Guest, Sign inJoin

Post to Robinson Township

We’ll email a one-tap link to publish your post. No password, and nothing is public until you click it.
Already a member? Sign in
A−History
History · Robinson Township

Robinson Township’s post office opened in 1845, and 23% of its homes were built before 1940

More historic than 85% of U.S. towns · #131 of 768 in Illinois. What drives it

Its Register listing is the Dr. Arthur W. Allen Home. Its Register listing is the Dr. Arthur W. Allen Home. Below: 8 old photos and papers, maps from 1986 on, and the census since 1880.

1845first post office
1on the National Register
23%homes built before 1940
8old photos & papers
Add an old photoShare a memory
From Robinson Township’s archive · credits on each photo
Quick answers

How Robinson Township began

When was Robinson Township founded?

1845

The Robinson Township post office opened in 1845, the earliest record of the town by name. Another post office, Gordon (1882), opened inside today’s town and later closed.

First census: 1,380 in 18802020 census: 9,303181 years

How historic is Robinson Township?

A−

More historic than 85% of U.S. towns, on its age, its old homes and the National Register.

What drives the grade ↓
Founding year: the first Robinson Township post office (Blevins & Helbock, CC0).
History grade

What drives Robinson Township’s History grade

On its age, its old homes and the National Register, Robinson Township is more historic than 85% of U.S. towns, #131 of 768 in Illinois. All 3 inputs are above most U.S. towns; its age ranks highest and its National Register listings lowest.

A−
HistoryA character grade: shown, never part of Robinson Township’s overall grade.
Founding era1845, from the first post office: founded 1776–1849, an older era than 75% of U.S. townsA−Homes built before 194022.6% of homes (±5.2) · typical IL town 10.6% · U.S. 8.4%B+National Register1 listing, 3 historic buildings, 3.3 per 10,000 residents · typical IL town 0.5 · U.S. 2.4B+
All U.S. towns we grade (21,289)Ahead of 85%
NewerOlder
Illinois towns of 2,500+ (768)Ahead of 83%

Few Illinois towns list much on the Register (a typical Illinois town has 0.5 per 10,000 residents, the U.S. 2.4), so Robinson Township’s 3.3 sits above most of its state (71% of Illinois towns have fewer) while its 3 historic buildings outnumber those of 65% of U.S. towns.

How sure. Graded on any two of the three inputs instead, the letter would still be A−. The pre-1940 share is a Census survey estimate (±5.2 points). The founding year is the first post office, not a stated founding date.

Founding year: the first post office (other dates in Quick answers). Homes: Census ACS 2020–24. National Register: National Park Service, May 2026 list; each listing counted once (boundary changes and added documentation belong to their listing), and a historic district counts its contributing buildings. How TownRatings grades history →

What stands out about Robinson Township’s past

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

Then and nowOne place photographed years apart. Drag to compare.Deep rootsA post office since 1845: 181 years of Robinson Township.Old housesHalf of Robinson Township’s homes were built before 1961.
★ What stands out · Then & now

The same spot, 72 years apart

Drag across each photo to compare.

Crawford County Courthouse inCourthouse, Crawford County19402012
Courthouse, Crawford CountyMatched from the two captions
Timeline

Robinson Township, 1882 to 1986

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

  1. 19th century
  2. 1882Post officeThe Gordon post office opens
  3. 20th century
  4. 1904Post officeThe Gordon post office closes
  5. 1907In the archiveRobinson, IL - Nov. 1, 1907
  6. 1917In the archiveIllinois - Red Bud through Rockford
  7. 1936BuiltDr. Arthur W. Allen Home is built
  8. 1940In the archiveCourthouse, Crawford County
  9. 1986On the mapFirst mapped by the U.S. Geological Survey
The story so far

Robinson Township, in brief

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

Robinson is a city in and the county seat of Crawford County, Illinois, United States. The population was 7,150 at the 2020 census, down from 7,713 at the 2010 census.

Its first post office opened in 1845. Between the 2010 and 2020 censuses its population fell from 9,900 to 9,303 (-6%).

