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History · Mascoutah Township

Mascoutah Township dates to 1837, and 14% of its homes were built before 1940

2 places in town are on the National Register. Below: 12 old photos and papers, maps from 1907 on, and the census since 1860.

1837founded
2on the National Register
14%homes built before 1940
12old photos & papers
Add an old photoShare a memory
From Mascoutah Township’s archive · credits on each photo
Quick answers

How Mascoutah Township began

When was Mascoutah Township founded?

1837

Mascoutah Township dates its founding to 1837 (Wikipedia’s history). The census first counted it in 1860.

First census: 2,076 in 18602020 census: 9,433189 years
Founding year: Wikipedia. First post office: 1836.The full story ↓

What stands out about Mascoutah Township’s past

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

On the map since 19077 editions of the USGS map, 1907 to 1991. Watch Mascoutah Township change.A town in old photos12 old photos, postcards and papers, 1901–1933.Deep rootsEstablished in 1837: 189 years of Mascoutah Township.
★ What stands out · On the map

Mascoutah Township on the map, 1907 to 1991

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

Mascoutah Township on the 1907 USGS mapMascoutah Township on the 1932 USGS mapMascoutah Township on the 1949 USGS mapMascoutah Township on the 1954 USGS mapMascoutah Township on the 1968 USGS mapMascoutah Township on the 1974 USGS mapMascoutah Township on the 1991 USGS map1907Belleville 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 Mascoutah Township.

By decade

Mascoutah Township, decade by decade

3 decades in the archive, from the 1900s to the 1930s. Scroll each row; tap a photo for its story.

1900s–1930s12 items
Mascoutah Kennel Club dog show 19011901Mascoutah Kennel Club dog show 1901Illinois - Mascoutah through McLeansboro1917Illinois - Mascoutah through McLeansboroIllinois - Mascoutah through McLeansboro1917Illinois - Mascoutah through McLeansboroIllinois - Miscellaneous1932Illinois - MiscellaneousBOXED-IN STAIRWAY AND CLOSET, ROOM 102 - Kiel Farmstead, House, East side State Route 4, one half mile south of U.S. Ro…1933BOXED-IN STAIRWAY AND CLOSET, ROOM 102 - Kiel Farmste…COMBINATION SUMMER KITCHEN AND SMOKE HOUSE, VIEW TO EAST-NORTHEAST - Kiel Farmstead, Summer Kitchen and Smokehouse, Eas…1933COMBINATION SUMMER KITCHEN AND SMOKE HOUSE, VIEW TO E…DETAIL OF EXPOSED LOGS, NORTHEAST CORNER OF LOG HOUSE - Kiel Farmstead, House, East side State Route 4, one half mile s…1933DETAIL OF EXPOSED LOGS, NORTHEAST CORNER OF LOG HOUSE…DETAIL OF EXPOSED LOGS, NORTHWEST CORNER OF LOG HOUSE - Kiel Farmstead, House, East side State Route 4, one half mile s…1933DETAIL OF EXPOSED LOGS, NORTHWEST CORNER OF LOG HOUSE…DETAIL OF INTERIOR WALL FINISH, UPPER LEVEL, VIEW TO EAST - Kiel Farmstead, House, East side State Route 4, one half mi…1933DETAIL OF INTERIOR WALL FINISH, UPPER LEVEL, VIEW TO …EXPOSED LOGS, NORTH WALL OF HOUSE - Kiel Farmstead, House, East side State Route 4, one half mile south of U.S. Route 6…1933EXPOSED LOGS, NORTH WALL OF HOUSE - Kiel Farmstead, H…EXPOSED LOGS, NORTH WALL OF HOUSE, VIEW TO SOUTHEAST - Kiel Farmstead, House, East side State Route 4, one half mile so…1933EXPOSED LOGS, NORTH WALL OF HOUSE, VIEW TO SOUTHEAST …HOUSE, VIEW TO NORTHEAST, SUMMER KITCHEN AND SMOKE HOUSE ARE IN THE BACKGROUND - Kiel Farmstead, House, East side State…1933HOUSE, VIEW TO NORTHEAST, SUMMER KITCHEN AND SMOKE HO…
1940s–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
Timeline

Mascoutah Township, 1837 to 1932

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

  1. 19th century
  2. 1837
    FoundingMascoutah Township is established
  3. 20th century
  4. 1901In the archiveMascoutah Kennel Club dog show 1901
  5. 1907On the mapFirst mapped by the U.S. Geological Survey
  6. 1917In the archiveIllinois - Mascoutah through McLeansboro
  7. 1932In the archiveIllinois - Miscellaneous
The story

How Mascoutah Township came to be

From Wikipedia’s history of Mascoutah Township.

Read it all →

The town of Mascoutah was originally established in 1837 as Mechanicsburg. This was disputed with the establishment of a Post Office; the inhabitants were informed that another township in Illinois was already named Mechanicsburg. The town was renamed after the Mascouten tribe, and was officially designated Mascoutah in 1839.

Text from Wikipedia, licensed CC BY-SA 4.0.

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.

Mascoutah Kennel Club dog show 1901
Retake this viewMascoutah Kennel Club dog show 1901, 1901

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

Retake this view · +15
On the National Register

2 historic places in Mascoutah Township

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

places listed
2
National Historic Landmarks
0
none yet
historic buildings protected
5
each building in a district counts

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

People over time

Mascoutah Township, census by census

02,0004,0006,0008,0001900195020008,754

Grew from 2,076 people in 1860 to 8,754 in 2020, 4 times over.

17 censuses, 1860–2020.

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

Places that used to be

Places now gone and burying grounds

Gone or out of use
Richter SchoolschoolRuth SchoolschoolWoodland Schoolschool
4cemeteries and burying grounds inside Mascoutah Township
BlumFikeHomeUnion

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

Help out

Finish Mascoutah 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
3 of 10 decades. The empty ones are waiting for someone’s album.
Retake an old viewMascoutah Kennel Club dog show 1901: 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.

Shiloh Valley Township1 historic placeBMascoutah2 historic placesA−Scott AFB1 historic placeB−Lebanon Township1 historic placenot graded: under 1,000 residents or part of its townEngelmann TownshipIts storynot graded: under 1,000 residents or part of its townLooking Glass TownshipIts storyB−

Questions about Mascoutah Township’s history

What year was Mascoutah Township founded?

In 1837, according to Wikipedia’s history of the town. Mascoutah Township’s post office opened in 1836, and the census of 1860 counted 2,076 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 (12), 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.