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History · Pomona Township

Pomona Township’s post office opened in 1875, and 24% of its homes were built before 1940

Below: maps from 1924 on.

1875first post office
0on the National Register
24%homes built before 1940
Add an old photoShare a memory
Quick answers

How Pomona Township began

When was Pomona Township founded?

1875

The Pomona Township post office opened in 1875, the earliest record of the town by name. Two smaller post offices, Eltham (1875) and Etherton (1892), opened inside today’s town and later closed.

2020 census: 794151 years
Founding year: the first Pomona Township post office (Blevins & Helbock, CC0).

What stands out about Pomona 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 Pomona Township are in the public archives yet. The rest are in attics and albums.Lost villages2 post offices opened and closed inside today’s Pomona Township, and 3 old place names are still on the map.On the map since 19244 editions of the USGS map, 1924 to 1990. Watch Pomona Township change.
★ What stands out · Help out

Start Pomona Township’s collection

The first neighbors to add old photos shape how Pomona 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 and burying grounds

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

Eltham
1875–1879
Pomona
1875–today
Etherton
1892–1923
18701950today
Hamlets and corners on the map
ElthamEthertonPomona
5cemeteries and burying grounds inside Pomona Township
Dutch RidgeEthertonHaglerMount PleasantStearns

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

On the map

Pomona Township on the map, 1924 to 1990

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

Pomona Township on the 1924 USGS mapPomona Township on the 1948 USGS mapPomona Township on the 1978 USGS mapPomona Township on the 1990 USGS map1924Alto Pass 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 Pomona Township.

The story so far

Pomona Township, in brief

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

Pomona is an unincorporated community in Pomona Township, Jackson County, Illinois, United States. Pomona is located in the Shawnee National Forest 10 miles (16 km) south of Murphysboro. Pomona has no post office as of 2010 ZIP code 62975. The community was featured in the 2002 Steve James documentary Stevie.

Its first post office opened in 1875. Its population held steady between the last two censuses: 802 in 2010, 794 in 2020.

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

Timeline

Pomona Township, 1875 to 1924

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

  1. 19th century
  2. 1875Post officeThe Eltham post office opens
  3. 1875Post officeThe Pomona post office opens
  4. 1879Post officeThe Eltham post office closes
  5. 1892Post officeThe Etherton post office opens
  6. 20th century
  7. 1923Post officeThe Etherton post office closes
  8. 1924On 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
Stories next door

History across the town line

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

Grand Tower Township1 historic placenot graded: under 1,000 residents or part of its townMurphysboro Township10 historic placesAMakanda Township2 historic placesBMakandaIts storynot graded: under 1,000 residents or part of its townCarbondale Township5 historic placesnot graded: under 1,000 residents or part of its town

Questions about Pomona Township’s history

What year was Pomona Township founded?

The Pomona Township post office opened in 1875, 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.