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History · Oconee Township

Oconee Township’s post office opened in 1872, and 21% of its homes were built before 1940

Below: maps from 1947 on and the census since 1880.

1872first post office
0on the National Register
21%homes built before 1940
Add an old photoShare a memory
Quick answers

How Oconee Township began

When was Oconee Township founded?

1872

The Oconee Township post office opened in 1872, the earliest record of the town by name. Another post office, Hanson (1901), opened inside today’s town and later closed.

First census: 259 in 18802020 census: 793154 years
Founding year: the first Oconee Township post office (Blevins & Helbock, CC0).

What stands out about Oconee 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 Oconee Township are in the public archives yet. The rest are in attics and albums.Boom and bustPeaked at 332 in 1890; 141 people lived here in 2020.
★ What stands out · Help out

Start Oconee Township’s collection

The first neighbors to add old photos shape how Oconee 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
People over time

Oconee Township, census by census

010020030018801900192019401960198020002020Peak: 332

Peaked at 332 in 1890; 141 people lived here in 2020.

15 censuses, 1880–2020.

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

The story so far

Oconee Township, in brief

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

Oconee is a village in Shelby County, Illinois, United States. As of the 2020 census, Oconee had a population of 141. The village was named after the daughter of a local Native American chieftain.

Its first post office opened in 1872. Between the 2010 and 2020 censuses its population grew from 776 to 793 (+2%).

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

Timeline

Oconee Township, 1890 to 1947

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

  1. 19th century
  2. 1890CensusPopulation peaks at 332
  3. 20th century
  4. 1901Post officeThe Hanson post office opens
  5. 1931Post officeThe Hanson post office closes
  6. 1947On 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

Oconee Township on the map, 1947 to 1998

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

Oconee Township on the 1947 USGS mapOconee Township on the 1982 USGS mapOconee Township on the 1998 USGS map1947Pana 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 Oconee Township.

Famous people

Famous people close to Oconee Township

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

See all →
Garet GarrettAmerican journalist · b. 1878
Reid DetmersAmerican professional baseball player · b. 1999
C
Charles HutterAmerican swimmer, Olympic athlete · b. 1916
D
Dick KleinAmerican football player · b. 1934
J
Jeff KeenerAmerican baseball player · b. 1959
J
Joe AdamsAmerican baseball player · b. 1877
Places that used to be

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

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

Hamlets and corners on the map
Hanson
Gone or out of use
Buell SchoolschoolCenter SchoolschoolDixie SchoolschoolFox Den SchoolschoolGreen Valley SchoolschoolHanson SchoolschoolHickory SchoolschoolMount Victory SchoolschoolRound Prairie SchoolschoolSylvan Schoolschool
5cemeteries and burying grounds inside Oconee Township
ClarkCoal CreekOconee MoundPriceSacred Heart

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.

Cold Spring TownshipIts storynot graded: under 1,000 residents or part of its townHerrick TownshipIts storynot graded: under 1,000 residents or part of its townAudubon TownshipIts storynot graded: under 1,000 residents or part of its townRamsey TownshipIts storyC+Pana Township2 historic placesnot graded: under 1,000 residents or part of its town

Questions about Oconee Township’s history

What year was Oconee Township founded?

The Oconee Township post office opened in 1872, 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.