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History · Newton Township

33% of Newton Township’s homes were built before 1940

Below: 1 old photo or paper and maps from 1952 on.

0on the National Register
33%homes built before 1940
1old photo or paper
Add an old photoShare a memory
From Newton Township’s archive · credits on each photo

What stands out about Newton 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.
★ What stands out · Help out

Start Newton Township’s collection

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

Decades since 1900 with photos
00s10s20s30s40s50s60s70s80s90s
1 of 10 decades. The empty ones are waiting for someone’s album.
Retake an old viewShelling corn directly into a box car. …: stand where they stood+15Share a family photoSign in to add one+10
The story so far

Newton Township, in brief

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

Newton Township is located in Whiteside County, Illinois. As of the 2010 census, its population was 450 and it contained 178 housing units.

Between the 2010 and 2020 censuses its population fell from 450 to 424 (-6%).

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

Timeline

Newton Township, 1846 to 1952

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

  1. 19th century
  2. 1846Post officeThe Kingsbury post office opens
  3. 1886Post officeThe Kingsbury post office closes
  4. 20th century
  5. 1937In the archiveShelling corn directly into a box car. Newton, Illinois
  6. 1952On the mapFirst mapped by the U.S. Geological Survey
By decade

Newton Township, decade by decade

One decade in the archive so far: the 1930s. Scroll each row; tap a photo for its story.

1930s1 item
Shelling corn directly into a box car. Newton, Illinois1937Shelling corn directly into a box car. Newton, Illino…
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
On the map

Newton Township on the map, 1952 to 1982

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

Newton Township on the 1952 USGS mapNewton Township on the 1982 USGS map1952Erie 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 Newton 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.

Shelling corn directly into a box car. Newton, Illinois
Retake this viewShelling corn directly into a box car. Newton, Illinois, 1937

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

Retake this view · +15
Famous people

Famous people close to Newton Township

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

See all →
Robert Andrews MillikanAmerican physicist · b. 1868
David C. HilmersAmerican astronaut · b. 1950
Lillian RussellAmerican opera singer and actress · b. 1861
Eliza Ruhamah ScidmoreAmerican writer and photographer · b. 1856
Salvatore GiuntaUnited States Army Medal of Honor recipient · b. 1985
Peggy MoranActress · b. 1918
Places that used to be

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

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

Hamlets and corners on the map
Mineral SpringsNewton Corners
Gone or out of use
Anglese SchoolschoolCottle SchoolschoolKingsbury Post Officepost officeKingsbury SchoolschoolSlocum Street Schoolschool
2cemeteries and burying grounds inside Newton Township
Kingsbury PresbyterianSmack

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.

Fenton TownshipIts storynot graded: under 1,000 residents or part of its townAlbany TownshipIts storynot graded: under 1,000 residents or part of its townGarden Plain TownshipIts storynot graded: under 1,000 residents or part of its town

Questions about Newton Township’s history

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 the Library of Congress (1), U.S. Geological Survey historical maps, 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.