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History · Pana Township

Pana Township dates to 1845, and 36% of its homes were built before 1940

2 places in town are on the National Register. Below: maps from 1947 on and the census since 1870.

1845founded
2on the National Register
36%homes built before 1940
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Photo: DianePearse69 · CC BY-SA 4.0
Quick answers

How Pana Township began

When was Pana Township founded?

1845

Pana Township dates its founding to 1845 (Wikidata). The census first counted it in 1870.

First census: 2,207 in 18702020 census: 6,031181 years
Founding year: Wikidata. First post office: 1823.The full story ↓

What stands out about Pana 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 Pana Township are in the public archives yet. The rest are in attics and albums.Deep rootsEstablished in 1845: 181 years of Pana Township.Old housesHalf of Pana Township’s homes were built before 1956.
★ What stands out · Help out

Start Pana Township’s collection

The first neighbors to add old photos shape how Pana 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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Timeline

Pana Township, 1823 to 1947

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

  1. 19th century
  2. 1823Post officeThe Clark Courthouse post office opens
  3. 1836Post officeThe Clark Courthouse post office closes
  4. 1845
    FoundingPana Township is established
  5. 20th century
  6. 1947On the mapFirst mapped by the U.S. Geological Survey
The story

How Pana Township came to be

From Wikipedia’s history of Pana Township.

Read it all →

The area around Pana was first organized as Stone Coal Precinct in 1845. The county's precincts became townships in 1856, and Stone Coal Precinct became Pana Township, Christian County, Illinois. In 1857 the village of Pana was incorporated. The name "Pana" is believed to have been derived from the indigenous tribe, the Pawnee. It developed at the intersection of east–west and north–south railroads, and had supplies of fuel and water for the steam engines of the railroad.

Text from Wikipedia, licensed CC BY-SA 4.0.

By decade

Pana Township, decade by decade

Today3 recent
Louis Jehle House2018Louis Jehle HouseChurch2010Church2010 Census Urban Cluster Reference Map for20102010 Census Urban Cluster Reference Map forBook
On the map

Pana Township on the map, 1947 to 1998

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

Pana Township on the 1947 USGS mapPana Township on the 1982 USGS mapPana 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 Pana Township.

On the National Register

2 historic places in Pana Township

The country’s official list of buildings and places worth saving.

places listed
2
National Historic Landmarks
0
none yet
historic buildings protected
3
each building in a district counts

National Park Service, National Register of Historic Places. Photos from Wikimedia Commons, credited on each place’s page.

People over time

Pana Township, census by census

05001,0001,5002,0002,5003,0003,5004,0004,5005,0005,5006,0006,5007,00018801900192019401960198020002020Peak: 6,432

Between 2,207 and 6,432 people in every census since 1870.

16 censuses, 1870–2020.

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

Places that used to be

Lost post offices, places now gone and burying grounds

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

Gone or out of use
Clark SchoolschoolLake View SchoolschoolMalin SchoolschoolMaple Grove SchoolschoolMillot SchoolschoolParkinson SchoolschoolPleasant Grove SchoolschoolProgress SchoolschoolSunny Yard SchoolschoolTex Landing Stripairport
3cemeteries and burying grounds inside Pana Township
CalvaryLinwoodMound

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.

Tower Hill TownshipIts storynot graded: under 1,000 residents or part of its townOconee TownshipIts storynot graded: under 1,000 residents or part of its townPana2 historic placesAAssumption Township1 historic placenot graded: under 1,000 residents or part of its townRosamond TownshipIts storynot graded: under 1,000 residents or part of its town

Questions about Pana Township’s history

What year was Pana Township founded?

In 1845, according to Wikidata. Pana Township’s post office opened in 1823, and the census of 1870 counted 2,207 people here.

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 Wikimedia Commons (3), Wikidata (1), Wikipedia, 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.