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History · Rawlins Township

12% of Rawlins Township’s homes were built before 1940

Its Register listing is the Henry W. Miller House. Its Register listing is the Henry W. Miller House. Below: maps from 1911 on and the census since 2000.

1on the National Register
12%homes built before 1940
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What stands out about Rawlins 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 Rawlins Township are in the public archives yet. The rest are in attics and albums.
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Start Rawlins Township’s collection

The first neighbors to add old photos shape how Rawlins 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

Rawlins Township, in brief

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

Rawlins Township is one of 23 townships in Jo Daviess County, Illinois, United States. As of the 2020 census, its population was 522 and it had 254 housing units. It was formed as Grant Township from West Galena Township on July 12, 1887; its name changed to Rawlins Township on December 20, 1887 in honor of Galena resident John Aaron Rawlins.

Between the 2010 and 2020 censuses its population grew from 455 to 522 (+15%).

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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On the map

Rawlins Township on the map, 1911 to 1968

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

Rawlins Township on the 1911 USGS mapRawlins Township on the 1968 USGS map1911Galena 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 Rawlins Township.

On the National Register

1 historic place in Rawlins 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
2010
Henry W. Miller House
Henry W. Miller House
Buildings

Architectural styles listings

Greek Revival1
I-House1
Henry W. Miller HouseGreek Revival

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

People over time

Rawlins Township, census by census

010020030040050020002020Peak: 522

Between 437 and 522 people in every census since 2000.

3 censuses, 2000–2020.

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

Famous people

Famous people close to Rawlins Township

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

See all →
Kate MulgrewAmerican actress · b. 1955
Margaret LindsayAmerican actress · b. 1910
D
David DrakeAmerican author of science fiction and fantasy … · b. 1945
Kayla BanwarthAmerican volleyball player and coach · b. 1989
D
Donald William KerstAmerican accelerator physicist who developed th… · b. 1911
D
Donald Ryder DickeyAmerican ornithologist · b. 1887
Places that used to be

Places now gone

Gone or out of use
Cottage Grove SchoolschoolFurnace Schoolschool

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.

East Galena Township1 historic placeA−Menominee TownshipIts storyCWest Galena Township4 historic placesA+Vinegar Hill Township4 historic placesnot graded: under 1,000 residents or part of its townGalena5 historic placesA+Council Hill Township3 historic placesnot graded: under 1,000 residents or part of its town

Questions about Rawlins Township’s history

What is on the National Register in Rawlins Township?

One place: the Henry W. Miller House (listed 2010).

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 National Register of Historic Places (1), 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.