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History · Stonefort Township

Stonefort Township’s post office opened in 1853

Most of Stonefort Township was built recently: 2% of its homes predate 1940 and the median home dates from 1980. Below: maps from 1925 on and the census since 1880.

1853first post office
0on the National Register
2%homes built before 1940
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Photo: Brian Stansberry · CC BY 4.0
Quick answers

How Stonefort Township began

When was Stonefort Township founded?

1853

The Stonefort Township post office opened in 1853, the earliest record of the town by name.

First census: 337 in 18802020 census: 373173 years
Founding year: the first Stonefort Township post office (Blevins & Helbock, CC0).The full story ↓

What stands out about Stonefort 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 Stonefort Township are in the public archives yet. The rest are in attics and albums.Boom and bustPeaked at 524 in 1940; 224 people lived here in 2020.On the map since 19254 editions of the USGS map, 1925 to 1996. Watch Stonefort Township change.
★ What stands out · Help out

Start Stonefort Township’s collection

The first neighbors to add old photos shape how Stonefort 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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People over time

Stonefort Township, census by census

010020030040050018801900192019401960198020002020Peak: 524

Peaked at 524 in 1940; 224 people lived here in 2020.

15 censuses, 1880–2020.

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

On the map

Stonefort Township on the map, 1925 to 1996

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

Stonefort Township on the 1925 USGS mapStonefort Township on the 1939 USGS mapStonefort Township on the 1961 USGS mapStonefort Township on the 1996 USGS map1925Harrisburg 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 Stonefort Township.

The story

How Stonefort Township came to be

From Wikipedia’s history of Stonefort Township.

Read it all →

Stonefort is named for an ancient rock fortification that stood in the vicinity when the first settlers started arriving in the area in the early 1800s. The village of Stonefort was established in the late 1850s, and was originally located about a mile to the southeast, near the edge of the bluff. When the Cairo and Vincennes Railroad (later part of the Big Four and New York Central systems) was completed through the area in the 1870s, Stonefort's public buildings were dismantled and moved to the village's present location, which was adjacent to the railroad tracks. The former site of the village is now listed as "Oldtown" on maps.

Text from Wikipedia, licensed CC BY-SA 4.0.

By decade

Stonefort Township, decade by decade

Today6 recent
Stonefort-post-office-il2018Stonefort-post-office-ilStonefort-Village-Hall-il2018Stonefort-Village-Hall-ilStonefort-Tunnel-Hill-State-Trail-il2018Stonefort-Tunnel-Hill-State-Trail-ilStonefort-Philadelphia-Church-il2018Stonefort-Philadelphia-Church-ilStonefort-Depot-il2018Stonefort-Depot-ilStonefort-Bank-block-il2018Stonefort-Bank-block-il
Places that used to be

Old corners, places now gone and burying grounds

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

Hamlets and corners on the map
Oldtown
Gone or out of use
Oldtown Schoolschool
3cemeteries and burying grounds inside Stonefort Township
BlackmanGarris ChapelJoyner

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.

Carrier Mills TownshipIts storyC+Independence TownshipIts storyD

Questions about Stonefort Township’s history

What year was Stonefort Township founded?

The Stonefort Township post office opened in 1853, 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 →
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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 Wikimedia Commons (6), Wikipedia, U.S. Geological Survey historical maps, U.S. Census counts (via Wikipedia) 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.