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History · Macomb Township

Macomb Township dates to 1830, and 35% of its homes were built before 1940

Below: 6 old photos and papers, maps from 1916 on, and the census since 1850.

1830founded
0on the National Register
35%homes built before 1940
6old photos & papers
Add an old photoShare a memory
Photo: Nyttend · Public domain
Quick answers

How Macomb Township began

When was Macomb Township founded?

1830

Macomb Township dates its founding to 1830 (Wikidata). The census first counted it in 1850.

First census: 756 in 18502020 census: 448196 years
Founding year: Wikidata. First post office: 1840.The full story ↓

What stands out about Macomb Township’s past

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

Deep rootsEstablished in 1830: 196 years of Macomb Township.Old housesHalf of Macomb Township’s homes were built before 1955.
★ What stands out · Timeline

Macomb Township, 1830 to 1916

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

  1. 19th century
  2. 1830
    FoundingMacomb Township is established
  3. 1865In the archivePreston Wallace Thomson, circa 1860s-1887
  4. 1880In the archive1950 Census Enumeration District Maps - Illinois (IL) - McDonough County - Macomb - ED 55…
  5. 20th century
  6. 1916On the mapFirst mapped by the U.S. Geological Survey
The story

How Macomb Township came to be

From Wikipedia’s history of Macomb Township.

Read it all →

First settled in 1829 on a site tentatively named "Washington", the town was officially founded in 1830 as the county seat of McDonough County and given the name "Macomb" after Alexander Macomb, a general in the War of 1812. War veterans were given land grants in the Macomb area, which was part of the "Military Tract" set aside by Congress. In 1855 the Northern Cross Railroad, a predecessor to the Chicago, Burlington and Quincy Railroad, was constructed through Macomb, leading to a rise in the town's population. On April 24, 1899, the Western Illinois State Normal School, currently Western Illinois University, was founded in Macomb. Representative Lawrence Sherman was instrumental in locating the school in Macomb. In 1903 the Macomb and Western Illinois Railway was built from Macomb to nearby Industry and Littleton by local financier Charles V. Chandler, though this railroad was abandon…

ChaptersOriginPresidential visitsSt. Louis Rams summer campColts Drum and Bugle Corp Summer CampMinor league baseballMonopoly

Text from Wikipedia, licensed CC BY-SA 4.0.

By decade

Macomb Township, decade by decade

2 decades in the archive, from the 1860s to the 1880s. Scroll each row; tap a photo for its story.

1860s5 items
Preston Wallace Thomson, circa 1860s-18871865Preston Wallace Thomson, circa 1860s-1887Narcissa Latimer letter to Sarah Latimer, November 29, 18681868Narcissa Latimer letter to Sarah Latimer, November 29…DocumentNarcissa Latimer letter to Sarah Latimer, November 29, 18681868Narcissa Latimer letter to Sarah Latimer, November 29…DocumentNarcissa Latimer letter to Alexander Latimer, September 19, 18691869Narcissa Latimer letter to Alexander Latimer, Septemb…DocumentNarcissa Latimer letter to Alexander Latimer, September 19, 18691869Narcissa Latimer letter to Alexander Latimer, Septemb…Document
1880s1 item
1950 Census Enumeration District Maps - Illinois (IL) - McDonough County - Macomb - ED 55-23 to 3518801950 Census Enumeration District Maps - Illinois (IL)…
1890s–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
Today24 recent
Mpd22009Mpd2Mpd12009Mpd1Mcdsheriff2009McdsheriffMacomboldusps2009MacombolduspsMacombLibrary2009MacombLibraryMacombCityHallFront2009MacombCityHallFrontIema32009Iema3Iema22009Iema2Iema12009Iema1Firecheifmacomb2009FirecheifmacombFastenal2009FastenalFamilyVideo2009FamilyVideoCvs12009Cvs1Comcasttruck2009ComcasttruckCokeofMacomb22009CokeofMacomb2CokeofMacomb2009CokeofMacombAmlegmacomb2009AmlegmacombMaid-Rite2007Maid-RiteILMap-doton-Macomb2007ILMap-doton-MacombMcDonough County Courthouse2006McDonough County CourthouseMacomb Square2006Macomb SquareMacomb Square (cropped)2006Macomb Square (cropped)Heritage Days A01 7848 640x4272005Heritage Days A01 7848 640x427Corner Building2003Corner Building
On the map

Macomb Township on the map, 1916 to 1974

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

Macomb Township on the 1916 USGS mapMacomb Township on the 1974 USGS map1916Good Hope 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 Macomb Township.

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.

Preston Wallace Thomson, circa 1860s-1887
Retake this viewPreston Wallace Thomson, circa 1860s-1887, 1865

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

Retake this view · +15
People over time

Macomb Township, census by census

05,00010,00015,00020,0001850190019502000Peak: 19,952

Between 756 and 19,952 people in every census since 1850.

18 censuses, 1850–2020.

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

Places that used to be

Places now gone and burying grounds

Gone or out of use
Crabb SchoolschoolDeckers SchoolschoolMaguire SchoolschoolMcdonough County Poor FarmlocaleMount Pisgah Evangelical Lutheran ChurchchurchMount Solan SchoolschoolPalmer AirportairportPleasant Grove SchoolschoolPrairie SchoolschoolWiley Schoolschool
1cemetery inside Macomb Township
Brooking

Places and cemeteries from the USGS Geographic Names Information System (2021).

Help out

Finish Macomb Township’s story

Most archives stop around 1920. The photos from after that are in family albums, not libraries.

Decades since 1900 with photos
00s10s20s30s40s50s60s70s80s90s
0 of 10 decades. The empty ones are waiting for someone’s album.
Retake an old viewPreston Wallace Thomson, circa 1860s-18…: stand where they stood+15Share a family photoSign in to add one+10
Stories next door

History across the town line

Each neighbor’s History grade, on the same three inputs.

Macomb5 historic placesAMacomb City Township5 historic placesAWalnut Grove TownshipIts storynot graded: under 1,000 residents or part of its townMound TownshipIts storynot graded: under 1,000 residents or part of its townEmmet TownshipIts storynot graded: under 1,000 residents or part of its townScotland TownshipIts storynot graded: under 1,000 residents or part of its town

Questions about Macomb Township’s history

What year was Macomb Township founded?

In 1830, according to Wikidata. Macomb Township’s post office opened in 1840, and the census of 1850 counted 756 people here.

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 (30), Wikipedia, 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.