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History · Tompkins Township

Tompkins Township dates to 1853, and 44% of its homes were built before 1940

Below: maps from 1921 on.

1853founded
0on the National Register
44%homes built before 1940
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Quick answers

How Tompkins Township began

When was Tompkins Township founded?

1853

Tompkins Township dates its founding to 1853 (Wikidata). Its post office opened in 1856.

2020 census: 900173 years
Founding year: Wikidata. First post office: 1856.

What stands out about Tompkins 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 Tompkins Township are in the public archives yet. The rest are in attics and albums.Old housesHalf of Tompkins Township’s homes were built before 1949.On the map since 19213 editions of the USGS map, 1921 to 1998. Watch Tompkins Township change.
★ What stands out · Help out

Start Tompkins Township’s collection

The first neighbors to add old photos shape how Tompkins 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
The story so far

Tompkins Township, in brief

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

Tompkins Township is located in Warren County, Illinois, United States. As of the 2010 census, its population was 918 and it contained 403 housing units. The village of Kirkwood is located in this township.

Tompkins Township was established in 1853. Its population held steady between the last two censuses: 918 in 2010, 900 in 2020.

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

On the map

Tompkins Township on the map, 1921 to 1998

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

Tompkins Township on the 1921 USGS mapTompkins Township on the 1982 USGS mapTompkins Township on the 1998 USGS map1921Monmouth 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 Tompkins Township.

Timeline

Tompkins Township, 1853 to 1931

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

  1. 19th century
  2. 1853
    FoundingTompkins Township is established
  3. 1889Post officeThe Ponemah post office opens
  4. 20th century
  5. 1921On the mapFirst mapped by the U.S. Geological Survey
  6. 1931Post officeThe Ponemah 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 Tompkins Township

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

See all →
Wyatt EarpAmerican lawman · b. 1848
Rosa Smith EigenmannAmerican ichthyologist · b. 1858
Blake SchilbAmerican-Czech basketball player · b. 1983
Ellen DiggsAmerican anthropologist · b. 1906
G
Gladys GaleAmerican singer, vaudeville and actor · b. 1891
W
Worth RyderAmerican artist · b. 1884
Places that used to be

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

Another post office, Ponemah, opened and closed inside today’s town.

Hamlets and corners on the map
Ponemah
Gone or out of use
Center Grove SchoolschoolColumbia SchoolschoolCoonville SchoolschoolHickory Point SchoolschoolLiberty SchoolschoolLocust Grove SchoolschoolMaple Grove SchoolschoolNichols SchoolschoolTubbs Schoolschool
2cemeteries and burying grounds inside Tompkins Township
Center GroveHickory Point

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.

Lenox TownshipIts storynot graded: under 1,000 residents or part of its townEllison TownshipIts storynot graded: under 1,000 residents or part of its townBiggsville TownshipIts storynot graded: under 1,000 residents or part of its townHale TownshipIts storynot graded: under 1,000 residents or part of its townMonmouth Township10 historic placesnot graded: under 1,000 residents or part of its town

Questions about Tompkins Township’s history

What year was Tompkins Township founded?

In 1853, according to Wikidata. Tompkins Township’s post office opened in 1856.

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.