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History · Stronghurst

Stronghurst’s post office opened in 1888, and 25% of its homes were built before 1940

Below: 1 old photo or paper, maps from 1916 on, and the census since 1900.

1888first post office
0on the National Register
25%homes built before 1940
1old photo or paper
Add an old photoShare a memory
Quick answers

How Stronghurst began

When was Stronghurst founded?

1888

The Stronghurst post office opened in 1888, the earliest record of the town by name.

First census: 762 in 19002020 census: 833138 years
Founding year: the first Stronghurst post office (Blevins & Helbock, CC0).

What stands out about Stronghurst’s past

Read from the archive, the National Register and the record. The page puts what stands out first.

A history waiting to be writtenOnly 1 old photo is in the public archives. The rest are in attics and albums.Old housesHalf of Stronghurst’s homes were built before 1964.
★ What stands out · Help out

Start Stronghurst’s collection

The first neighbors to add old photos shape how Stronghurst’s history is told.

Decades since 1900 with photos
00s10s20s30s40s50s60s70s80s90s
1 of 10 decades. The empty ones are waiting for someone’s album.
Retake an old viewStronghurst, IL: stand where they stood+15Share a family photoSign in to add one+10
The story so far

Stronghurst, in brief

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

Stronghurst is a village in Henderson County, Illinois, United States. The population was 833 at the 2020 census. It is part of the Burlington, IA–IL Micropolitan Statistical Area.

Its first post office opened in 1888. Between the 2010 and 2020 censuses its population fell from 883 to 833 (-6%).

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

Timeline

Stronghurst, 1888 to 1985

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

  1. 19th century
  2. 1888Post officeThe Stronghurst post office opens
  3. 20th century
  4. 1970In the archiveStronghurst, IL
  5. 1985On the mapFirst mapped by the U.S. Geological Survey
By decade

Stronghurst, decade by decade

One decade in the archive so far: the 1970s. Scroll each row; tap a photo for its story.

1970s1 item
Stronghurst, IL1970Stronghurst, IL
1980s–1990snothing yet
Nothing in the archives for these yearsWeddings on Main Street, storms, parades, school pictures, the old store. If it’s in your family album, it belongs here.
Add from your album
On the map

Stronghurst on the map in 1985

The U.S. Geological Survey’s map of Stronghurst.

Stronghurst on the 1985 USGS map1985Galesburg sheet · 1:100,000

U.S. Geological Survey historical topographic maps (public domain), via Esri’s collection of the scans. The red ring marks the center of Stronghurst.

Every building

Stronghurst, building by building, 1916

Fire insurance maps drew every building, what it was made of and what it was used for, so insurers could price the risk of fire. Pick a sheet.

Stronghurst fire insurance map, 1916, sheet 11916Sheet 1 of 1
Sheets
BrickWoodStone

Sanborn Map Company, via the Library of Congress. Editions published in 1930 or earlier, which are in the public domain.

Then & now

Stand where they stood

No then-and-now pairs yet. Take a photo from the same spot as an old one and they appear here side by side.

Stronghurst, IL
Retake this viewStronghurst, IL, 1970

Find the spot, match the angle, and add your photo. It becomes the first then-and-now pair on Stronghurst’s page.

Retake this view · +15
People over time

Stronghurst, census by census

02004006008001,0001900192019401960198020002020Peak: 896

Between 691 and 896 people in every census since 1900.

13 censuses, 1900–2020.

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

Famous people

Famous people close to Stronghurst

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

See all →
Robert NoyceAmerican physicist, engineer and entrepreneur (… · b. 1927
Wallace CarothersAmerican organic chemist · b. 1896
Aldo LeopoldAmerican writer and scientist · b. 1887
Kurt WarnerAmerican football player · b. 1971
William FrawleyAmerican actor · b. 1887
James M. KellyNASA astronaut · b. 1964

Questions about Stronghurst’s history

What year was Stronghurst founded?

The Stronghurst post office opened in 1888, 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 Wikimedia Commons (1), 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 Sanborn fire insurance maps (Library of Congress). Archive images are copied here with their credits and licenses, shown on each photo’s page. Refreshed monthly.