Guest, Sign inJoin

Post to Lyman Township

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 · Lyman Township

52% of Lyman Township’s homes were built before 1940

Below: maps from 1948 on and the census since 2000.

0on the National Register
52%homes built before 1940
Add an old photoShare a memory

What stands out about Lyman 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 Lyman Township are in the public archives yet. The rest are in attics and albums.Old housesHalf of Lyman Township’s homes were built before 1938.
★ What stands out · Help out

Start Lyman Township’s collection

The first neighbors to add old photos shape how Lyman 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
The story so far

Lyman Township, in brief

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

Lyman Township is one of twelve townships in Ford County, Illinois, USA. As of the 2020 census, its population was 516 and it contained 260 housing units. The township was formed from a portion of Brenton Township on September 9, 1867.

Its population held steady between the last two censuses: 518 in 2010, 516 in 2020.

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

By decade

No old photos in the archives yet

Weddings on Main Street, storms, parades, school pictures, the old store. If it’s in your family album, it belongs here.

Be the first to add onePhotograph a print flat, in daylight, no flash.
Add from your album
On the map

Lyman Township on the map in 1948

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

Lyman Township on the 1948 USGS map1948Buckley 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 Lyman Township.

People over time

Lyman Township, census by census

010020030040050060020002020Peak: 616

Between 516 and 616 people in every census since 2000.

3 censuses, 2000–2020.

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

Famous people

Famous people close to Lyman Township

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

See all →
Leslie C. ArendsAmerican politician · b. 1895
H
Hugh Doak RankinAmerican artist · b. 1878
Curtiss LaQ. DayAmerican aviator · b. 1895
F
Frank GriffithAmerican baseball player · b. 1872
S
Shane CultraAmerican politician
Antoinette DowningAmerican historian · b. 1904
Places that used to be

Places now gone

Gone or out of use
Beeset StationlocaleJohn H Garrelts AirportairportLake Shore SchoolschoolLarkin SchoolschoolMinch SchoolschoolOtto Junior AirportairportRoberts RLA AirportairportShute SchoolschoolSmith SchoolschoolWoodward SchoolschoolZahn Schoolschool

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.

Artesia TownshipIts storynot graded: under 1,000 residents or part of its townWall TownshipIts storynot graded: under 1,000 residents or part of its townBrenton TownshipIts storynot graded: under 1,000 residents or part of its town

Questions about Lyman Township’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 U.S. Geological Survey historical maps, U.S. Census counts (via Wikipedia) 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.