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History · Lostant

Lostant’s post office opened in 1861, and 34% of its homes were built before 1940

Below: old-book passages.

1861first post office
0on the National Register
34%homes built before 1940
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Photo: formulanone · CC BY 4.0
Quick answers

How Lostant began

When was Lostant founded?

1861

The Lostant post office opened in 1861, the earliest record of the town by name.

2020 census: 423165 years
Founding year: the first Lostant post office (Blevins & Helbock, CC0).The full story ↓

What stands out about Lostant’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 Lostant are in the public archives yet. The rest are in attics and albums.Old housesHalf of Lostant’s homes were built before 1956.
★ What stands out · Help out

Start Lostant’s collection

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

Decades since 1900 with photos
00s10s20s30s40s50s60s70s80s90s
0 of 10 decades. The empty ones are waiting for someone’s album.
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The story

How Lostant came to be

From Wikipedia’s history of Lostant.

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A post office has been in operation at Lostant since 1861. The village was named for Lostant Mercier, the wife of French diplomat Henri Mercier. Horatio N. Boshell (1872–1933), Illinois state representative and physician, was born in Lostant.

Text from Wikipedia, licensed CC BY-SA 4.0.

From the old history books

What they wrote about Lostant in 1877

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

John M. Richey, from Muskingum County, Ohio, came to Putnam County in 1887, He entered S. 24 in Hope, in 1849, on which he resided till his death in 1875. The village of Lostant was laid out on Mr. Richey’s farm in 1861. He married Clara 0, Colster, and left three living children: Mary C., Candace …
History of LaSalle County, Illinois1877 · page 481Read the page →
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John M. Richey, from Muskingum County, Ohio, came to Putnam County in 1887, He entered S. 24 in Hope, in 1849, on which he resided till his death in 1875. The village of Lostant was laid out on Mr. Richey’s farm in 1861. He married Clara 0, Colster, and left three living children: Mary C., Candace M., and John C.

Text read by machine from the scan; it may contain errors.
Lostant was laid out in 1961, and incorporated m village in 1307. New Rutland was surveyed and the plat recorded in 1858. Bencca was for a time called Crotty, from Jeremiah Crotty who Taid owt We town. Tt wes incorporated as » village in 1863.
History of LaSalle County, Illinois1877 · page 547Read the page →
Read the text

Lostant was laid out in 1961, and incorporated m village in 1307. New Rutland was surveyed and the plat recorded in 1858. Bencca was for a time called Crotty, from Jeremiah Crotty who Taid owt We town. Tt wes incorporated as » village in 1863.

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

Lostant, decade by decade

Today6 recent
Lostant, IL school2026Lostant, IL schoolLostant, IL public park2026Lostant, IL public parkLostant, IL community library2026Lostant, IL community libraryLostant, IL commercial district2026Lostant, IL commercial districtLostant Grade School2026Lostant Grade SchoolIL251 North - Lostant Illinois Sign2025IL251 North - Lostant Illinois Sign
Famous people

Famous people close to Lostant

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

See all →
Clyde TombaughAmerican astronomer · b. 1906
Jim BottomleyAmerican baseball player and coach · b. 1900
Jerry WellerAmerican politician · b. 1957
Herbert Spencer JenningsAmerican biologist · b. 1868
C
Clarence E. MulfordAmerican writer · b. 1883
Burt BaskinAmerican businessman · b. 1913
Places that used to be

Places now gone

Lostant’s post office has been open since 1861.

Gone or out of use
Park College Schoolschool

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

Questions about Lostant’s history

What year was Lostant founded?

The Lostant post office opened in 1861, the earliest record of the town by name (U.S. post office records).

Memory lane

What the archives can’t tell you, neighbors can.

Town Square →
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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 Wikimedia Commons (6), 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.