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History · Monticello Township

Monticello Township dates to 1829, and 17% of its homes were built before 1940

3 places in town are on the National Register. Below: 11 old photos and papers, maps from 1937 on, and the census since 1850.

1829founded
3on the National Register
17%homes built before 1940
11old photos & papers
Add an old photoShare a memory
From Monticello Township’s archive · credits on each photo
Quick answers

How Monticello Township began

When was Monticello Township founded?

1829

Monticello Township dates its founding to 1829 (Wikidata). The census first counted it in 1850.

First census: 163 in 18502020 census: 6,132197 years
Founding year: Wikidata. First post office: 1837.The full story ↓

What stands out about Monticello Township’s past

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

Deep rootsEstablished in 1829: 197 years of Monticello Township.
★ What stands out · Timeline

Monticello Township, 1829 to 1937

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

  1. 19th century
  2. 1829
    FoundingMonticello Township is established
  3. 20th century
  4. 1923In the archiveMonticello IL 1st Presby PHS950
  5. 1933In the archiveHABS ILL,74-MONCEL,1- (sheet 0 of 4) - Louis Hammerschmidt House, 817 Charter Street
  6. 1937On the mapFirst mapped by the U.S. Geological Survey
The story

How Monticello Township came to be

From Wikipedia’s history of Monticello Township.

Read it all →

Monticello's first non-native resident was George Hayworth. Hayworth came to the area in 1822 to serve as a U.S. liaison agent to local Native American tribes. Hayworth did not remain, but in 1829, James A. Piatt purchased Hayworth's small log cabin. Soon more settlers arrived.

In 1837, residents decided to form a new town. Abraham Marquiss, William Barnes, James McReynolds, and James A. Piatt Jr. formed a joint stock company and purchased land from James A. Piatt. Upon McReynolds' suggestion, the town was christened Monticello – after the home of Thomas Jefferson. Monticello officially became a town on July 1, 1837. Townsfolk held a celebration on July 4.

Text from Wikipedia, licensed CC BY-SA 4.0.

By decade

Monticello Township, decade by decade

2 decades in the archive, from the 1920s to the 1930s. Scroll each row; tap a photo for its story.

1920s–1930s11 items
Monticello IL 1st Presby PHS9501923Monticello IL 1st Presby PHS950HABS ILL,74-MONCEL,1- (sheet 0 of 4) - Louis Hammerschmidt House, 817 Charter Street1933HABS ILL,74-MONCEL,1- (sheet 0 of 4) - Louis Hammersc…HABS ILL,74-MONCEL,1- (sheet 0 of 4) - Louis Hammerschmidt House, 817 Charter Street1933HABS ILL,74-MONCEL,1- (sheet 0 of 4) - Louis Hammersc…HABS ILL,74-MONCEL,1- (sheet 1 of 4) - Louis Hammerschmidt House, 817 Charter Street1933HABS ILL,74-MONCEL,1- (sheet 1 of 4) - Louis Hammersc…HABS ILL,74-MONCEL,1- (sheet 1 of 4) - Louis Hammerschmidt House, 817 Charter Street1933HABS ILL,74-MONCEL,1- (sheet 1 of 4) - Louis Hammersc…HABS ILL,74-MONCEL,1- (sheet 2 of 4) - Louis Hammerschmidt House, 817 Charter Street1933HABS ILL,74-MONCEL,1- (sheet 2 of 4) - Louis Hammersc…HABS ILL,74-MONCEL,1- (sheet 2 of 4) - Louis Hammerschmidt House, 817 Charter Street1933HABS ILL,74-MONCEL,1- (sheet 2 of 4) - Louis Hammersc…HABS ILL,74-MONCEL,1- (sheet 3 of 4) - Louis Hammerschmidt House, 817 Charter Street1933HABS ILL,74-MONCEL,1- (sheet 3 of 4) - Louis Hammersc…HABS ILL,74-MONCEL,1- (sheet 3 of 4) - Louis Hammerschmidt House, 817 Charter Street1933HABS ILL,74-MONCEL,1- (sheet 3 of 4) - Louis Hammersc…HABS ILL,74-MONCEL,1- (sheet 4 of 4) - Louis Hammerschmidt House, 817 Charter Street1933HABS ILL,74-MONCEL,1- (sheet 4 of 4) - Louis Hammersc…HABS ILL,74-MONCEL,1- (sheet 4 of 4) - Louis Hammerschmidt House, 817 Charter Street1933HABS ILL,74-MONCEL,1- (sheet 4 of 4) - Louis Hammersc…
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
Today1 recent
Monticello Illinois Post Office2007Monticello Illinois Post Office
On the map

Monticello Township on the map, 1937 to 1979

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

Monticello Township on the 1937 USGS mapMonticello Township on the 1943 USGS mapMonticello Township on the 1979 USGS map1937Monticello 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 Monticello Township.

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.

Monticello IL 1st Presby PHS950
Retake this viewMonticello IL 1st Presby PHS950, 1923

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

Retake this view · +15
On the National Register

3 listings protect 188 historic buildings

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

places listed
3
National Historic Landmarks
0
none yet
historic buildings protected
188
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

Monticello Township, census by census

05001,0001,5002,0002,5003,0003,5004,0004,5005,0005,5006,0006,50018501900195020005,941

Grew from 163 people in 1850 to 5,941 in 2020, more than tenfold.

18 censuses, 1850–2020.

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

Places that used to be

Places now gone and burying grounds

Gone or out of use
Dighton SchoolschoolHaneline SchoolschoolIndependent SchoolschoolPiatt County AirportairportRidge SchoolschoolStringtown Schoolschool
3cemeteries and burying grounds inside Monticello Township
MonticelloMonticelloWoolington

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

Help out

Finish Monticello 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
2 of 10 decades. The empty ones are waiting for someone’s album.
Retake an old viewMonticello IL 1st Presby PHS950: 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.

Bement Township1 historic placenot graded: under 1,000 residents or part of its townWillow Branch Township1 historic placenot graded: under 1,000 residents or part of its townSangamon TownshipIts storyC−Colfax TownshipIts storynot graded: under 1,000 residents or part of its town

Questions about Monticello Township’s history

What year was Monticello Township founded?

In 1829, according to Wikidata. Monticello Township’s post office opened in 1837, and the census of 1850 counted 163 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.