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History · Prairie Township

Half of Prairie Township’s homes were built after 1977

Most of Prairie Township was built recently: 9% of its homes predate 1940 and the median home dates from 1977.

0on the National Register
9%homes built before 1940
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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.
★ 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.
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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 ten townships in Crawford County, Illinois, USA. As of the 2020 census, its population was 620 and it contained 275 housing units.

Between the 2010 and 2020 censuses its population grew from 594 to 620 (+4%).

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

Timeline

Prairie Township, 1852 to 1960

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

  1. 19th century
  2. 1852Post officeThe Eaton post office opens
  3. 1858Post officeThe Annapolis post office opens
  4. 20th century
  5. 1960Post officeThe Eaton post office closes
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 Prairie Township

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

See all →
Burl IvesAmerican musician · b. 1909
Fred DuboisAmerican politician · b. 1851
J
J. B. ChapmanNazarene General Superintendent · b. 1884
Places that used to be

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

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

Eaton
1852–1960
Annapolis
1858–today
18501940today
Hamlets and corners on the map
AnnapolisPorterville
Gone or out of use
Eaton Post Officepost office
4cemeteries and burying grounds inside Prairie Township
CoxDixMount PleasantStanfield

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.

Hutsonville TownshipIts storynot graded: under 1,000 residents or part of its townLicking TownshipIts storynot graded: under 1,000 residents or part of its townMelrose TownshipIts storynot graded: under 1,000 residents or part of its townRobinson Township1 historic placeA−

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 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.