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BHistory
History · Makanda Township

Makanda Township’s post office opened in 1870, and 2 of its places are on the National Register

More historic than 58% of U.S. towns · #341 of 768 in Illinois. What drives it

Most of Makanda Township was built recently: 9% of its homes predate 1940 and the median home dates from 1981. Its Register listings are the Giant City State Park Lodge and Cabins and the Giant City Stone Fort Site. Below: maps from 1922 on and the census since 1890.

1870first post office
2on the National Register
9%homes built before 1940
Add an old photoShare a memory
Quick answers

How Makanda Township began

When was Makanda Township founded?

1870

The Makanda Township post office opened in 1870, the earliest record of the town by name. Another post office, Boskydell (1885), opened inside today’s town and later closed.

First census: 344 in 18902020 census: 4,034156 years

How historic is Makanda Township?

B

More historic than 58% of U.S. towns, on its age, its old homes and the National Register.

What drives the grade ↓
Founding year: the first Makanda Township post office (Blevins & Helbock, CC0).The full story ↓
History grade

What drives Makanda Township’s History grade

On its age, its old homes and the National Register, Makanda Township is more historic than 58% of U.S. towns, #341 of 768 in Illinois. Its National Register listings hold the grade up; its age pulls it down.

B
HistoryA character grade: shown, never part of Makanda Township’s overall grade.
Founding era1870, from the first post office: founded 1850–1899, an older era than 37% of U.S. townsC+Homes built before 19409.0% of homes (±3.4) · typical IL town 10.6% · U.S. 8.4%C+National Register2 listings, 13 historic buildings, 32.3 per 10,000 residents · typical IL town 0.5 · U.S. 2.4A−
All U.S. towns we grade (21,289)Ahead of 58%
NewerOlder
Illinois towns of 2,500+ (768)Ahead of 56%

Few Illinois towns list much on the Register (a typical Illinois town has 0.5 per 10,000 residents, the U.S. 2.4), so Makanda Township’s 32.3 sits above most of its state (89% of Illinois towns have fewer) while its 13 historic buildings outnumber those of 77% of U.S. towns.

How sure. Graded on any two of the three inputs instead, the letter would range from C to B+. The pre-1940 share is a Census survey estimate (±3.4 points). The founding year is the first post office, not a stated founding date.

Founding year: the first post office (other dates in Quick answers). Homes: Census ACS 2020–24. National Register: National Park Service, May 2026 list; each listing counted once (boundary changes and added documentation belong to their listing), and a historic district counts its contributing buildings. How TownRatings grades history →

What stands out about Makanda 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 Makanda Township are in the public archives yet. The rest are in attics and albums.Shrank, then grewLost two-thirds of its people between 1900 and 1960, then grew 3-fold.On the map since 19225 editions of the USGS map, 1922 to 1990. Watch Makanda Township change.
★ What stands out · Help out

Start Makanda Township’s collection

The first neighbors to add old photos shape how Makanda 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
People over time

Makanda Township, census by census

01002003004005006001900192019401960198020002020528 in 1900Low: 164

Lost two-thirds of its people between 1900 and 1960, then grew 3-fold.

14 censuses, 1890–2020.

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

On the map

Makanda Township on the map, 1922 to 1990

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

Makanda Township on the 1922 USGS mapMakanda Township on the 1941 USGS mapMakanda Township on the 1966 USGS mapMakanda Township on the 1978 USGS mapMakanda Township on the 1990 USGS map1922Carbondale 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 Makanda Township.

The story

How Makanda Township came to be

From Wikipedia’s history of Makanda Township.

Read it all →

The village was named after Makanda, a local Native American chieftain.

After Lincoln's inauguration, Theodore and Al Thompson flew the Union flag from a tree atop a hill between Makanda and Cobden in defiance of the Knights of the Golden Circle, a secessionist group that operated throughout the Midwest.

In 2019, citizens of Makanda rallied against the Illinois Central Railroad Company after an announcement of a tower set to be built in the downtown area and a registered flood plain.

After former U.S. Senator Paul Simon died in 2003, Makanda added a "bow tie" to the smiley face water tower to honor Simon.

Text from Wikipedia, licensed CC BY-SA 4.0.

