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History · Rio Township

Rio Township’s post office opened in 1871, and 26% of its homes were built before 1940

Below: maps from 1947 on and the census since 1960.

1871first post office
0on the National Register
26%homes built before 1940
Add an old photoShare a memory
Quick answers

How Rio Township began

When was Rio Township founded?

1871

The Rio Township post office opened in 1871, the earliest record of the town by name.

First census: 177 in 19602020 census: 498155 years
Founding year: the first Rio Township post office (Blevins & Helbock, CC0).

What stands out about Rio 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 Rio Township are in the public archives yet. The rest are in attics and albums.Boom and bustPeaked at 282 in 1980; 209 people lived here in 2020.
★ What stands out · Help out

Start Rio Township’s collection

The first neighbors to add old photos shape how Rio 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
People over time

Rio Township, census by census

01002003001960198020002020Peak: 282

Peaked at 282 in 1980; 209 people lived here in 2020.

7 censuses, 1960–2020.

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

The story so far

Rio Township, in brief

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

Rio is a village in Knox County, Illinois, United States. It had a population of 209 at the 2020 census and is part of the Galesburg Micropolitan Statistical Area. Rio is pronounced "Rye-Oh".

Its first post office opened in 1871. Between the 2010 and 2020 censuses its population fell from 518 to 498 (-4%).

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.

Be the first to add onePhotograph a print flat, in daylight, no flash.
Add from your album
On the map

Rio Township on the map, 1947 to 1982

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

Rio Township on the 1947 USGS mapRio Township on the 1982 USGS map1947Woodhull 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 Rio Township.

Famous people

Famous people close to Rio Township

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

See all →
Carl SandburgAmerican writer and editor · b. 1878
George Washington Gale Ferris, Jr.American engineer · b. 1859
Todd HamiltonProfessional golfer · b. 1965
H
Hugh GillinAmerican actor · b. 1925
Don SamuelsonAmerican politician · b. 1913
K
Karl SwansonMajor League Baseball second baseman · b. 1900
Places that used to be

Places now gone and burying grounds

Gone or out of use
Franklin SchoolschoolJohnson Landing StripairportUnion SchoolschoolWashington Schoolschool
3cemeteries and burying grounds inside Rio Township
BrunerDeatherageRio Baptist

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.

Henderson TownshipIts storyB+North Henderson TownshipIts storynot graded: under 1,000 residents or part of its townOxford TownshipIts storyB+Ontario Township1 historic placenot graded: under 1,000 residents or part of its townKelly TownshipIts storynot graded: under 1,000 residents or part of its town

Questions about Rio Township’s history

What year was Rio Township founded?

The Rio Township post office opened in 1871, 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 →
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 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.