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History · Parker Township

Parker Township’s post office opened in 1856, and 65% of its homes were built before 1940

Below: maps from 1942 on.

1856first post office
0on the National Register
65%homes built before 1940
Add an old photoShare a memory
Quick answers

How Parker Township began

When was Parker Township founded?

1856

The Parker Township post office opened in 1856, the earliest record of the town by name. Four smaller post offices, Parker (1856), Cleone (1886) and Lindsey (1894), opened inside today’s town and later closed.

2020 census: 167170 years
Founding year: the first Parker Township post office (Blevins & Helbock, CC0).

What stands out about Parker 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 Parker Township are in the public archives yet. The rest are in attics and albums.Lost villages4 post offices opened and closed inside today’s Parker Township, and 2 old place names are still on the map.Old housesHalf of Parker Township’s homes were built before 1938.
★ What stands out · Help out

Start Parker Township’s collection

The first neighbors to add old photos shape how Parker 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

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

Parker
1856–1864
Cleone
1886–1906
Lindsey
1894–1903
Oilfield
1896–1932
18501940today
Hamlets and corners on the map
CleoneOilfield
Gone or out of use
Briscoe SchoolschoolJohnson SchoolschoolLindsay SchoolschoolMount Olive ChurchchurchPerisho SchoolschoolRound Grove Schoolschool
2cemeteries and burying grounds inside Parker Township
ConnellyLindsey

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

The story so far

Parker Township, in brief

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

Parker Township is one of fifteen townships in Clark County, Illinois, US. As of the 2020 census, its population was 167 and it contained 107 housing units.

Its first post office opened in 1856. Between the 2010 and 2020 censuses its population fell from 186 to 167 (-10%).

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

Timeline

Parker Township, 1856 to 1942

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

  1. 19th century
  2. 1856Post officeThe Parker post office opens
  3. 1864Post officeThe Parker post office closes
  4. 1886Post officeThe Cleone post office opens
  5. 1894Post officeThe Lindsey post office opens
  6. 20th century
  7. 1903Post officeThe Lindsey post office closes
  8. 1906Post officeThe Cleone post office closes
  9. 1942On 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.
Add from your album
On the map

Parker Township on the map, 1942 to 1998

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

Parker Township on the 1942 USGS mapParker Township on the 1984 USGS mapParker Township on the 1998 USGS map1942Casey 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 Parker Township.

Famous people

Famous people close to Parker Township

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

See all →
Gregg TolandAmerican cinematographer · b. 1904
Charles ClaryActor · b. 1873
Charlotte MartinAmerican musician · b. 1976
Bobbi TroutAmerican aviator · b. 1906
R
Rex MorganBasketball player · b. 1948
A
Alice BaberAmerican painter and activist · b. 1928
Stories next door

History across the town line

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

Hutton Township1 historic placenot graded: under 1,000 residents or part of its townWestfield TownshipIts storynot graded: under 1,000 residents or part of its townMartinsville TownshipIts storyA−Casey TownshipIts storyBDolson TownshipIts storynot graded: under 1,000 residents or part of its townUnion TownshipIts storynot graded: under 1,000 residents or part of its town

Questions about Parker Township’s history

What year was Parker Township founded?

The Parker Township post office opened in 1856, 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 →
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 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.