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History · Rantoul Township

Rantoul Township dates to 1854, and 11% of its homes were built before 1940

1 place in town is on the National Register. Below: 6 old photos and papers, maps from 1924 on, and the census since 1880.

1854founded
1on the National Register
11%homes built before 1940
6old photos & papers
Add an old photoShare a memory
From Rantoul Township’s archive · credits on each photo
Quick answers

How Rantoul Township began

When was Rantoul Township founded?

1854

Rantoul Township dates its founding to 1854 (Wikidata). The census first counted it in 1880.

First census: 850 in 18802020 census: 10,705172 years
Founding year: Wikidata. First post office: 1865.The full story ↓

What stands out about Rantoul Township’s past

Read from the archive, the National Register and the record. The page puts what stands out first.

Boom and bustPeaked at 25,562 in 1970; 12,371 people lived here in 2020.Mystery photos6 old photos have no date. Neighbors can guess the decade.On the map since 19244 editions of the USGS map, 1924 to 1984. Watch Rantoul Township change.Old housesHalf of Rantoul Township’s homes were built before 1964.
★ What stands out · People over time

Rantoul Township, census by census

05,00010,00015,00020,00025,00018801900192019401960198020002020Peak: 25,562

Peaked at 25,562 in 1970; 12,371 people lived here in 2020.

15 censuses, 1880–2020.

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

Help out

Start Rantoul Township’s collection

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

Decades since 1900 with photos
00s10s20s30s40s50s60s70s80s90s
0 of 10 decades. The empty ones are waiting for someone’s album.
Date a photo6 archive items have no date. Guess the decade.+2Retake an old viewRantoul, Ill., Dec. 11, 2013 -- FEMA Fe…: stand where they stood+15Share a family photoSign in to add one+10
On the map

Rantoul Township on the map, 1924 to 1984

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

Rantoul Township on the 1924 USGS mapRantoul Township on the 1949 USGS mapRantoul Township on the 1957 USGS mapRantoul Township on the 1984 USGS map1924Paxton 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 Rantoul Township.

The story

How Rantoul Township came to be

From Wikipedia’s history of Rantoul Township.

Read it all →

The first permanent settlement in the area known as Mink’s Grove (originally called “Neipswah” by Native Americans) was established by Archa Campbell, who later served as the first mayor of Urbana. Campbell settled in the area in 1848, where he constructed a log cabin.

Mink's Grove was laid out in 1854 for the Illinois Central Railroad by John Penfield. A post office was established in 1856 as Rantoul Station; the name was changed to Rantoul in May 1862.

The community was named after Robert Rantoul, Jr., a U.S. representative from Massachusetts, and a director of the Illinois Central Railroad.

Text from Wikipedia, licensed CC BY-SA 4.0.

Timeline

Rantoul Township, 1854 to 1970

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

  1. 19th century
  2. 1854
    FoundingRantoul Township is established
  3. 20th century
  4. 1924On the mapFirst mapped by the U.S. Geological Survey
  5. 1970CensusPopulation peaks at 25,562
By decade

Rantoul Township, decade by decade

Date unknown6 to date
Rantoul, Ill., Dec. 11, 2013 -- FEMA Federal Coordinating Officer Donald Keldsen, right, talks to FEMA employees respon…Date?Rantoul, Ill., Dec. 11, 2013 -- FEMA Federal Coordina…Chanute Air Force Base, Maintenance Building, Extender StreetDate?Chanute Air Force Base, Maintenance Building, Extende…Chanute Air Force Base, Utility Vault, Curtiss StreetDate?Chanute Air Force Base, Utility Vault, Curtiss StreetChanute Air Force Base, Utility Vault, Galaxy StreetDate?Chanute Air Force Base, Utility Vault, Galaxy StreetChanute Air Force Base, Water Tower, Extender StreetDate?Chanute Air Force Base, Water Tower, Extender StreetChanute Air Force Base, Maintenance Building, Curtiss StreetDate?Chanute Air Force Base, Maintenance Building, Curtiss…
Today10 recent
Rantoul, Illinois2012Rantoul, IllinoisN96454 Douglas DC-42012N96454 Douglas DC-4N816D Douglas DC-42012N816D Douglas DC-4N67061 Douglas DC-42012N67061 Douglas DC-4Greetings from Rantoul, Illinois, Home of Chanute Field - Large Letter Postcard2012Greetings from Rantoul, Illinois, Home of Chanute Fie…DocumentGreetings from Rantoul, Illinois, Home of Chanute Air Force Base - Large Letter Postcard2010Greetings from Rantoul, Illinois, Home of Chanute Air…DocumentRantoul, IL2008Rantoul, ILRantoul Amtrak2008Rantoul AmtrakAFB2008AFBMinuteman Missile(Chanute Airbase IL)2004Minuteman Missile(Chanute Airbase IL)
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.

Rantoul, Ill., Dec. 11, 2013 -- FEMA Federal Coordinating Officer Donald Keldsen, right, talks to FEMA employees respon…
Retake this viewRantoul, Ill., Dec. 11, 2013 -- FEMA Federal Coordinating Officer Donald Keldsen, right, talks to FEMA employees respon…

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

Retake this view · +15
On the National Register

1 listing protects 40 historic buildings

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

place listed
1
National Historic Landmarks
0
none yet
historic buildings protected
40
each building in a district counts

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

Places that used to be

Places now gone and burying grounds

Gone or out of use
Bellevue SchoolschoolExcelsior SchoolschoolFiedler SchoolschoolGray SchoolschoolKentucky SchoolschoolPrairie Star SchoolschoolShurtz SchoolschoolUnion Center Schoolschool
2cemeteries and burying grounds inside Rantoul Township
BeckmanSaint Elizabeth

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.

Ludlow TownshipIts storyCCondit TownshipIts storynot graded: under 1,000 residents or part of its townCompromise TownshipIts storyB−Somer TownshipIts storynot graded: under 1,000 residents or part of its town

Questions about Rantoul Township’s history

What year was Rantoul Township founded?

In 1854, according to Wikidata. Rantoul Township’s post office opened in 1865, and the census of 1880 counted 850 people here.

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 (11), the Library of Congress (5), Wikidata (1), Wikipedia, U.S. Geological Survey historical maps, U.S. Census counts (via Wikipedia) 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.