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–Not graded
History · Makanda

Makanda’s post office opened in 1870, and 15% of its homes were built before 1940

1870first post office
0on the National Register
15%homes built before 1940
Add an old photoShare a memory
Photo: David Wilson · CC BY 2.0
Quick answers

How Makanda began

When was Makanda founded?

1870

The Makanda post office opened in 1870, the earliest record of the town by name. Two smaller post offices, Markanda (1847) and Wilkinson (1887), opened inside today’s town and later closed.

2020 census: 547156 years
Founding year: the first Makanda post office (Blevins & Helbock, CC0).The full story ↓

What stands out about Makanda’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 are in the public archives yet. The rest are in attics and albums.Lost villages2 post offices opened and closed inside today’s Makanda.
★ What stands out · Help out

Start Makanda’s collection

The first neighbors to add old photos shape how Makanda’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
Places that used to be

Lost post offices, places now gone and burying grounds

Makanda’s post office has been open since 1870. Two other post offices opened and closed inside today’s town.

Markanda
1847–1870
Makanda
1870–today
Wilkinson
1887–1888
18401930today
Gone or out of use
Buncombe Schoolschool
5cemeteries and burying grounds inside Makanda
EvergreenMakandaRowanWilkinsZimmerman

US Post Offices dataset (Blevins & Helbock, CC0). Places and cemeteries from the USGS Geographic Names Information System (2021).

The story

How Makanda came to be

From Wikipedia’s history of Makanda.

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, 1847 to 1888

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

  1. 19th century
  2. 1847Post officeThe Markanda post office opens
  3. 1870Post officeThe Markanda post office closes
  4. 1870Post officeThe Makanda post office opens
  5. 1887Post officeThe Wilkinson post office opens
  6. 1888Post officeThe Wilkinson post office closes
By decade

Makanda, decade by decade

Today6 recent
Trees 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
Famous people

Famous people close to Makanda

Nobody well known was born in Makanda 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
Stories next door

History across the town line

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

Makanda Township2 historic placesBPomona TownshipIts storynot graded: under 1,000 residents or part of its town

Questions about Makanda’s history

What year was Makanda founded?

The Makanda post office opened in 1870, 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 Wikimedia Commons (6), 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.