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History · Virginia Township

Virginia Township dates to 1836, and 25% of its homes were built before 1940

Below: 1 old photo or paper from 1936 on.

1836founded
0on the National Register
25%homes built before 1940
1old photo or paper
Add an old photoShare a memory
Photo: Gerry Dincher · CC BY-SA 2.0
Quick answers

How Virginia Township began

When was Virginia Township founded?

1836

Virginia Township dates its founding to 1836 (Wikidata). Its post office opened in 1839.

2020 census: 1,691190 years
Founding year: Wikidata. First post office: 1839.

What stands out about Virginia 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 1 old photo is in the public archives. The rest are in attics and albums.Deep rootsEstablished in 1836: 190 years of Virginia Township.Old housesHalf of Virginia Township’s homes were built before 1963.
★ What stands out · Help out

Start Virginia Township’s collection

The first neighbors to add old photos shape how Virginia Township’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 viewIllinois, Virginia quadrangle: stand where they stood+15Share a family photoSign in to add one+10
Timeline

Virginia Township, 1836 to 1936

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

  1. 19th century
  2. 1836
    FoundingVirginia Township is established
  3. 1870Post officeThe Little Indian post office opens
  4. 20th century
  5. 1923Post officeThe Little Indian post office closes
  6. 1936In the archiveIllinois, Virginia quadrangle
The story so far

Virginia Township, in brief

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

Virginia is a city and the county seat in Cass County, Illinois, United States. The population was 1,514 at the 2020 census.

Virginia Township was established in 1836. Between the 2010 and 2020 censuses its population fell from 1,827 to 1,691 (-7%).

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

By decade

Virginia Township, decade by decade

One decade in the archive so far: the 1930s. Scroll each row; tap a photo for its story.

1930s1 item
Illinois, Virginia quadrangle1936Illinois, Virginia quadrangle
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
Today4 recent
Virginia public library with sign 2026-08-152026Virginia public library with sign 2026-08-15Virginia limit sign 2026-08-152026Virginia limit sign 2026-08-15Virginia, Illinois2023Virginia, IllinoisVirginia Inn2023Virginia Inn
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.

Illinois, Virginia quadrangle
Retake this viewIllinois, Virginia quadrangle, 1936

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

Retake this view · +15
Places that used to be

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

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

Hamlets and corners on the map
KischLittle Indian
Gone or out of use
Bethlehem SchoolschoolCampbell SchoolschoolHall SchoolschoolPleasant Hill SchoolschoolProvidence SchoolschoolSpringer SchoolschoolUnion SchoolschoolZion Churchchurch
9cemeteries and burying grounds inside Virginia Township
BerryBethlehemClarkJohn Epler TaylorLevi SpringerRobinsonStephensonWilliam NisbetZion

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.

Sangamon Valley TownshipIts storynot graded: under 1,000 residents or part of its townPhiladelphia Township1 historic placenot graded: under 1,000 residents or part of its townVirginiaIts storyB+Arenzville TownshipIts storynot graded: under 1,000 residents or part of its townPanther Creek TownshipIts storynot graded: under 1,000 residents or part of its town

Questions about Virginia Township’s history

What year was Virginia Township founded?

In 1836, according to Wikidata. Virginia Township’s post office opened in 1839.

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 (5), 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.