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Washington C. Wear HouseWashington C. Wear House · Photo: Jim Roberts · CC BY-SA 4.0
–Not graded
History · Princeville Township

Princeville Township’s post office opened in 1840, and 53% of its homes were built before 1940

Its Register listing is the Washington C. Wear House. Its Register listing is the Washington C. Wear House. Below: 3 old photos and papers, maps from 1944 on, and the census since 1860.

1840first post office
1on the National Register
53%homes built before 1940
3old photos & papers
Add an old photoShare a memory
From Princeville Township’s archive · credits on each photo
Quick answers

How Princeville Township began

When was Princeville Township founded?

1840

The Princeville Township post office opened in 1840, the earliest record of the town by name. Another post office, Monica (1872), opened inside today’s town and later closed.

First census: 263 in 18602020 census: 1,520186 years
Founding year: the first Princeville Township post office (Blevins & Helbock, CC0).

What stands out about Princeville 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 writtenOnly 3 old photos are in the public archives. The rest are in attics and albums.Old housesHalf of Princeville Township’s homes were built before 1938.Deep rootsA post office since 1840: 186 years of Princeville Township.
★ What stands out · Help out

Start Princeville Township’s collection

The first neighbors to add old photos shape how Princeville Township’s history is told.

Decades since 1900 with photos
00s10s20s30s40s50s60s70s80s90s
1 of 10 decades. The empty ones are waiting for someone’s album.
Retake an old viewBAKERY IN PRINCEVILLE: stand where they stood+15Share a family photoSign in to add one+10
The story so far

Princeville Township, in brief

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

Princeville is a village in Peoria County, Illinois, United States. The population was 1,728 at the 2020 census, down from 1,738 in 2010. It is part of the Peoria, Illinois Metropolitan Statistical Area.

Its first post office opened in 1840. Between the 2010 and 2020 censuses its population fell from 1,628 to 1,520 (-7%).

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

Timeline

Princeville Township, 1872 to 1973

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

  1. 19th century
  2. 1872Post officeThe Monica post office opens
  3. 20th century
  4. 1944On the mapFirst mapped by the U.S. Geological Survey
  5. 1962Post officeThe Monica post office closes
  6. 1973In the archiveBAKERY IN PRINCEVILLE
By decade

Princeville Township, decade by decade

One decade in the archive so far: the 1970s. Scroll each row; tap a photo for its story.

1970s3 items
BAKERY IN PRINCEVILLE1973BAKERY IN PRINCEVILLEMIGRANT LABOR CAMP IN PRINCEVILLE1973MIGRANT LABOR CAMP IN PRINCEVILLEMIGRANT LABOR CAMP IN PRINCEVILLE1973MIGRANT LABOR CAMP IN PRINCEVILLE
1980s–1990snothing yet
Nothing in the archives for these yearsWeddings on Main Street, storms, parades, school pictures, the old store. If it’s in your family album, it belongs here.
Add from your album
On the map

Princeville Township on the map, 1944 to 1982

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

Princeville Township on the 1944 USGS mapPrinceville Township on the 1982 USGS map1944Elmwood 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 Princeville Township.

Then & now

Stand where they stood

No then-and-now pairs yet. Take a photo from the same spot as an old one and they appear here side by side.

BAKERY IN PRINCEVILLE
Retake this viewBAKERY IN PRINCEVILLE, 1973

Find the spot, match the angle, and add your photo. It becomes the first then-and-now pair on Princeville Township’s page.

Retake this view · +15
On the National Register

1 historic place in Princeville Township

The country’s official list of buildings and places worth saving.

place listed
1
National Historic Landmarks
0
none yet
historic buildings protected
1
each building in a district counts
first listed
1993
Washington C. Wear House
Washington C. Wear House
Buildings

Architectural styles listings

Italianate1
Washington C. Wear HouseItalianate

National Park Service, National Register of Historic Places. Photos from Wikimedia Commons, credited on each place’s page.

People over time

Princeville Township, census by census

02004006008001,0001,2001,4001,6001,800190019502000Peak: 1,738

Between 263 and 1,738 people in every census since 1860.

17 censuses, 1860–2020.

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

Places that used to be

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

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

Hamlets and corners on the map
Monica
Gone or out of use
Adams SchoolschoolByrnes SchoolschoolGood Hope SchoolschoolHenry SchoolschoolMoody SchoolschoolNelson SchoolschoolWhites Grove Schoolschool
1cemetery inside Princeville Township
Walliker

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.

Akron TownshipIts storynot graded: under 1,000 residents or part of its townEssex Township1 historic placenot graded: under 1,000 residents or part of its townJubilee Township1 historic placeB−Millbrook TownshipIts storynot graded: under 1,000 residents or part of its town

Questions about Princeville Township’s history

What year was Princeville Township founded?

The Princeville Township post office opened in 1840, the earliest record of the town by name (U.S. post office records).

What is on the National Register in Princeville Township?

One place: the Washington C. Wear House (listed 1993).

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 Wikimedia Commons (3), the National Register of Historic Places (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.