Guest, Sign inJoin

Post to Oakland Township

We’ll email a one-tap link to publish your post. No password, and nothing is public until you click it.
Already a member? Sign in
–Not graded
History · Oakland Township

32% of Oakland Township’s homes were built before 1940

Below: maps from 1975 on.

0on the National Register
32%homes built before 1940
Add an old photoShare a memory

What stands out about Oakland 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 Oakland Township are in the public archives yet. The rest are in attics and albums.
★ What stands out · Help out

Start Oakland Township’s collection

The first neighbors to add old photos shape how Oakland 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
The story so far

Oakland Township, in brief

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

Oakland Township is located in Schuyler County, Illinois. As of the 2010 census, its population was 135 and it contained 95 housing units.

Between the 2010 and 2020 censuses its population fell from 135 to 126 (-7%).

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

Timeline

Oakland Township, 1874 to 1975

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

  1. 19th century
  2. 1874Post officeThe Ray post office opens
  3. 20th century
  4. 1962Post officeThe Ray post office closes
  5. 1975On the mapFirst mapped by the U.S. Geological Survey
By decade

Oakland Township, decade by decade

Today1 recent
Oakland Township building 2026-07-252026Oakland Township building 2026-07-25
On the map

Oakland Township on the map, 1975 to 1981

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

Oakland Township on the 1975 USGS mapOakland Township on the 1981 USGS map1975Rushville NE 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 Oakland Township.

Famous people

Famous people close to Oakland Township

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

See all →
John Calhoun PhillipsAmerican politician · b. 1870
F
Frederick Olen MercerUnited States federal judge · b. 1901
L
Luella Kirkbride DrummAmerican politician and civic leader · b. 1872
Places that used to be

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

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

Hamlets and corners on the map
Oakland CenterRay
Gone or out of use
Ackman SchoolschoolEast Center SchoolschoolFerndale SchoolschoolFlatwoods SchoolschoolHouston SchoolschoolOakland Center SchoolschoolPleasant Ridge SchoolschoolRandolph M Wells AirportairportWest Center Schoolschool
9cemeteries and burying grounds inside Oakland Township
AdamsBauerBeghtolBurressFranceGorsuchHoustonPhillipsPittenger

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.

Rushville Township2 historic placesA−Eldorado TownshipIts storynot graded: under 1,000 residents or part of its townLittleton TownshipIts storynot graded: under 1,000 residents or part of its townAstoria Township1 historic placeAVermont Township16 historic placesnot graded: under 1,000 residents or part of its town

Questions about Oakland 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 Wikimedia Commons (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.