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Christian County Courthouse, TaylorvillePhoto: Nyttend · Public domain
–Not graded
History · Taylorville Township

Taylorville Township dates to 1839, and 29% of its homes were built before 1940

2 places in town are on the National Register. Below: 4 old photos and papers, maps from 1923 on, and the census since 1880.

1839founded
2on the National Register
29%homes built before 1940
4old photos & papers
Add an old photoShare a memory
From Taylorville Township’s archive · credits on each photo
Quick answers

How Taylorville Township began

When was Taylorville Township founded?

1839

Taylorville Township dates its founding to 1839 (Wikipedia’s history). The census first counted it in 1880.

First census: 2,237 in 18802020 census: 11,539187 years
Founding year: Wikipedia. First post office: 1823.The full story ↓

What stands out about Taylorville 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 writtenOnly 4 old photos are in the public archives. The rest are in attics and albums.Then and nowOne place photographed years apart. Drag to compare.Deep rootsEstablished in 1839: 187 years of Taylorville Township.
★ What stands out · Help out

Start Taylorville Township’s collection

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

Decades since 1900 with photos
00s10s20s30s40s50s60s70s80s90s
2 of 10 decades. The empty ones are waiting for someone’s album.
Date a photo1 archive item has no date. Guess the decade.+2Retake an old viewOpener Bag Co: stand where they stood+15Share a family photoSign in to add one+10
Then & now

The same spot, 81 years apart

Drag across each photo to compare.

Sagle Motors, Rt. 48 -- Taylorville, Illinois, deal with safety and confidenceSagle Motors, Rt. 48 -- Taylorville, Illinois, deal with safety and confidence (80849)c. 19302011
Sagle Motors, Rt. 48 -- Taylorville, Illinois, deal with safety and confidence (80849)Matched from the two captions
Timeline

Taylorville Township, 1823 to 1930

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

  1. 19th century
  2. 1823Post officeThe Langleyville post office opens
  3. 1839
    FoundingTaylorville Township is established
  4. 20th century
  5. 1910In the archiveOpener Bag Co
  6. 1923On the mapFirst mapped by the U.S. Geological Survey
  7. 1930In the archiveMotel Taylorville, Route 48 West, new and modern, Taylorville, Illinois (83026)
The story

How Taylorville Township came to be

From Wikipedia’s history of Taylorville Township.

Read it all →

Taylorville was founded on May 24, 1839, and was named after John Taylor, a planning commissioner for the state of Illinois.

Taylorville was known (in the early to mid-1990s) to have had a high rate of neuroblastoma, a cancer affecting the adrenal gland and striking children. The local power company Central Illinois Public Service Company was sued and lost for contaminating the groundwater in 1994.

Some outer homes and a business in Taylorville were damaged by an F1 tornado on April 2, 2006.

Text from Wikipedia, licensed CC BY-SA 4.0.

By decade

Taylorville Township, decade by decade

2 decades in the archive, from the 1910s to the 1930s. Scroll each row; tap a photo for its story.

1910s–1930s3 items
Opener Bag Co1910Opener Bag CoMotel Taylorville, Route 48 West, new and modern, Taylorville, Illinois (83026)c. 1930Motel Taylorville, Route 48 West, new and modern, Tay…Sagle Motors, Rt. 48 -- Taylorville, Illinois, deal with safety and confidence (80849)c. 1930Sagle Motors, Rt. 48 -- Taylorville, Illinois, deal w…
1940s–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
Date unknown1 to date
Notes on United States history, to accompany the Course of study for the common schools of IllinoisDate?Notes on United States history, to accompany the Cour…Book
Today9 recent
Taylorville Township road 2026-06-212026Taylorville Township road 2026-06-21Taylorville High School in 19132021Taylorville High School in 1913TaylorvilleMemorialHospital2016TaylorvilleMemorialHospitalTaylorville Watertower2016Taylorville WatertowerTaylorville Chautauqua Auditorium2014Taylorville Chautauqua AuditoriumChristian County Courthouse2014Christian County CourthouseSagle Motors, Rt. 48 -- Taylorville, Illinois, deal with safety and confidence2011Sagle Motors, Rt. 48 -- Taylorville, Illinois, deal w…Taylorville, Illinois2010Taylorville, Illinois2010 Census Urban Cluster Reference Map for20102010 Census Urban Cluster Reference Map forBook
On the map

Taylorville Township on the map, 1923 to 1982

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

Taylorville Township on the 1923 USGS mapTaylorville Township on the 1982 USGS map1923Taylorville 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 Taylorville Township.

On the National Register

2 listings protect 68 historic buildings

The country’s official list of buildings and places worth saving.

places listed
2
National Historic Landmarks
0
none yet
historic buildings protected
68
each building in a district counts

National Park Service, National Register of Historic Places. Photos from Wikimedia Commons, credited on each place’s page.

People over time

Taylorville Township, census by census

02,0004,0006,0008,00010,00012,00018801900192019401960198020002020Peak: 11,427

Between 2,237 and 11,427 people in every census since 1880.

15 censuses, 1880–2020.

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

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
Langleyville
Gone or out of use
Brush CollegeschoolFairview SchoolschoolFriendship SchoolschoolGoodrich SchoolschoolSharps SchoolschoolWalnut Hill Schoolschool
3cemeteries and burying grounds inside Taylorville Township
Glen Haven Memorial GardensLangleyYoung

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.

May TownshipIts storyC−South Fork TownshipIts storyB−Johnson TownshipIts storynot graded: under 1,000 residents or part of its townBuckhart TownshipIts storyC+

Questions about Taylorville Township’s history

What year was Taylorville Township founded?

In 1839, according to Wikipedia’s history of the town. Taylorville Township’s post office opened in 1823, and the census of 1880 counted 2,237 people here.

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 (12), the Library of Congress (1), Wikidata (1), Wikipedia, 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.