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History · North Henderson Township

North Henderson Township’s post office opened in 1843, and 62% of its homes were built before 1940

Below: maps from 1982 on and the census since 1880.

1843first post office
0on the National Register
62%homes built before 1940
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Quick answers

How North Henderson Township began

When was North Henderson Township founded?

1843

The North Henderson Township post office opened in 1843, the earliest record of the town by name. Another post office, Ethel (1867), opened inside today’s town and later closed.

First census: 176 in 18802020 census: 400183 years
Founding year: the first North Henderson Township post office (Blevins & Helbock, CC0).

What stands out about North Henderson 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 Henderson Township are in the public archives yet. The rest are in attics and albums.Old housesHalf of North Henderson Township’s homes were built before 1938.Boom and bustPeaked at 246 in 1970; 162 people lived here in 2020.Deep rootsA post office since 1843: 183 years of North Henderson Township.
★ What stands out · Help out

Start North Henderson Township’s collection

The first neighbors to add old photos shape how North Henderson 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

North Henderson Township, in brief

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

North Henderson is a village in Mercer County, Illinois, United States. The population was 162 at the 2020 census.

Its first post office opened in 1843. Between the 2010 and 2020 censuses its population fell from 421 to 400 (-5%).

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

People over time

North Henderson Township, census by census

010020018801900192019401960198020002020Peak: 246

Peaked at 246 in 1970; 162 people lived here in 2020.

8 censuses, 1880–2020.

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

Timeline

North Henderson Township, 1867 to 1982

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

  1. 19th century
  2. 1867Post officeThe Ethel post office opens
  3. 1871Post officeThe Ethel post office closes
  4. 20th century
  5. 1970CensusPopulation peaks at 246
  6. 1982On the mapFirst mapped by the U.S. Geological Survey
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 Henderson Township on the map in 1982

The U.S. Geological Survey’s map of North Henderson Township.

North Henderson Township on the 1982 USGS map1982North Henderson sheet · 1:24,000

U.S. Geological Survey historical topographic maps (public domain), via Esri’s collection of the scans. The red ring marks the center of North Henderson Township.

Places that used to be

Lost post offices, places now gone and burying grounds

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

Gone or out of use
Ernest E Orwig AirportairportEthel SchoolschoolEureka SchoolschoolMaple Ridge SchoolschoolMount Vernon SchoolschoolNew Salem SchoolschoolPioneer SchoolschoolPleasant Hill SchoolschoolPrairie Flower SchoolschoolSunnyside Schoolschool
2cemeteries and burying grounds inside North Henderson Township
MannMount Vernon

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.

Rivoli TownshipIts storyBRio TownshipIts storynot graded: under 1,000 residents or part of its townKelly TownshipIts storynot graded: under 1,000 residents or part of its townSuez TownshipIts storynot graded: under 1,000 residents or part of its town

Questions about North Henderson Township’s history

What year was North Henderson Township founded?

The North Henderson Township post office opened in 1843, 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 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.