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History · Orchard Township

Half of Orchard Township’s homes were built after 2007

Most of Orchard Township was built recently: 6% of its homes predate 1940 and the median home dates from 2007.

0on the National Register
6%homes built before 1940
Add an old photoShare a memory

What stands out about Orchard 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 Orchard Township are in the public archives yet. The rest are in attics and albums.Lost villages3 post offices opened and closed inside today’s Orchard Township, and 2 old place names are still on the map.
★ What stands out · Help out

Start Orchard Township’s collection

The first neighbors to add old photos shape how Orchard 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

Three other post offices opened and closed inside today’s town.

Brush Creek
1858–1867
Orchardville
1891–1974
Zenith
1895–1904
18501940today
Hamlets and corners on the map
OrchardvilleZenith
Gone or out of use
Banner SchoolschoolButterfly SchoolschoolChapman SchoolschoolConcord SchoolschoolFairview SchoolschoolJacobs ChapelchurchJohnsonville West Oil FieldoilfieldNew Hartford SchoolschoolNew Hope SchoolschoolNorth Taylor SchoolschoolOrchardville Oil FieldoilfieldSouth Taylor SchoolschoolVest Schoolschool
7cemeteries and burying grounds inside Orchard Township
CisneHarmonHarrellHensonJacobs ChapelLeeMount Pleasant

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

The story so far

Orchard Township, in brief

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

Orchard Township is located in Wayne County, Illinois. As of the 2010 census, its population was 604 and it contained 241 housing units.

Between the 2010 and 2020 censuses its population grew from 604 to 631 (+4%).

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

Timeline

Orchard Township, 1858 to 1974

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

  1. 19th century
  2. 1858Post officeThe Brush Creek post office opens
  3. 1867Post officeThe Brush Creek post office closes
  4. 1891Post officeThe Orchardville post office opens
  5. 1895Post officeThe Zenith post office opens
  6. 20th century
  7. 1904Post officeThe Zenith post office closes
  8. 1974Post officeThe Orchardville 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.
Add from your album
Famous people

Famous people close to Orchard Township

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

See all →
Mad Man PondoAmerican professional wrestler · b. 1969
V
Victoria Joyce ElyAmerican nurse · b. 1889
Bill TrotterAmerican baseball player · b. 1908
Kendal SacchieriAmerican politician
Warren W. DuncanAmerican judge · b. 1857
A
A. T. HillAmerican archaeologist · b. 1871
Stories next door

History across the town line

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

Romine TownshipIts storynot graded: under 1,000 residents or part of its townGarden Hill TownshipIts storynot graded: under 1,000 residents or part of its townIndian Prairie TownshipIts storynot graded: under 1,000 residents or part of its townHickory Hill TownshipIts storynot graded: under 1,000 residents or part of its town

Questions about Orchard 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 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.