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History · Prairie Township

37% of Prairie Township’s homes were built before 1940

Below: maps from 1933 on and the census since 1860.

0on the National Register
37%homes built before 1940
Add an old photoShare a memory
Photo: User:Visviva · CC BY-SA 4.0

What stands out about Prairie 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 Prairie Township are in the public archives yet. The rest are in attics and albums.Boom and bustPeaked at 1,380 in 1870; 382 people lived here in 2020.Lost villages2 post offices opened and closed inside today’s Prairie Township, and 1 old place names are still on the map.Old housesHalf of Prairie Township’s homes were built before 1963.
★ What stands out · Help out

Start Prairie Township’s collection

The first neighbors to add old photos shape how Prairie 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
People over time

Prairie Township, census by census

02004006008001,0001,2001,400190019502000Peak: 1,380

Peaked at 1,380 in 1870; 382 people lived here in 2020.

17 censuses, 1860–2020.

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

Places that used to be

Lost post offices, old corners and places now gone

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

Hancock
1855–1891
McCall
1868–1918
18501940today
Hamlets and corners on the map
McCall
Gone or out of use
Eagle SchoolschoolGrapevine SchoolschoolHanks Hangar AirportairportMartins AirportairportMcCall SchoolschoolShiloh SchoolschoolYoung America Schoolschool

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

The story so far

Prairie Township, in brief

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

Prairie Township is one of twenty-four townships in Hancock County, Illinois, USA. As of the 2020 census, its population was 382 and it contained 186 housing units. It was formed from Montebello and Carthage townships on September 12, 1854.

Its population held steady between the last two censuses: 380 in 2010, 382 in 2020.

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

Timeline

Prairie Township, 1855 to 1933

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

  1. 19th century
  2. 1855Post officeThe Hancock post office opens
  3. 1868Post officeThe McCall post office opens
  4. 1870CensusPopulation peaks at 1,380
  5. 1891Post officeThe Hancock post office closes
  6. 20th century
  7. 1918Post officeThe McCall post office closes
  8. 1933On the mapFirst mapped by the U.S. Geological Survey
By decade

Prairie Township, decade by decade

Today1 recent
Prairie Township building 2026-08-292026Prairie Township building 2026-08-29
On the map

Prairie Township on the map, 1933 to 1974

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

Prairie Township on the 1933 USGS mapPrairie Township on the 1974 USGS map1933Carthage 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 Prairie Township.

Famous people

Famous people close to Prairie Township

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

See all →
Virginia CherrillAmerican actress · b. 1908
Conrad NagelAmerican actor · b. 1897
Elsa MaxwellAmerican gossip columnist, author, songwriter, … · b. 1883
Ina CoolbrithAmerican poet, writer, and librarian · b. 1841
Richard PageAmerican musician · b. 1953
A
Alden W. ClausenAmerican businessman, President of the World Ba… · b. 1923
Stories next door

History across the town line

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

Montebello Township4 historic placesACarthage Township2 historic placesABear Creek TownshipIts storynot graded: under 1,000 residents or part of its townRock Creek TownshipIts storynot graded: under 1,000 residents or part of its townPilot Grove TownshipIts storynot graded: under 1,000 residents or part of its town

Questions about Prairie Township’s history

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 Wikimedia Commons (1), 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.