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History · St. Augustine

St. Augustine’s post office opened in 1837, and 28% of its homes were built before 1940

Below: maps from 1915 on and the census since 1880.

1837first post office
0on the National Register
28%homes built before 1940
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Quick answers

How St. Augustine began

When was St. Augustine founded?

1837

The St. Augustine post office opened in 1837, the earliest record of the town by name.

First census: 289 in 18802020 census: 119189 years
Founding year: the first St. Augustine post office (Blevins & Helbock, CC0).

What stands out about St. Augustine’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 St. Augustine are in the public archives yet. The rest are in attics and albums.On the map since 19154 editions of the USGS map, 1915 to 1998. Watch St. Augustine change.Deep rootsA post office since 1837: 189 years of St. Augustine.
★ What stands out · Help out

Start St. Augustine’s collection

The first neighbors to add old photos shape how St. Augustine’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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On the map

St. Augustine on the map, 1915 to 1998

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

St. Augustine on the 1915 USGS mapSt. Augustine on the 1944 USGS mapSt. Augustine on the 1974 USGS mapSt. Augustine on the 1998 USGS map1915Avon 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 St. Augustine.

The story so far

St. Augustine, in brief

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

St. Augustine or Saint Augustine is a village in Knox County, Illinois, United States. The population was 119 at the 2020 census. It is part of the Galesburg Micropolitan Statistical Area.

Its first post office opened in 1837. Its population held steady between the last two censuses: 120 in 2010, 119 in 2020.

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

From the old history books

What they wrote about St. Augustine in 1912

Passages that mention St. Augustine, cut from the printed page as they were published.

Also Abingdon, which is within the limits of St. Augustine parish. About seven or eight years ago, the Catholic body around Wataga built a little church for themselves and this church was solemnly blessed by Father Costa, rural dean of the district. This chapel is served from Galva, every two weeks.
History of Knox County, Illinois [microform]1912 · page 673Read the page →
Read the text

Also Abingdon, which is within the limits of St. Augustine parish. About seven or eight years ago, the Catholic body around Wataga built a little church for themselves and this church was solemnly blessed by Father Costa, rural dean of the district. This chapel is served from Galva, every two weeks.

Text read by machine from the scan; it may contain errors.

Scans and text from the Internet Archive. Books published in 1930 or earlier, which are in the public domain.

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.

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People over time

St. Augustine, census by census

010020030018801900192019401960198020002020Peak: 289

Between 119 and 289 people in every census since 1880.

15 censuses, 1880–2020.

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

Famous people

Famous people close to St. Augustine

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

See all →
James StockdaleUS Navy admiral and aviator · b. 1923
George Latimer BatesAmerican naturalist · b. 1863
C
Calvin B. HooverAmerican economist · b. 1897
F
Frank F. RossUnited States Army Medal of Honor recipient · b. 1867
E
Edward RobertsAmerican weight thrower · b. 1892
C
Charles KuhnArtist · b. 1892
Places that used to be

Old corners

Old hamlets and crossroads still carry their names on the map.

Hamlets and corners on the map
Saint Augustine

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

Questions about St. Augustine’s history

What year was St. Augustine founded?

The St. Augustine post office opened in 1837, 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, U.S. Census counts (via Wikipedia), the US Post Offices dataset (Blevins & Helbock), the USGS Geographic Names Information System and old county and town histories (Internet Archive). Archive images are copied here with their credits and licenses, shown on each photo’s page. Refreshed monthly.