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History · Lynn Center

Lynn Center’s post office opened in 1871, and 41% of its homes were built before 1940

Below: 1 old photo or paper and maps from 1937 on.

1871first post office
0on the National Register
41%homes built before 1940
1old photo or paper
Add an old photoShare a memory
From Lynn Center’s archive · credits on each photo
Quick answers

How Lynn Center began

When was Lynn Center founded?

1871

The Lynn Center post office opened in 1871, the earliest record of the town by name.

2020 census: 85155 years
Founding year: the first Lynn Center post office (Blevins & Helbock, CC0).

What stands out about Lynn Center’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.
★ What stands out · Help out

Start Lynn Center’s collection

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

Decades since 1900 with photos
00s10s20s30s40s50s60s70s80s90s
1 of 10 decades. The empty ones are waiting for someone’s album.
Retake an old viewPig farm and stys near Lynn Center, Ill…: stand where they stood+15Share a family photoSign in to add one+10
The story so far

Lynn Center, in brief

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

Lynn Center is a census-designated place in Lynn Township, Henry County, Illinois, United States. As of the 2020 census, Lynn Center had a population of 85.

Its first post office opened in 1871.

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

By decade

Lynn Center, decade by decade

One decade in the archive so far: the 1980s. Scroll each row; tap a photo for its story.

1980s1 item
Pig farm and stys near Lynn Center, Illinois1980Pig farm and stys near Lynn Center, Illinois
1990snothing yet
Nothing in the archives for these yearsWeddings on Main Street, storms, parades, school pictures, the old store. If it’s in your family album, it belongs here.
Add from your album
On the map

Lynn Center on the map, 1937 to 1991

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

Lynn Center on the 1937 USGS mapLynn Center on the 1953 USGS mapLynn Center on the 1991 USGS map1937Orion 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 Lynn Center.

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.

Pig farm and stys near Lynn Center, Illinois
Retake this viewPig farm and stys near Lynn Center, Illinois, 1980

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

Retake this view · +15
Famous people

Famous people close to Lynn Center

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

See all →
Don SamuelsonAmerican politician · b. 1913
Baby Doll JacobsonAmerican baseball player · b. 1890
Charles O. LobeckAmerican politician · b. 1852
B
Brian PhelpsAmerican DJ · b. 1959
L
Luke NelsonAmerican baseball player · b. 1893
C
Charles F. WennerstrumAmerican lawyer · b. 1889

Questions about Lynn Center’s history

What year was Lynn Center founded?

The Lynn Center 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.

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 the Library of Congress (1) 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.