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History · Pesotum Township

Pesotum Township’s post office opened in 1856, and 25% of its homes were built before 1940

Its Register listing is the Frederick Squires House. Below: maps from 1950 on and the census since 1910.

1856first post office
1on the National Register
25%homes built before 1940
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Quick answers

How Pesotum Township began

When was Pesotum Township founded?

1856

The Pesotum Township post office opened in 1856, the earliest record of the town by name.

First census: 376 in 19102020 census: 882170 years
Founding year: the first Pesotum Township post office (Blevins & Helbock, CC0).

What stands out about Pesotum 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 Pesotum Township are in the public archives yet. The rest are in attics and albums.
★ What stands out · Help out

Start Pesotum Township’s collection

The first neighbors to add old photos shape how Pesotum 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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The story so far

Pesotum Township, in brief

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

Pesotum is a village in Champaign County, Illinois, United States. As of the 2020 census, Pesotum had a population of 550. The village was named after Pesotum, a Native American warrior in the Battle of Fort Dearborn.

Its first post office opened in 1856. Between the 2010 and 2020 censuses its population grew from 845 to 882 (+4%).

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

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

Pesotum Township on the map, 1950 to 1998

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

Pesotum Township on the 1950 USGS mapPesotum Township on the 1975 USGS mapPesotum Township on the 1983 USGS mapPesotum Township on the 1998 USGS map1950Tuscola 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 Pesotum Township.

On the National Register

1 historic place in Pesotum Township

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

place listed
1
National Historic Landmarks
0
none yet
historic buildings protected
1
each building in a district counts
first listed
2011
Frederick Squires House
Frederick Squires House
Buildings

Architectural styles listings

Arts and Crafts1
Frederick Squires HouseArts and Crafts

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

People over time

Pesotum Township, census by census

0100200300400500600700192019401960198020002020Peak: 651

Between 367 and 651 people in every census since 1910.

12 censuses, 1910–2020.

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

Famous people

Famous people close to Pesotum Township

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

See all →
Saul PerlmutterAmerican astrophysicist and Nobel laureate · b. 1959
James TobinAmerican economist · b. 1918
LudacrisAmerican rapper and actor · b. 1977
Megyn KellyAmerican journalist · b. 1970
R
Rocky RyanAmerican-football player · b. 1932
Places that used to be

Places now gone

Gone or out of use
Maley SchoolschoolMerry Schoolschool

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.

Sadorus TownshipIts storynot graded: under 1,000 residents or part of its townCrittenden TownshipIts storynot graded: under 1,000 residents or part of its townTolono TownshipIts storyCTuscola Township1 historic placenot graded: under 1,000 residents or part of its town

Questions about Pesotum Township’s history

What year was Pesotum Township founded?

The Pesotum Township post office opened in 1856, the earliest record of the town by name (U.S. post office records).

What is on the National Register in Pesotum Township?

One place: the Frederick Squires House (listed 2011).

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 the National Register of Historic Places (1), U.S. Geological Survey historical maps, U.S. Census counts (via Wikipedia) 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.