Guest, Sign inJoin

Post to Sand Ridge 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
–Not graded
History · Sand Ridge Township

Sand Ridge Township’s post office opened in 1872, and 10% of its homes were built before 1940

Below: maps from 1924 on.

1872first post office
0on the National Register
10%homes built before 1940
Add an old photoShare a memory
Quick answers

How Sand Ridge Township began

When was Sand Ridge Township founded?

1872

The Sand Ridge Township post office opened in 1872, the earliest record of the town by name. Another post office, Sand Ridge (1872), opened inside today’s town and later closed.

2020 census: 722154 years
Founding year: the first Sand Ridge Township post office (Blevins & Helbock, CC0).

What stands out about Sand Ridge 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 Sand Ridge Township are in the public archives yet. The rest are in attics and albums.On the map since 19244 editions of the USGS map, 1924 to 1990. Watch Sand Ridge Township change.
★ What stands out · Help out

Start Sand Ridge Township’s collection

The first neighbors to add old photos shape how Sand Ridge 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
On the map

Sand Ridge Township on the map, 1924 to 1990

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

Sand Ridge Township on the 1924 USGS mapSand Ridge Township on the 1947 USGS mapSand Ridge Township on the 1978 USGS mapSand Ridge Township on the 1990 USGS map1924Alto Pass 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 Sand Ridge Township.

The story so far

Sand Ridge Township, in brief

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

Sand Ridge is an unincorporated community along the Big Muddy River in Sand Ridge Township, Jackson County, Illinois, United States. Sand Ridge is located at the intersection of County Routes 5 and 6 2.8 miles (4.5 km) northeast of Gorham.

Its first post office opened in 1872. Between the 2010 and 2020 censuses its population fell from 816 to 722 (-12%).

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

Timeline

Sand Ridge Township, 1872 to 1924

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

  1. 19th century
  2. 1872Post officeThe Sand Ridge post office opens
  3. 20th century
  4. 1917Post officeThe Sand Ridge post office closes
  5. 1924On the mapFirst mapped by the U.S. Geological Survey
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
Famous people

Famous people close to Sand Ridge Township

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

See all →
Laurie MetcalfAmerican actress · b. 1955
P
Paul GilbertAmerican guitarist · b. 1966
Agnes AyresAmerican actress · b. 1891
Ben FalconeAmerican actor, comedian, screenwriter and prod… · b. 1973
John A. LoganAmerican soldier and politician · b. 1826
Justin DentmonAmerican basketball player · b. 1985
Places that used to be

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

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

Hamlets and corners on the map
GrimsbySand Ridge
Gone or out of use
Mount Pleasant Stationlocale
2cemeteries and burying grounds inside Sand Ridge Township
Creath MorrisWorthen

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.

Levan TownshipIts storynot graded: under 1,000 residents or part of its townMurphysboro Township10 historic placesAFountain Bluff TownshipIts storynot graded: under 1,000 residents or part of its townGorhamIts storynot graded: under 1,000 residents or part of its townGrand Tower Township1 historic placenot graded: under 1,000 residents or part of its town

Questions about Sand Ridge Township’s history

What year was Sand Ridge Township founded?

The Sand Ridge Township post office opened in 1872, 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, 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.