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20110723 31 Mineral, IllinoisPhoto: David Wilson · CC BY 2.0
–Not graded
History · Mineral Township

Mineral Township’s post office opened in 1856, and 65% of its homes were built before 1940

Below: maps from 1929 on and the census since 1880.

1856first post office
0on the National Register
65%homes built before 1940
Add an old photoShare a memory
Photo: David Wilson · CC BY 2.0
Quick answers

How Mineral Township began

When was Mineral Township founded?

1856

The Mineral Township post office opened in 1856, the earliest record of the town by name. Wikidata gives 1857.

First census: 173 in 18802020 census: 477170 years
Founding year: the first Mineral Township post office (Blevins & Helbock, CC0). Wikidata: 1857.The full story ↓

What stands out about Mineral 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 Mineral Township are in the public archives yet. The rest are in attics and albums.Old housesHalf of Mineral Township’s homes were built before 1938.Boom and bustPeaked at 349 in 1910; 206 people lived here in 2020.
★ What stands out · Help out

Start Mineral Township’s collection

The first neighbors to add old photos shape how Mineral Township’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

How Mineral Township came to be

From Wikipedia’s history of Mineral Township.

Read it all →

The area in which Mineral is located was first settled in the early 1830s. The land just south of the current village was found to be ripe with coal. Several mines were open until strip mining became a commonly practiced way to retrieve coal from the ground.

The population of the township of Mineral (so named because of its rich coal supply) became populated to the point of where it was officially organized in 1850. As the train tracks were laid north of the coal mining area, so brought the formation of the town of Mineral. The town of Mineral was platted in 1857 and soon developed several small stores and a population of 300 to 350 residents.

Text from Wikipedia, licensed CC BY-SA 4.0.

People over time

Mineral Township, census by census

010020030018801900192019401960198020002020Peak: 349

Peaked at 349 in 1910; 206 people lived here in 2020.

15 censuses, 1880–2020.

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

By decade

Mineral Township, decade by decade

Today1 recent
Untitled photo2011Untitled photo
On the map

Mineral Township on the map, 1929 to 1994

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

Mineral Township on the 1929 USGS mapMineral Township on the 1932 USGS mapMineral Township on the 1983 USGS mapMineral Township on the 1994 USGS map1929Annawan 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 Mineral Township.

Famous people

Famous people close to Mineral Township

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

See all →
D
Darwin TeilhetAmerican writer · b. 1904
H
Harry TrekellMajor League Baseball pitcher · b. 1892
R
Red GunkelAmerican baseball player · b. 1894
Clifford C. ParksAmerican politician and businessman · b. 1860
Stories next door

History across the town line

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

Gold TownshipIts storynot graded: under 1,000 residents or part of its townNeponset Township1 historic placenot graded: under 1,000 residents or part of its townConcord Township2 historic placesA+Annawan Township2 historic placesA−

Questions about Mineral Township’s history

What year was Mineral Township founded?

The Mineral Township post office opened in 1856, the earliest record of the town by name (U.S. post office records). Wikidata gives 1857.

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 (1), 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.