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History · Ridge Township

34% of Ridge Township’s homes were built before 1940

Its Register listing is the Westervelt Christian Church.

1on the National Register
34%homes built before 1940
Add an old photoShare a memory

What stands out about Ridge 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 Ridge Township are in the public archives yet. The rest are in attics and albums.Lost villages3 post offices opened and closed inside today’s Ridge Township, and 2 old place names are still on the map.Old housesHalf of Ridge Township’s homes were built before 1960.
★ What stands out · Help out

Start Ridge Township’s collection

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

Decades since 1900 with photos
00s10s20s30s40s50s60s70s80s90s
0 of 10 decades. The empty ones are waiting for someone’s album.
Share a family photoSign in to add one+10
Places that used to be

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

Three other post offices opened and closed inside today’s town.

Prairie Bird
1850–1862
Henton
1884–1936
Brunswick
1885–1903
Westervelt
1904–today
18501940today
Hamlets and corners on the map
HentonWestervelt
Gone or out of use
Brunswick SchoolschoolChampion SchoolschoolKillam SchoolschoolLittle Brick SchoolschoolRidge SchoolschoolVictory Schoolschool
5cemeteries and burying grounds inside Ridge Township
BrunswickCraigHentonPlankWashington

US Post Offices dataset (Blevins & Helbock, CC0). Places and cemeteries from the USGS Geographic Names Information System (2021).

The story so far

Ridge Township, in brief

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

Ridge Township is located in Shelby County, Illinois. As of the 2010 census, its population was 427 and it contained 194 housing units. It contains the census-designated place of Westervelt.

Between the 2010 and 2020 censuses its population grew from 427 to 456 (+7%).

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

Timeline

Ridge Township, 1850 to 1936

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

  1. 19th century
  2. 1850Post officeThe Prairie Bird post office opens
  3. 1862Post officeThe Prairie Bird post office closes
  4. 1884Post officeThe Henton post office opens
  5. 1885Post officeThe Brunswick post office opens
  6. 20th century
  7. 1903Post officeThe Brunswick post office closes
  8. 1936Post officeThe Henton 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.
Add from your album
On the National Register

1 historic place in Ridge 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
2006
Westervelt Christian Church
Westervelt Christian Church
Buildings

Architectural styles listings

Classical Revival1
Westervelt Christian ChurchClassical Revival

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

Famous people

Famous people close to Ridge Township

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

See all →
Wesley Livsey JonesAmerican politician · b. 1863
Jesse M. DonaldsonAmerican politician · b. 1885
Homer W. HallAmerican politician · b. 1870
Hap HadleyAmerican illustrator · b. 1895
Robert Marshall RootAmerican artist · b. 1863
J
John E. CribbetLaw professor and chancellor of the University … · b. 1918
Stories next door

History across the town line

Each neighbor’s History grade, on the same three inputs.

Rural TownshipIts storynot graded: under 1,000 residents or part of its townPickaway TownshipIts storynot graded: under 1,000 residents or part of its townRose TownshipIts storyC+Okaw TownshipIts storynot graded: under 1,000 residents or part of its town

Questions about Ridge Township’s history

What is on the National Register in Ridge Township?

One place: the Westervelt Christian Church (listed 2006).

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 the National Register of Historic Places (1), 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.