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

By decade

Robinson Township, decade by decade

3 decades in the archive, from the 1900s to the 1940s. Scroll each row; tap a photo for its story.

1900s–1940s8 items
Robinson, IL - Nov. 1, 19071907Robinson, IL - Nov. 1, 1907Illinois - Red Bud through Rockford1917Illinois - Red Bud through RockfordIllinois - Red Bud through Rockford1917Illinois - Red Bud through RockfordCourthouse, Crawford County1940Courthouse, Crawford CountyMan and dogs in front of grocery store1940Man and dogs in front of grocery storeUntitled photo, possibly related to: Courthouse, Crawford County1940Untitled photo, possibly related to: Courthouse, Craw…Untitled photo, possibly related to: Courthouse, Crawford County1940Untitled photo, possibly related to: Courthouse, Craw…Untitled photo, possibly related to: Man and dogs in front of grocery store1940Untitled photo, possibly related to: Man and dogs in …
1950s–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
Today6 recent
Robinson post office 624542012Robinson post office 62454Robinson Carnegie Library2012Robinson Carnegie LibraryCrawford County Courthouse in2012Crawford County Courthouse inCrawford County Christian Center2012Crawford County Christian CenterRobinson High School in Illinois2011Robinson High School in IllinoisRobinson Mourning Dove2006Robinson Mourning Dove
On the map

Robinson Township on the map in 1986

The U.S. Geological Survey’s map of Robinson Township.

Robinson Township on the 1986 USGS map1986Terre Haute sheet · 1:100,000

U.S. Geological Survey historical topographic maps (public domain), via Esri’s collection of the scans. The red ring marks the center of Robinson Township.

On the National Register

1 historic place in Robinson Township

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

place listed
1
National Historic Landmarks
0
none yet
historic buildings protected
3
each building in a district counts
first listed
2020
Dr. Arthur W. Allen Home
Dr. Arthur W. Allen Home, built 1936
Buildings
All 1 listings
Dr. Arthur W. Allen HomeBuilding · listed 2020

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

People over time

Robinson Township, census by census

02,0004,0006,0008,00018801900192019401960198020002020Peak: 7,713

Between 1,380 and 7,713 people in every census since 1880.

15 censuses, 1880–2020.

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

Places that used to be

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

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

Hamlets and corners on the map
Gordon
Gone or out of use
Henderson SchoolschoolLa Motte SchoolschoolMcCarthy SchoolschoolWilson Schoolschool
5cemeteries and burying grounds inside Robinson Township
DuncanvilleKirkMinnickNew RobinsonNewlin

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

Help out

Finish Robinson Township’s story

Most archives stop around 1920. The photos from after that are in family albums, not libraries.

Decades since 1900 with photos
00s10s20s30s40s50s60s70s80s90s
3 of 10 decades. The empty ones are waiting for someone’s album.
Retake an old viewRobinson, IL - Nov. 1, 1907: stand where they stood+15Share a family photoSign in to add one+10
Stories next door

History across the town line

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

Oblong TownshipIts storyC+Prairie TownshipIts storynot graded: under 1,000 residents or part of its townHoney Creek TownshipIts storyCHutsonville TownshipIts storynot graded: under 1,000 residents or part of its town

Questions about Robinson Township’s history

What year was Robinson Township founded?

The Robinson Township post office opened in 1845, the earliest record of the town by name (U.S. post office records).

How does Robinson Township rank for history?

Robinson Township is more historic than 85% of U.S. towns, #131 of 768 in Illinois. The History grade combines the town’s founding era, the share of homes built before 1940 and its National Register listings. It’s a character grade, so it isn’t part of the overall grade. How it works.

What is on the National Register in Robinson Township?

One place: the Dr. Arthur W. Allen Home (listed 2020).

How old are the homes in Robinson Township?

23% of Robinson Township’s homes were built before 1940 (Census estimate, ±5.2 points), against a typical 11% for an Illinois town; the median home was built in 1961.

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).

From Wikimedia Commons (9), the Library of Congress (5), 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.