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History · Paw Paw Township

Paw Paw Township dates to 1834, and 50% of its homes were built before 1940

Its Register listings are the Nisbet Homestead Farm and the Rollo Congregational United Church of Christ. Below: maps from 1951 on and the census since 1880.

1834founded
2on the National Register
50%homes built before 1940
Add an old photoShare a memory
Quick answers

How Paw Paw Township began

When was Paw Paw Township founded?

1834

Paw Paw Township dates its founding to 1834 (Wikidata). The census first counted it in 1880.

First census: 476 in 18802020 census: 345192 years
Founding year: Wikidata. First post office: 1843.The full story ↓

What stands out about Paw Paw 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 Paw Paw Township are in the public archives yet. The rest are in attics and albums.Lost villages4 post offices opened and closed inside today’s Paw Paw Township, and 2 old place names are still on the map.Old housesHalf of Paw Paw Township’s homes were built before 1941.Deep rootsEstablished in 1834: 192 years of Paw Paw Township.
★ What stands out · Help out

Start Paw Paw Township’s collection

The first neighbors to add old photos shape how Paw Paw 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.

Ross Grove
1843–1844
Ross Grove
1848–1894
East Paw Paw
1854–1898
Rollo
1886–1922
18401930today
Hamlets and corners on the map
East Paw PawRollo
Gone or out of use
Ross Grove Post Officepost office
2cemeteries and burying grounds inside Paw Paw Township
East Paw PawOld Stevens

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

The story

How Paw Paw Township came to be

From Wikipedia’s history of Paw Paw Township.

Read it all →

In 1829, present-day Chicago Road was part of the Frink and Walker stagecoach line from Galena, Illinois to Chicago, though the Potawatomi Indians were the first to use the trail. The tribe didn't turn over the area to the U.S. government until 1833. Frink and Walker also held the mail contract for the area's settlers. The route became popular and garnered a mention in the work of writer Margaret Fuller.

Text from Wikipedia, licensed CC BY-SA 4.0.

Timeline

Paw Paw Township, 1834 to 1951

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

  1. 19th century
  2. 1834
    FoundingPaw Paw Township is established
  3. 1843Post officeThe Ross Grove post office opens
  4. 1844Post officeThe Ross Grove post office closes
  5. 1848Post officeThe Ross Grove post office opens
  6. 1854Post officeThe East Paw Paw post office opens
  7. 1894Post officeThe Ross Grove post office closes
  8. 1898Post officeThe East Paw Paw post office closes
  9. 20th century
  10. 1951On the mapFirst mapped by the U.S. Geological Survey
By decade

Paw Paw Township, decade by decade

Today6 recent
Tractor 04912006Tractor 0491Silos 05082006Silos 0508Silos 04932006Silos 0493ILMap-doton-PawPaw2006ILMap-doton-PawPawBarn 04962006Barn 0496Paw Paw IL water tower2005Paw Paw IL water tower
On the map

Paw Paw Township on the map, 1951 to 1971

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

Paw Paw Township on the 1951 USGS mapPaw Paw Township on the 1971 USGS map1951Earlville 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 Paw Paw Township.

On the National Register

2 historic places in Paw Paw Township

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

places listed
2
National Historic Landmarks
0
none yet
historic buildings protected
6
each building in a district counts
first listed
1984
Nisbet Homestead Farm
Nisbet Homestead FarmRollo Congregational United Church of Christ
Buildings

Architectural styles listings

Greek Revival1
Nisbet Homestead FarmGreek Revival
All 2 listings
Rollo Congregational United Church of ChristBuilding · listed 2019

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

People over time

Paw Paw Township, census by census

020040060080018801900192019401960198020002020Peak: 870

Between 476 and 870 people in every census since 1880.

14 censuses, 1880–2020.

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

Stories next door

History across the town line

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

Wyoming Township1 historic placeAShabbona Township1 historic placeA−Earl TownshipIts storyBVictor TownshipIts storynot graded: under 1,000 residents or part of its townClinton TownshipIts storyB

Questions about Paw Paw Township’s history

What year was Paw Paw Township founded?

In 1834, according to Wikidata. Paw Paw Township’s post office opened in 1843, and the census of 1880 counted 476 people here.

What is on the National Register in Paw Paw Township?

Two places: the Nisbet Homestead Farm (listed 1984) and the Rollo Congregational United Church of Christ (2019).

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 (6), the National Register of Historic Places (2), 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.