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History · Plum Hill Township

Plum Hill Township’s post office opened in 1851, and 21% of its homes were built before 1940

Below: maps from 1910 on.

1851first post office
0on the National Register
21%homes built before 1940
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Quick answers

How Plum Hill Township began

When was Plum Hill Township founded?

1851

The Plum Hill Township post office opened in 1851, the earliest record of the town by name. Another post office, Plum Hill (1851), opened inside today’s town and later closed.

2020 census: 456175 years
Founding year: the first Plum Hill Township post office (Blevins & Helbock, CC0).

What stands out about Plum Hill 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 Plum Hill Township are in the public archives yet. The rest are in attics and albums.On the map since 19103 editions of the USGS map, 1910 to 1964. Watch Plum Hill Township change.
★ What stands out · Help out

Start Plum Hill Township’s collection

The first neighbors to add old photos shape how Plum Hill 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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On the map

Plum Hill Township on the map, 1910 to 1964

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

Plum Hill Township on the 1910 USGS mapPlum Hill Township on the 1940 USGS mapPlum Hill Township on the 1964 USGS map1910Okawville 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 Plum Hill Township.

The story so far

Plum Hill Township, in brief

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

Plum Hill is an unincorporated community in Plum Hill Township, Washington County, Illinois, United States. Plum Hill is located along Illinois Route 15, 7.1 miles (11.4 km) west-northwest of Nashville.

Its first post office opened in 1851. Between the 2010 and 2020 censuses its population fell from 537 to 456 (-15%).

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

Timeline

Plum Hill Township, 1851 to 1910

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

  1. 19th century
  2. 1851Post officeThe Plum Hill post office opens
  3. 20th century
  4. 1908Post officeThe Plum Hill post office closes
  5. 1910On 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.
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Famous people

Famous people close to Plum Hill Township

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

See all →
David LuechtefeldAmerican politician · b. 1940
N
Nick KahlAmerican baseball player · b. 1879
G
George E. CoghillAmerican biologist · b. 1872
Russell MaxwellUnited States general · b. 1890
Walter EastAmerican basketball player-coach · b. 1883
Places that used to be

Lost post offices, old corners, places now gone and burying grounds

Another post office, Plum Hill, opened and closed inside today’s town.

Hamlets and corners on the map
Plum Hill
Gone or out of use
Halfacre Schoolschool
3cemeteries and burying grounds inside Plum Hill Township
KinyonNeunlistSaint Johns

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.

Nashville Township1 historic placenot graded: under 1,000 residents or part of its townOakdale TownshipIts storynot graded: under 1,000 residents or part of its townOkawville Township2 historic placesA−Johannisburg TownshipIts storynot graded: under 1,000 residents or part of its town

Questions about Plum Hill Township’s history

What year was Plum Hill Township founded?

The Plum Hill Township post office opened in 1851, 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 →
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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 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.