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B−History
History · South Wheatland Township

South Wheatland Township dates to 1859, and 11% of its homes were built before 1940

More historic than 48% of U.S. towns · #414 of 768 in Illinois. What drives it

Its Register listing is the Trobaugh-Good House. Below: maps from 1929 on and the census since 2000.

1859founded
1on the National Register
11%homes built before 1940
Add an old photoShare a memory
Quick answers

How South Wheatland Township began

When was South Wheatland Township founded?

1859

South Wheatland Township dates its founding to 1859 (Wikidata). The census first counted it in 2000.

First census: 4,185 in 20002020 census: 4,040167 years

How historic is South Wheatland Township?

B−

More historic than 48% of U.S. towns, on its age, its old homes and the National Register.

What drives the grade ↓
Founding year: Wikidata. First post office: 1860.
History grade

What drives South Wheatland Township’s History grade

On its age, its old homes and the National Register, South Wheatland Township is more historic than 48% of U.S. towns, #414 of 768 in Illinois. Its National Register listings hold the grade up; its age pulls it down.

B−
HistoryA character grade: shown, never part of South Wheatland Township’s overall grade.
Founding era1859, from Wikidata: founded 1850–1899, an older era than 37% of U.S. townsC+Homes built before 194010.5% of homes (±3.6) · typical IL town 10.6% · U.S. 8.4%B−National Register1 listing, 2.5 per 10,000 residents · typical IL town 0.5 · U.S. 2.4B
All U.S. towns we grade (21,289)Ahead of 48%
NewerOlder
Illinois towns of 2,500+ (768)Ahead of 46%

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 South Wheatland Township’s 2.5 sits above most of its state (68% of Illinois towns have fewer) while its 1 listings outnumber those of 51% of U.S. towns.

How sure. Graded on any two of the three inputs instead, the letter would range from C+ to B. The pre-1940 share is a Census survey estimate (±3.6 points). Two sources give 1859.

Founding year: Wikidata (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 South Wheatland 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 South Wheatland Township are in the public archives yet. The rest are in attics and albums.
★ What stands out · Help out

Start South Wheatland Township’s collection

The first neighbors to add old photos shape how South Wheatland 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

South Wheatland Township, in brief

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

South Wheatland Township is located in Macon County, Illinois, south of Decatur. As of the 2020 census, its population was 4,040 and it contained 1,841 housing units. The South Wheatland Fire Protection District consists of 5 officers; 1 Chief, 1 Asst. Chief, 1 Captain, and 2 Lieutenants, and 14 Firefighters, as well as 3 members on the Board of Trustees.

South Wheatland Township was established in 1859. Between the 2010 and 2020 censuses its population fell from 4,143 to 4,040 (-2%).

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

Timeline

South Wheatland Township, 1859 to 1929

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

  1. 19th century
  2. 1859
    FoundingSouth Wheatland Township is established
  3. 1860Post officeThe South Wheatland post office opens
  4. 1863Post officeThe South Wheatland post office closes
  5. 1863Post officeThe Elwin post office opens
  6. 20th century
  7. 1929On 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
On the map

South Wheatland Township on the map, 1929 to 1998

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

South Wheatland Township on the 1929 USGS mapSouth Wheatland Township on the 1933 USGS mapSouth Wheatland Township on the 1967 USGS mapSouth Wheatland Township on the 1975 USGS mapSouth Wheatland Township on the 1998 USGS map1929Decatur 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 South Wheatland Township.

On the National Register

1 historic place in South Wheatland Township

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

place listed
1
National Historic Landmarks
0
none yet
historic buildings protected
1
each building in a district counts
first listed
1996
Trobaugh-Good House
Trobaugh-Good House
Buildings

Architectural styles listings

Mid-19th Century1
Trobaugh-Good HouseMid-19th Century

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

People over time

South Wheatland Township, census by census

05001,0001,5002,0002,5003,0003,5004,0004,50020002020Peak: 4,185

Between 4,040 and 4,185 people in every census since 2000.

3 censuses, 2000–2020.

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

Famous people

Famous people close to South Wheatland Township

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

See all →
Henry GleasonAmerican ecologist · b. 1882
Art PhelanAmerican baseball player · b. 1887
Art WilsonAmerican baseball player · b. 1885
Cecil GarriottMajor League Baseball player · b. 1916
Drew BlickensderferNASCAR crew chief
P
Paul SmithMajor League Baseball outfielder · b. 1888
Places that used to be

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

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

South Wheatland
1860–1863
Elwin
1863–today
18601940today
Hamlets and corners on the map
Bulldog CrossingElwin
Gone or out of use
Shady Grove SchoolschoolSnow Airportairport
2cemeteries and burying grounds inside South Wheatland Township
Mount GileadSalem

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.

Decatur Township8 historic placesA+Long Creek TownshipIts storyC−Mount ZionIts storyC−Decatur8 historic placesASouth Macon TownshipIts storyC+Blue Mound TownshipIts storynot graded: under 1,000 residents or part of its townMount Zion Township1 historic placeC+

Questions about South Wheatland Township’s history

What year was South Wheatland Township founded?

In 1859, according to Wikidata. South Wheatland Township’s post office opened in 1860, and the census of 2000 counted 4,185 people here.

How does South Wheatland Township rank for history?

South Wheatland Township is more historic than 48% of U.S. towns, #414 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 South Wheatland Township?

One place: the Trobaugh-Good House (listed 1996).

How old are the homes in South Wheatland Township?

11% of South Wheatland Township’s homes were built before 1940 (Census estimate, ±3.6 points), against a typical 11% for an Illinois town; the median home was built in 1966.

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).

From 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.