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History · Lyndon

Lyndon’s post office opened in 1838, and 15% of its homes were built before 1940

Its Register listing is the Lyndon Bridge. Below: 1 old photo or paper from 1850 on.

1838first post office
1on the National Register
15%homes built before 1940
1old photo or paper
1famous people
Add an old photoShare a memory
From Lyndon’s archive · credits on each photo
Quick answers

How Lyndon began

When was Lyndon founded?

1838

The Lyndon post office opened in 1838, the earliest record of the town by name.

2020 census: 537188 years
Founding year: the first Lyndon post office (Blevins & Helbock, CC0).

What stands out about Lyndon’s past

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

A history waiting to be writtenOnly 1 old photo is in the public archives. The rest are in attics and albums.Deep rootsA post office since 1838: 188 years of Lyndon.
★ What stands out · Help out

Start Lyndon’s collection

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

Decades since 1900 with photos
00s10s20s30s40s50s60s70s80s90s
0 of 10 decades. The empty ones are waiting for someone’s album.
Retake an old view1940 Census Enumeration District Descri…: stand where they stood+15Share a family photoSign in to add one+10
Timeline

Lyndon, 1838 to 1888

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

  1. 19th century
  2. 1838Post officeThe Lyndon post office opens
  3. 1850In the archive1940 Census Enumeration District Descriptions - Illinois - Whiteside County - ED 98-20, E…
  4. 1888Born hereElwyn Riley Shaw is born here
The story so far

Lyndon, in brief

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

Lyndon is a village in Whiteside County, Illinois, United States. The population was 537 at the 2020 census, down from 648 in the 2010 census.

Its first post office opened in 1838. Between the 2010 and 2020 censuses its population fell from 648 to 537 (-17%).

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

By decade

Lyndon, decade by decade

One decade in the archive so far: the 1850s. Scroll each row; tap a photo for its story.

1850s1 item
1940 Census Enumeration District Descriptions - Illinois - Whiteside County - ED 98-20, ED 98-21, ED 98-22, ED 98-23, E…18501940 Census Enumeration District Descriptions - Illin…
Today2 recent
Lyndon Township Whiteside2007Lyndon Township WhitesideILMap-doton-Lyndon2006ILMap-doton-Lyndon
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.

1940 Census Enumeration District Descriptions - Illinois - Whiteside County - ED 98-20, ED 98-21, ED 98-22, ED 98-23, E…
Retake this view1940 Census Enumeration District Descriptions - Illinois - Whiteside County - ED 98-20, ED 98-21, ED 98-22, ED 98-23, E…, 1850

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

Retake this view · +15
On the National Register

1 historic place in Lyndon

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

place listed
1
National Historic Landmarks
0
none yet
historic buildings protected
1
each building in a district counts
first listed
2003
Lyndon Bridge
Lyndon Bridge
Structures

Architectural styles listings

Parker Pratt through truss bridge1
Lyndon BridgeParker Pratt through truss bridge

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

Questions about Lyndon’s history

What year was Lyndon founded?

The Lyndon post office opened in 1838, the earliest record of the town by name (U.S. post office records).

What is on the National Register in Lyndon?

One place: the Lyndon Bridge (listed 2003).

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 (3), the National Register of Historic Places (1), Wikidata and Wikipedia for famous people, the US Post Offices dataset (Blevins & Helbock) 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.