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Sardorus, ILPhoto: Daniel Schwen · CC BY-SA 4.0
–Not graded
History · Sadorus Township

Sadorus Township dates to 1837, and 39% of its homes were built before 1940

Below: maps from 1950 on and the census since 1880.

1837founded
0on the National Register
39%homes built before 1940
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Photo: Daniel Schwen · CC BY-SA 4.0
Quick answers

How Sadorus Township began

When was Sadorus Township founded?

1837

Sadorus Township dates its founding to 1837 (Wikipedia’s history). The census first counted it in 1880.

First census: 250 in 18802020 census: 948189 years
Founding year: Wikipedia. First post office: 1855.The full story ↓

What stands out about Sadorus 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 Sadorus Township are in the public archives yet. The rest are in attics and albums.Lost villages1 post office opened and closed inside today’s Sadorus Township, and 3 old place names are still on the map.Deep rootsEstablished in 1837: 189 years of Sadorus Township.Old housesHalf of Sadorus Township’s homes were built before 1961.
★ What stands out · Help out

Start Sadorus Township’s collection

The first neighbors to add old photos shape how Sadorus 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

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

Hamlets and corners on the map
JimtownParkvilleSloan Station
Gone or out of use
Baldwin SchoolschoolChambers SchoolschoolFisher SchoolschoolHarshbarger SchoolschoolLumley Schoolschool
5cemeteries and burying grounds inside Sadorus Township
OBryanRiceRockSadorusSaint Joseph

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

Timeline

Sadorus Township, 1837 to 1950

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

  1. 19th century
  2. 1837
    FoundingSadorus Township is established
  3. 1875Post officeThe Parkville post office opens
  4. 20th century
  5. 1903Post officeThe Parkville post office closes
  6. 1950On the mapFirst mapped by the U.S. Geological Survey
The story

How Sadorus Township came to be

From Wikipedia’s history of Sadorus Township.

Read it all →

Sadorus Grove was settled in April 1824 by Henry Sadorus, and was the first town founded in Champaign County. It was platted in 1837 by William Sadorus as the town of Sadorus.

There was a train wreck as a train was passing through the town on February 21, 2011. Two grain cars tipped over and another three or four cars derailed into a nearby field. The train had already passed through the residential area of the town when it derailed so nobody was injured. It is believed that soggy soil underneath the tracks caused the derailment.

ChaptersSettlementTrain wreck

Text from Wikipedia, licensed CC BY-SA 4.0.

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

Sadorus Township on the map, 1950 to 1998

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

Sadorus Township on the 1950 USGS mapSadorus Township on the 1975 USGS mapSadorus Township on the 1983 USGS mapSadorus Township on the 1998 USGS map1950Tuscola 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 Sadorus Township.

People over time

Sadorus Township, census by census

010020030040050018801900192019401960198020002020Peak: 469

Between 250 and 469 people in every census since 1880.

15 censuses, 1880–2020.

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

Famous people

Famous people close to Sadorus Township

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

See all →
Brian CardinalAmerican basketball player · b. 1977
Kenneth L. WilsonAmerican discus thrower, college athletics admi… · b. 1896
Jeff PfefferAmerican baseball player · b. 1888
L
Leo PfefferAmerican politician · b. 1908
R
Rocky RyanAmerican-football player · b. 1932
Stories next door

History across the town line

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

Pesotum Township1 historic placenot graded: under 1,000 residents or part of its townColfax TownshipIts storynot graded: under 1,000 residents or part of its townGarrett TownshipIts storyC+Bement Township1 historic placenot graded: under 1,000 residents or part of its townTolono TownshipIts storyC

Questions about Sadorus Township’s history

What year was Sadorus Township founded?

In 1837, according to Wikipedia’s history of the town. Sadorus Township’s post office opened in 1855, and the census of 1880 counted 250 people here.

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 Wikipedia, 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.