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History · Versailles

Versailles’ post office opened in 1837, and 54% of its homes were built before 1940

Below: 2 old photos and papers, maps from 1900 on, and the census since 1880.

1837first post office
0on the National Register
54%homes built before 1940
2old photos & papers
Add an old photoShare a memory
From Versailles’ archive · credits on each photo
Quick answers

How Versailles began

When was Versailles founded?

1837

The Versailles post office opened in 1837, the earliest record of the town by name. Another post office, Sugar Grove (1835), opened inside today’s town and later closed.

First census: 517 in 18802020 census: 446189 years
Founding year: the first Versailles post office (Blevins & Helbock, CC0).

What stands out about Versailles’ past

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

A history waiting to be writtenOnly 2 old photos are in the public archives. The rest are in attics and albums.Old housesHalf of Versailles’ homes were built before 1938.Boom and bustPeaked at 627 in 1920; 446 people lived here in 2020.Deep rootsA post office since 1837: 189 years of Versailles.
★ What stands out · Help out

Start Versailles’s collection

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

Decades since 1900 with photos
00s10s20s30s40s50s60s70s80s90s
0 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 viewTrain Tracks, Versailles, Illinois (app…: stand where they stood+15Share a family photoSign in to add one+10
The story so far

Versailles, in brief

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

Versailles is a village in Versailles Township, Brown County, Illinois, United States. The population was 336 at the 2020 census. The village's name is pronounced differently from the French city of the same name: vər-SAYLZ.

Its first post office opened in 1837. Between the 2010 and 2020 censuses its population fell from 478 to 446 (-7%).

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

People over time

Versailles, census by census

010020030040050060070018801900192019401960198020002020Peak: 627

Peaked at 627 in 1920; 446 people lived here in 2020.

15 censuses, 1880–2020.

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

Timeline

Versailles, 1835 to 1928

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

  1. 19th century
  2. 1835Post officeThe Sugar Grove post office opens
  3. 1837Post officeThe Sugar Grove post office closes
  4. 1837Post officeThe Versa Illes post office opens
  5. 1879In the archiveTrain Tracks, Versailles, Illinois (approximately 1879) - DPLA - 86565334b85875b0ff2c01ec…
  6. 20th century
  7. 1920CensusPopulation peaks at 627
  8. 1928On the mapFirst mapped by the U.S. Geological Survey
By decade

Versailles, decade by decade

One decade in the archive so far: the 1870s. Scroll each row; tap a photo for its story.

1870s1 item
Train Tracks, Versailles, Illinois (approximately 1879) - DPLA - 86565334b85875b0ff2c01ec912e661c1879Train Tracks, Versailles, Illinois (approximately 187…
Date unknown1 to date
Illinois Waterway, La Grange Lock and Dam, 3/4 mile south of Country 795N at Illinois RiverDate?Illinois Waterway, La Grange Lock and Dam, 3/4 mile s…
On the map

Versailles on the map, 1928 to 1980

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

Versailles on the 1928 USGS mapVersailles on the 1931 USGS mapVersailles on the 1980 USGS map1928Meredosia 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 Versailles.

Every building

Versailles, building by building, 1900–1919

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 year, then a sheet.

Versailles fire insurance map, 1900, sheet 11900Sheet 1 of 1
Edition
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.

Train Tracks, Versailles, Illinois (approximately 1879) - DPLA - 86565334b85875b0ff2c01ec912e661c
Retake this viewTrain Tracks, Versailles, Illinois (approximately 1879) - DPLA - 86565334b85875b0ff2c01ec912e661c, 1879

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

Retake this view · +15
Famous people

Famous people close to Versailles

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

See all →
John Bell HatcherAmerican paleontologist · b. 1861
F
Frank SkinnerAmerican film composer and arranger · b. 1897
William B. PineAmerican politician · b. 1877
L
Lew HitchAmerican basketball player · b. 1929
William H. DieterichAmerican politician · b. 1876
R
R. Thomas FlynnRetired president of Monroe Community College · b. 1938
Places that used to be

Lost post offices and burying grounds

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

Sugar Grove
1835–1837
Versa Illes
1837–today
18301930today
1cemetery inside Versailles
South Side

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

Questions about Versailles’ history

What year was Versailles founded?

The Versailles post office opened in 1837, 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), the Library of Congress (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.