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History · Murdock Township

Murdock Township’s post office opened in 1874, and 28% of its homes were built before 1940

1874first post office
0on the National Register
28%homes built before 1940
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Quick answers

How Murdock Township began

When was Murdock Township founded?

1874

The Murdock Township post office opened in 1874, the earliest record of the town by name. Another post office, Fairland (1888), opened inside today’s town and later closed.

2020 census: 210152 years
Founding year: the first Murdock Township post office (Blevins & Helbock, CC0).

What stands out about Murdock 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 Murdock Township are in the public archives yet. The rest are in attics and albums.Old housesHalf of Murdock Township’s homes were built before 1964.
★ What stands out · Help out

Start Murdock Township’s collection

The first neighbors to add old photos shape how Murdock 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 so far

Murdock Township, in brief

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

Murdock is an unincorporated community in Douglas County, Illinois, United States. Its elevation is 640 feet (195 m). Although Murdock is unincorporated, it has a post office, with the ZIP code of 61941. On September 2, 1983, a Baltimore and Ohio Railroad train derailed at about 3:30 p.m., starting a fire. The fire heated tanks filled with liquefied petroleum gas, resulting in two large boiling liquid expanding vapor explosions. The force of the first explosion catapulted one of the tanker cars 3,630 feet (1,110 m) into the wilderness. As night fell, the fire continued to burn, and the second explosion created a blinding light as if it was daylight at night. Both of these incidents were cau…

Its first post office opened in 1874. Between the 2010 and 2020 censuses its population fell from 225 to 210 (-7%).

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

Timeline

Murdock Township, 1874 to 1944

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

  1. 19th century
  2. 1874Post officeThe Murdock post office opens
  3. 1888Post officeThe Fairland post office opens
  4. 20th century
  5. 1944Post officeThe Fairland post office closes
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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Famous people

Famous people close to Murdock Township

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

See all →
Edward Adelbert DoisyAmerican biochemist · b. 1893
D
Dick HydeAmerican baseball player · b. 1928
Chris MillerAmerican politician · b. 1954
B
Blanche Beatrice BoyerAmerican classical philologist · b. 1896
J
John McQueenAmerican artist, sculptor (b. 1943) · b. 1943
Places that used to be

Lost post offices, old corners, places now gone and burying grounds

Another post office, Fairland, opened and closed inside today’s town.

Murdock
1874–today
Fairland
1888–1944
18701950today
Hamlets and corners on the map
FairlandMurdock
Gone or out of use
Riggins Farms Airportairport
2cemeteries and burying grounds inside Murdock Township
JordanMurdock

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

Stories next door

History across the town line

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

Newman Township1 historic placenot graded: under 1,000 residents or part of its townCamargo Township1 historic placeABowdre TownshipIts storynot graded: under 1,000 residents or part of its town

Questions about Murdock Township’s history

What year was Murdock Township founded?

The Murdock Township post office opened in 1874, 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 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.