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History · Niantic Township

Niantic Township’s post office opened in 1858, and 43% of its homes were built before 1940

1858first post office
0on the National Register
43%homes built before 1940
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Photo: Dual Freq · CC BY 2.5
Quick answers

How Niantic Township began

When was Niantic Township founded?

1858

The Niantic Township post office opened in 1858, the earliest record of the town by name.

2020 census: 751168 years
Founding year: the first Niantic Township post office (Blevins & Helbock, CC0).The full story ↓

What stands out about Niantic 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 Niantic Township are in the public archives yet. The rest are in attics and albums.Old housesHalf of Niantic Township’s homes were built before 1950.
★ What stands out · Help out

Start Niantic Township’s collection

The first neighbors to add old photos shape how Niantic 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 Niantic Township came to be

From Wikipedia’s history of Niantic Township.

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Niantic was among the earliest settled townships in the county. In 1825, Joseph Strickling, a native of Ohio, first settled in what is now Niantic Township. He erected the first log cabin in Niantic.

From 1825 to 1840, there were very few permanent settlers. The township's population varied on settlers setting up temporary homes on their way to the American West. The first schoolhouse was a log cabin built in 1847.

Text from Wikipedia, licensed CC BY-SA 4.0.

By decade

Niantic Township, decade by decade

Today6 recent
Welcome to Niantic Illinois2007Welcome to Niantic IllinoisNiantic Illinois grain elevators2007Niantic Illinois grain elevatorsNiantic Illinois Water Tower2007Niantic Illinois Water TowerNiantic Illinois Village Hall2007Niantic Illinois Village HallNiantic Illinois Fire Station2007Niantic Illinois Fire StationNiantic Illinois Farmers Elevator2007Niantic Illinois Farmers Elevator
Stories next door

History across the town line

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

Mosquito TownshipIts storynot graded: under 1,000 residents or part of its townIlliopolis TownshipIts storyC+Harristown TownshipIts storyC

Questions about Niantic Township’s history

What year was Niantic Township founded?

The Niantic Township post office opened in 1858, 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 Wikimedia Commons (6), 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.