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History · North Fork Township

21% of North Fork Township’s homes were built before 1940

Below: maps from 1905 on and the census since 2000.

0on the National Register
21%homes built before 1940
Add an old photoShare a memory

What stands out about North Fork 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 North Fork Township are in the public archives yet. The rest are in attics and albums.Lost villages2 post offices opened and closed inside today’s North Fork Township, and 1 old place names are still on the map.
★ What stands out · Help out

Start North Fork Township’s collection

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

Decades since 1900 with photos
00s10s20s30s40s50s60s70s80s90s
0 of 10 decades. The empty ones are waiting for someone’s album.
Share a family photoSign in to add one+10
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.

Crawford
1853–1872
Elba
1866–1907
18501940today
Hamlets and corners on the map
Elba
Gone or out of use
Omaha Oil and Gas Fieldoilfield
6cemeteries and burying grounds inside North Fork Township
Crawford CampgroundGarrettOak Grove ChurchSaint JosephsUnion ChapelZion

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

The story so far

North Fork Township, in brief

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

North Fork Township is one of ten townships in Gallatin County, Illinois, United States. As of the 2020 census, its population was 433 and it contained 183 housing units.

Between the 2010 and 2020 censuses its population grew from 408 to 433 (+6%).

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

Timeline

North Fork Township, 1853 to 1907

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

  1. 19th century
  2. 1853Post officeThe Crawford post office opens
  3. 1866Post officeThe Elba post office opens
  4. 1872Post officeThe Crawford post office closes
  5. 20th century
  6. 1905On the mapFirst mapped by the U.S. Geological Survey
  7. 1907Post officeThe Elba 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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On the map

North Fork Township on the map, 1905 to 1963

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

North Fork Township on the 1905 USGS mapNorth Fork Township on the 1963 USGS map1905Eldorado 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 North Fork Township.

People over time

North Fork Township, census by census

010020030040050060020002020Peak: 540

Between 408 and 540 people in every census since 2000.

3 censuses, 2000–2020.

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

Famous people

Famous people close to North Fork Township

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

See all →
James H. WilsonUnited States Army officer · b. 1837
David D. PhelpsAmerican politician · b. 1947
Kendall RhineAmerican basketball player · b. 1943
M
Max MorrisAmerican basketball player · b. 1925
Samuel S. MarshallAmerican politician · b. 1821
George BarkerAmerican politician in Virginia · b. 1951
Stories next door

History across the town line

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

Equality Township1 historic placenot graded: under 1,000 residents or part of its townEast Eldorado Township1 historic placeB+Ridgway TownshipIts storynot graded: under 1,000 residents or part of its townOmaha TownshipIts storynot graded: under 1,000 residents or part of its townCottage TownshipIts storynot graded: under 1,000 residents or part of its town

Questions about North Fork Township’s history

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 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.