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History · Southwest Township

Southwest Township dates to 1869, and 18% of its homes were built before 1940

Below: maps from 1910 on and the census since 1930.

1869founded
0on the National Register
18%homes built before 1940
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Quick answers

How Southwest Township began

When was Southwest Township founded?

1869

Southwest Township dates its founding to 1869 (Wikidata). The census first counted it in 1930.

First census: 322 in 19302020 census: 96157 years
Founding year: Wikidata. First post office: 1887.

What stands out about Southwest 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 Southwest Township are in the public archives yet. The rest are in attics and albums.Old housesHalf of Southwest Township’s homes were built before 1947.
★ What stands out · Help out

Start Southwest Township’s collection

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

Southwest Township, in brief

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

Southwest Township is one of ten townships in Crawford County, Illinois, USA. As of the 2020 census, its population was 96 and it contained 38 housing units.

Southwest Township was established in 1869. Its population held steady between the last two censuses: 97 in 2010, 96 in 2020.

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

Timeline

Southwest Township, 1869 to 1931

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

  1. 19th century
  2. 1869
    FoundingSouthwest Township is established
  3. 1887Post officeThe Landes post office opens
  4. 20th century
  5. 1910On the mapFirst mapped by the U.S. Geological Survey
  6. 1931Post officeThe Landes post office closes
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

Southwest Township on the map, 1910 to 1968

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

Southwest Township on the 1910 USGS mapSouthwest Township on the 1968 USGS map1910Hardinville 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 Southwest Township.

People over time

Southwest Township, census by census

010020030019401960198020002020Peak: 322

Between 76 and 322 people in every census since 1930.

10 censuses, 1930–2020.

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

Places that used to be

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

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

Hamlets and corners on the map
Landes
Gone or out of use
Newlight ChurchchurchSpencer Bridgebridge
3cemeteries and burying grounds inside Southwest Township
KeplingerWaggonerWaggoner

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.

Martin TownshipIts storynot graded: under 1,000 residents or part of its townPetty TownshipIts storynot graded: under 1,000 residents or part of its townSte. Marie TownshipIts storynot graded: under 1,000 residents or part of its townHoney Creek TownshipIts storyC

Questions about Southwest Township’s history

What year was Southwest Township founded?

In 1869, according to Wikidata. Southwest Township’s post office opened in 1887, and the census of 1930 counted 322 people here.

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 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.