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History · Media

Media’s post office opened in 1888, and 51% of its homes were built before 1940

Below: maps from 1934 on and the census since 1910.

1888first post office
0on the National Register
51%homes built before 1940
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Quick answers

How Media began

When was Media founded?

1888

The Media post office opened in 1888, the earliest record of the town by name.

First census: 226 in 19102020 census: 121138 years
Founding year: the first Media post office (Blevins & Helbock, CC0).

What stands out about Media’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 Media are in the public archives yet. The rest are in attics and albums.Old housesHalf of Media’s homes were built before 1938.
★ What stands out · Help out

Start Media’s collection

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

Decades since 1900 with photos
00s10s20s30s40s50s60s70s80s90s
0 of 10 decades. The empty ones are waiting for someone’s album.
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The story so far

Media, in brief

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

Media is a village in Henderson County, Illinois, United States. The population was 121 at the 2020 census, up from 107 at the 2010 census. It is part of the Burlington, IA–IL Micropolitan Statistical Area.

Its first post office opened in 1888. Between the 2010 and 2020 censuses its population grew from 107 to 121 (+13%).

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

By decade

No old photos in the archives yet

Weddings on Main Street, storms, parades, school pictures, the old store. If it’s in your family album, it belongs here.

Be the first to add onePhotograph a print flat, in daylight, no flash.
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On the map

Media on the map, 1934 to 1982

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

Media on the 1934 USGS mapMedia on the 1940 USGS mapMedia on the 1982 USGS map1934Oquawka 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 Media.

People over time

Media, census by census

0100200192019401960198020002020Peak: 226

Between 107 and 226 people in every census since 1910.

12 censuses, 1910–2020.

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

Questions about Media’s history

What year was Media founded?

The Media post office opened in 1888, 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 →
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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 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.