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History · Rural Township

22% of Rural Township’s homes were built before 1940

Below: maps from 1942 on.

0on the National Register
22%homes built before 1940
Add an old photoShare a memory

What stands out about Rural 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 Rural Township are in the public archives yet. The rest are in attics and albums.
★ What stands out · Help out

Start Rural Township’s collection

The first neighbors to add old photos shape how Rural 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
The story so far

Rural Township, in brief

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

Rural Township is located in Shelby County, Illinois. As of the 2010 census, its population was 339 and it contained 138 housing units.

Between the 2010 and 2020 censuses its population fell from 339 to 306 (-10%).

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.
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On the map

Rural Township on the map, 1942 to 1981

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

Rural Township on the 1942 USGS mapRural Township on the 1981 USGS map1942Shelbyville 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 Rural Township.

Famous people

Famous people close to Rural Township

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

See all →
Jesse M. DonaldsonAmerican politician · b. 1885
Homer W. HallAmerican politician · b. 1870
Hap HadleyAmerican illustrator · b. 1895
Robert Marshall RootAmerican artist · b. 1863
C
Cecil CoombsAmerican baseball player · b. 1888
Brant HansenAmerican radio host · b. 1969
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
Dollville
Gone or out of use
Center SchoolschoolChampion SchoolschoolDouglas SchoolschoolEmpire SchoolschoolExcelsior SchoolschoolRagweed SchoolschoolRedbud SchoolschoolStoune RLA AirportairportVictor Schoolschool
4cemeteries and burying grounds inside Rural Township
ArmstrongMautzMount PleasantSaint Paul

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.

Ridge Township1 historic placenot graded: under 1,000 residents or part of its townTower Hill TownshipIts storynot graded: under 1,000 residents or part of its townFlat Branch TownshipIts storynot graded: under 1,000 residents or part of its townAssumption Township1 historic placenot graded: under 1,000 residents or part of its town

Questions about Rural Township’s history

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 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.