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History · Preemption

Preemption’s post office opened in 1843

Most of Preemption was built recently: 9% of its homes predate 1940 and the median home dates from 1966. Below: maps from 1912 on.

1843first post office
0on the National Register
9%homes built before 1940
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Photo: formulanone from Huntsville, United States · CC BY-SA 2.0
Quick answers

How Preemption began

When was Preemption founded?

1843

The Preemption post office opened in 1843, the earliest record of the town by name.

2020 census: 254183 years
Founding year: the first Preemption post office (Blevins & Helbock, CC0).

What stands out about Preemption’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 Preemption are in the public archives yet. The rest are in attics and albums.On the map since 19125 editions of the USGS map, 1912 to 1991. Watch Preemption change.Deep rootsA post office since 1843: 183 years of Preemption.
★ What stands out · Help out

Start Preemption’s collection

The first neighbors to add old photos shape how Preemption’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

Preemption on the map, 1912 to 1991

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

Preemption on the 1912 USGS mapPreemption on the 1944 USGS mapPreemption on the 1953 USGS mapPreemption on the 1975 USGS mapPreemption on the 1991 USGS map1912Milan 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 Preemption.

The story so far

Preemption, in brief

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

Preemption is an unincorporated community and census-designated place in Preemption Township, Mercer County, Illinois, United States. As of the 2020 census, it had a population of 254. Preemption is 4 miles (6 km) west of Sherrard. Roy James Carver (1909-1981), American philanthropist and businessman, was born in Preemption.

Its first post office opened in 1843.

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.

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Questions about Preemption’s history

What year was Preemption founded?

The Preemption post office opened in 1843, 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. Archive images are copied here with their credits and licenses, shown on each photo’s page. Refreshed monthly.