation has a golf course called "Lost Nation Golf Course".

Its population held steady between the last two censuses: 708 in 2010, 714 in 2020.

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

By decade

Lost Nation, decade by decade

Today4 recent
Lost Nation, IL Sign 022007Lost Nation, IL Sign 02Lost Nation, IL Sign 012007Lost Nation, IL Sign 01Lost Nation, IL Lost Lake Sign2007Lost Nation, IL Lost Lake SignLost Nation, IL Franklin Grove Fire Dept 012007Lost Nation, IL Franklin Grove Fire Dept 01
Famous people

Famous people close to Lost Nation

Nobody well known was born in Lost Nation itself, so here are the best known from just nearby.

See all →
Carl BarksAmerican cartoonist · b. 1901
A
Akiane KramarikAmerican artist, humanitarian, poet, child prod… · b. 1994
Ralph Waldo TrineAmerican author · b. 1866
Harry Leon WilsonAmerican novelist · b. 1867
G
George Perkins ClintonAmerican plant pathologist · b. 1867
T
Tim DillonAmerican basketball player · b. 1963

Questions about Lost Nation’s history

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 (4) and U.S. Geological Survey historical maps. Archive images are copied here with their credits and licenses, shown on each photo’s page. Refreshed monthly.