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History · Rock Creek Township

43% of Rock Creek Township’s homes were built before 1940

Below: maps from 1932 on and the census since 1860.

0on the National Register
43%homes built before 1940
Add an old photoShare a memory

What stands out about Rock Creek 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 Rock Creek Township are in the public archives yet. The rest are in attics and albums.Boom and bustPeaked at 1,444 in 1880; 322 people lived here in 2020.Old housesHalf of Rock Creek Township’s homes were built before 1949.
★ What stands out · Help out

Start Rock Creek Township’s collection

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

Rock Creek Township, census by census

02004006008001,0001,2001,4001,600190019502000Peak: 1,444

Peaked at 1,444 in 1880; 322 people lived here in 2020.

17 censuses, 1860–2020.

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

The story so far

Rock Creek Township, in brief

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

Rock Creek Township is one of twenty-four townships in Hancock County, Illinois, United States. As of the 2020 census, its population was 322 and it contained 155 housing units. It was formed from Sonora and Pilot Grove townships on April 27, 1855.

Between the 2010 and 2020 censuses its population fell from 350 to 322 (-8%).

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

Timeline

Rock Creek Township, 1870 to 1932

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

  1. 19th century
  2. 1870Post officeThe Adrian post office opens
  3. 1880CensusPopulation peaks at 1,444
  4. 20th century
  5. 1932On the mapFirst mapped by the U.S. Geological Survey
By decade

Rock Creek Township, decade by decade

Today1 recent
Rock Creek Township building 2026-08-292026Rock Creek Township building 2026-08-29
On the map

Rock Creek Township on the map, 1932 to 1964

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

Rock Creek Township on the 1932 USGS mapRock Creek Township on the 1964 USGS map1932Lomax 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 Rock Creek Township.

Famous people

Famous people close to Rock Creek Township

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

See all →
Virginia CherrillAmerican actress · b. 1908
Conrad NagelAmerican actor · b. 1897
Dennis O'KeefeAmerican actor · b. 1908
Elsa MaxwellAmerican gossip columnist, author, songwriter, … · b. 1883
Ina CoolbrithAmerican poet, writer, and librarian · b. 1841
Nedra VolzAmerican actress · b. 1908
Places that used to be

Old corners, places now gone and burying grounds

Old hamlets and crossroads still carry their names on the map.

Hamlets and corners on the map
Adrian
Gone or out of use
Center SchoolschoolDouglas SchoolschoolJefferson SchoolschoolLafayette SchoolschoolLincoln SchoolschoolMount Vernon SchoolschoolPioneer SchoolschoolWebster Schoolschool
1cemetery inside Rock Creek Township
Rock Creek

US Post Offices dataset (Blevins & Helbock, CC0). 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.

Sonora TownshipIts storynot graded: under 1,000 residents or part of its townPilot Grove TownshipIts storynot graded: under 1,000 residents or part of its townPontoosuc TownshipIts storynot graded: under 1,000 residents or part of its townPrairie TownshipIts storynot graded: under 1,000 residents or part of its town

Questions about Rock Creek Township’s history

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 Wikimedia Commons (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.