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History · Tate Township

Tate Township dates to 1889, and 28% of its homes were built before 1940

Below: maps from 1908 on.

1889founded
0on the National Register
28%homes built before 1940
Add an old photoShare a memory
Quick answers

How Tate Township began

When was Tate Township founded?

1889

Tate Township dates its founding to 1889 (Wikidata). Its post office opened in 1862.

2020 census: 282137 years
Founding year: Wikidata. First post office: 1862.

What stands out about Tate 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 Tate Township are in the public archives yet. The rest are in attics and albums.Lost villages3 post offices opened and closed inside today’s Tate Township, and 3 old place names are still on the map.On the map since 19083 editions of the USGS map, 1908 to 1963. Watch Tate Township change.
★ What stands out · Help out

Start Tate Township’s collection

The first neighbors to add old photos shape how Tate 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
Places that used to be

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

Three other post offices opened and closed inside today’s town.

Hall Town
1862–1883
West End
1881–1953
Cornerville
1893–1905
18601940today
Hamlets and corners on the map
CornervilleHalltownWest End
Gone or out of use
Fisher Bend SchoolschoolOakgrove SchoolschoolPossum Flat Schoolschool
4cemeteries and burying grounds inside Tate Township
CardwellHalltownMcFarlandOld Ruff

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

On the map

Tate Township on the map, 1908 to 1963

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

Tate Township on the 1908 USGS mapTate Township on the 1938 USGS mapTate Township on the 1963 USGS map1908Galatia 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 Tate Township.

The story so far

Tate Township, in brief

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

Tate Township is located in Saline County, Illinois. As of the 2010 census, its population was 298 and it contained 129 housing units.

Tate Township was established in 1889. Between the 2010 and 2020 censuses its population fell from 298 to 282 (-5%).

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

Timeline

Tate Township, 1862 to 1953

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

  1. 19th century
  2. 1862Post officeThe Hall Town post office opens
  3. 1881Post officeThe West End post office opens
  4. 1883Post officeThe Hall Town post office closes
  5. 1889
    FoundingTate Township is established
  6. 1893Post officeThe Cornerville post office opens
  7. 20th century
  8. 1905Post officeThe Cornerville post office closes
  9. 1908On the mapFirst mapped by the U.S. Geological Survey
  10. 1953Post officeThe West End 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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Famous people

Famous people close to Tate Township

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

See all →
Virginia GreggAmerican actress · b. 1916
H
Henry TurnerAmerican endocrinologist · b. 1892
David D. PhelpsAmerican politician · b. 1947
Kendall RhineAmerican basketball player · b. 1943
George BarkerAmerican politician in Virginia · b. 1951
D
Dale SwannAmerican actor · b. 1948
Stories next door

History across the town line

Each neighbor’s History grade, on the same three inputs.

Long Branch TownshipIts storynot graded: under 1,000 residents or part of its townSouth Flannigan TownshipIts storynot graded: under 1,000 residents or part of its townCave TownshipIts storyB−Galatia TownshipIts storyB−South Twigg TownshipIts storynot graded: under 1,000 residents or part of its town

Questions about Tate Township’s history

What year was Tate Township founded?

In 1889, according to Wikidata. Tate Township’s post office opened in 1862.

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, 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.