Timeline

Makanda Township, 1885 to 2010

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

  1. 19th century
  2. 1885Post officeThe Boskydell post office opens
  3. 20th century
  4. 1922On the mapFirst mapped by the U.S. Geological Survey
  5. 1931Post officeThe Boskydell post office closes
  6. 21st century
  7. 2010CensusPopulation peaks at 561
By decade

Makanda Township, decade by decade

Today24 recent
Makanda Cottage2017Makanda CottageMakanda Cottage2017Makanda CottageMakanda Boardwalk2017Makanda BoardwalkMakanda Boardwalk2017Makanda BoardwalkMakanda Boardwalk2017Makanda BoardwalkMakanda Boardwalk2017Makanda BoardwalkMakanda Boardwalk2017Makanda BoardwalkMakanda Boardwalk2017Makanda BoardwalkMakanda Boardwalk2017Makanda BoardwalkLotsa' Red Pop2017Lotsa' Red PopJinnie Pearl's2017Jinnie Pearl'sGreen Chair2017Green ChairDrury Creek2017Drury CreekDragon Bones2017Dragon BonesDownstairs2017DownstairsDownspout2017DownspoutBridges2017BridgesBridge2017BridgeTrees in2016Trees inWasp - Flickr - GregTheBusker2010Wasp - Flickr - GregTheBuskerLong-tailed salamander,got ya - Flickr - GregTheBusker2010Long-tailed salamander,got ya - Flickr - GregTheBuskerLong-tailed Salamander - Flickr - GregTheBusker2010Long-tailed Salamander - Flickr - GregTheBuskerLong-tailed Salamander - Flickr - GregTheBusker (1)2010Long-tailed Salamander - Flickr - GregTheBusker (1)Untitled photo2003Untitled photo
On the National Register

2 historic places in Makanda Township

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

places listed
2
National Historic Landmarks
0
none yet
historic buildings protected
13
each building in a district counts
first listed
1985
Giant City State Park Lodge and Cabins
Giant City State Park Lodge and CabinsGiant City Stone Fort Site
BuildingsSites

Architectural styles listings

Late Woodland Period Stone Wall1
Giant City State Park Lodge and CabinsBuilding
Giant City Stone Fort SiteLate Woodland Period Stone Wall

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

Famous people

Famous people close to Makanda Township

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

See all →
Laurie MetcalfAmerican actress · b. 1955
P
Paul GilbertAmerican guitarist · b. 1966
Agnes AyresAmerican actress · b. 1891
Ben FalconeAmerican actor, comedian, screenwriter and prod… · b. 1973
Justin DentmonAmerican basketball player · b. 1985
Frankie TrumbauerAmerican musician · b. 1901
Places that used to be

Lost post offices, old corners, places now gone and burying grounds

Another post office, Boskydell, opened and closed inside today’s town.

Hamlets and corners on the map
BoskydellStone Fort
Gone or out of use
Hastings SchoolschoolPomona SchoolschoolRock Spring SchoolschoolWagner SchoolschoolZion Schoolschool
7cemeteries and burying grounds inside Makanda Township
BoskydellHiltonJohnsonSouth County LineStearnsUnion HillZion Methodist

US Post Offices dataset (Blevins & Helbock, CC0). 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.

Carbondale Township5 historic placesnot graded: under 1,000 residents or part of its townPomona TownshipIts storynot graded: under 1,000 residents or part of its townMakandaIts storynot graded: under 1,000 residents or part of its town

Questions about Makanda Township’s history

What year was Makanda Township founded?

The Makanda Township post office opened in 1870, the earliest record of the town by name (U.S. post office records).

How does Makanda Township rank for history?

Makanda Township is more historic than 58% of U.S. towns, #341 of 768 in Illinois. The History grade combines the town’s founding era, the share of homes built before 1940 and its National Register listings. It’s a character grade, so it isn’t part of the overall grade. How it works.

What is on the National Register in Makanda Township?

Two places: the Giant City State Park Lodge and Cabins (listed 1985) and the Giant City Stone Fort Site (2002).

How old are the homes in Makanda Township?

9% of Makanda Township’s homes were built before 1940 (Census estimate, ±3.4 points), against a typical 11% for an Illinois town; the median home was built in 1981.

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).

From Wikimedia Commons (24), the National Register of Historic Places (2), Wikipedia, U.S. Geological Survey historical maps, U.S. Census counts (via Wikipedia), 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.