The story
Read it all →How New Boston Township came to be
From Wikipedia’s history of New Boston Township.
New Boston was settled in the 1830s by "Yankee" migrants from Massachusetts.
Text from Wikipedia, licensed CC BY-SA 4.0.
Photo: Mitchazenia · CC BY-SA 4.0AHistory
History · New Boston Township
New Boston Township’s post office opened in 1835, and 27% of its homes were built before 1940
More historic than 93% of U.S. towns. What drives it
5 places in town are on the National Register, among them two historic districts with 8 buildings between them. Below: 1 old photo or paper, maps from 1941 on, and the census since 1850.
1835first post office
5on the National Register
27%homes built before 1940
1old photo or paper
Quick answers
How New Boston Township began
When was New Boston Township founded?
1835
The New Boston Township post office opened in 1835, the earliest record of the town by name. Two smaller post offices, Mannon (1883) and Arpee (1894), opened inside today’s town and later closed.
First census: 229 in 18502020 census: 1,179191 years
How historic is New Boston Township?
A
What drives the grade ↓More historic than 93% of U.S. towns, on its age, its old homes and the National Register.
Founding year: the first New Boston Township post office (Blevins & Helbock, CC0).The full story ↓
History grade
What drives New Boston Township’s History grade
On its age, its old homes and the National Register, New Boston Township is more historic than 93% of U.S. towns. All 3 inputs are above most U.S. towns; its National Register listings ranks highest and its age lowest.
A
HistoryA character grade: shown, never part of New Boston Township’s overall grade.
Founding era1835, from the first post office: founded 1776–1849, an older era than 75% of U.S. townsA−Homes built before 194027.3% of homes (±10.2) · typical IL town 10.6% · U.S. 8.4%A−National Register5 listings, 16 historic buildings, 144 per 10,000 residents · typical IL town 0.5 · U.S. 2.4A
All U.S. towns we grade (21,289)Ahead of 93%
NewerOlder
Few Illinois towns list much on the Register (a typical Illinois town has 0.5 per 10,000 residents, the U.S. 2.4), so New Boston Township’s 144 sits above most of its state (95% of Illinois towns have fewer) while its 16 historic buildings outnumber those of 78% of U.S. towns.
How sure. Graded on any two of the three inputs instead, the letter would still be A. The pre-1940 share is a Census survey estimate (±10.2 points). The founding year is the first post office, not a stated founding date.
Founding year: the first post office (other dates in Quick answers). Homes: Census ACS 2020–24. National Register: National Park Service, May 2026 list; each listing counted once (boundary changes and added documentation belong to their listing), and a historic district counts its contributing buildings. How TownRatings grades history →
What stands out about New Boston 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 writtenOnly 1 old photo is in the public archives. The rest are in attics and albums.Lost villages2 post offices opened and closed inside today’s New Boston Township, and 2 old place names are still on the map.Deep rootsA post office since 1835: 191 years of New Boston Township.Landmarks on the Register5 places on the National Register.
★ What stands out · Help out
Start New Boston Township’s collection
The first neighbors to add old photos shape how New Boston Township’s history is told.
Decades since 1900 with photos
00s10s20s30s40s50s60s70s80s90s
0 of 10 decades. The empty ones are waiting for someone’s album.Places that used to be
Lost post offices, old corners, places now gone and burying grounds
Two other post offices opened and closed inside today’s town.
Mannon
Arpee
18801950today
Hamlets and corners on the map
ArpeeMannon
Gone or out of use
Bay View SchoolschoolLewis SchoolschoolM and J Air Incorporated AirportairportPin Oak SchoolschoolProuty SchoolschoolSwan Lake Schoolschool
3cemeteries and burying grounds inside New Boston Township
DavisMannonShields
US Post Offices dataset (Blevins & Helbock, CC0). Places and cemeteries from the USGS Geographic Names Information System (2021).
Timeline
New Boston Township, 1883 to 1941
Woven from the archive, old maps, post office records, the National Register and the people born here.
By decade
New Boston Township, decade by decade
Date unknown1 to date
Date?Today2 recent
2017
2017On the map
New Boston Township on the map, 1941 to 1991
Every edition of the U.S. Geological Survey’s map of New Boston Township. Tap a year, or press play to watch the town change.
1941Keithsburg sheet · 1:62,500U.S. Geological Survey historical topographic maps (public domain), via Esri’s collection of the scans. The red ring marks the center of New Boston 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.
Retake this viewUpper Mississippi River 9-Foot Channel Project, Lock & Dam No. 17, Upper Mississippi River
Find the spot, match the angle, and add your photo. It becomes the first then-and-now pair on New Boston Township’s page.
Retake this view · +15On the National Register
5 listings protect 16 historic buildings
The country’s official list of buildings and places worth saving.
places listed
5
National Historic Landmarks
0
none yet
historic buildings protected
16
each building in a district counts
first listed
2004
Lock and Dam No. 17 Historic District
Districts
Architectural styles listings
Lock and Dam1
Control Station1
Machinery1
All 2 listings
National Park Service, National Register of Historic Places. Photos from Wikimedia Commons, credited on each place’s page.
People over time
New Boston Township, census by census
Between 229 and 801 people in every census since 1850.
18 censuses, 1850–2020.
U.S. Census Bureau decennial counts, from the census table on New Boston Township’s Wikipedia page.
Stories next door
History across the town line
Each neighbor’s History grade, on the same three inputs.
Eliza TownshipIts storynot graded: under 1,000 residents or part of its townMillersburg TownshipIts storynot graded: under 1,000 residents or part of its townNew Boston3 historic placesnot graded: under 1,000 residents or part of its townKeithsburg Township2 historic placesnot graded: under 1,000 residents or part of its town
Questions about New Boston Township’s history
What year was New Boston Township founded?
The New Boston Township post office opened in 1835, the earliest record of the town by name (U.S. post office records).
How does New Boston Township rank for history?
New Boston Township is more historic than 93% of U.S. towns. The History grade combines the town’s founding era, the share of homes built before 1940 and its National Register listings. It’s a character grade, so it isn’t part of the overall grade. How it works.
What is on the National Register in New Boston Township?
5 listings: 2 historic districts, the Lock and Dam No. 17 Historic District and the Verdurette, with 8 contributing buildings. 16 historic buildings in all.
How old are the homes in New Boston Township?
27% of New Boston Township’s homes were built before 1940 (Census estimate, ±10.2 points), against a typical 11% for an Illinois town; the median home was built in 1966.
Memory lane
What the archives can’t tell you, neighbors can.
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).
From Wikimedia Commons (2), the Library of Congress (1), Wikidata (2), the National Register of Historic Places (2), Wikipedia, 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.