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History · Waltham Township

Waltham Township’s post office opened in 1852, and 31% of its homes were built before 1940

1852first post office
0on the National Register
31%homes built before 1940
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Quick answers

How Waltham Township began

When was Waltham Township founded?

1852

The Waltham Township post office opened in 1852, the earliest record of the town by name. Another post office, Waltham (1852), opened inside today’s town and later closed.

2020 census: 510174 years
Founding year: the first Waltham Township post office (Blevins & Helbock, CC0).

What stands out about Waltham 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 Waltham Township are in the public archives yet. The rest are in attics and albums.
★ What stands out · Help out

Start Waltham Township’s collection

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

Decades since 1900 with photos
00s10s20s30s40s50s60s70s80s90s
0 of 10 decades. The empty ones are waiting for someone’s album.
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The story so far

Waltham Township, in brief

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

Waltham is an unincorporated community located on E. 8th Road in Waltham Township in LaSalle County, Illinois, United States, approximately six miles north of Utica. It contains a church and several homes.

Its first post office opened in 1852. Between the 2010 and 2020 censuses its population grew from 446 to 510 (+14%).

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

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 Waltham Township

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

See all →
Wild Bill HickokAmerican folk hero and lawman · b. 1837
Zez ConfreyAmerican composer and pianist · b. 1895
Jim BottomleyAmerican baseball player and coach · b. 1900
Billy PapkeAmerican boxer · b. 1886
L
Lynden EvansAmerican politician · b. 1858
A
Albert C. Martin, Sr.American architect · b. 1879
Places that used to be

Lost post offices, old corners and places now gone

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

Hamlets and corners on the map
Waltham
Gone or out of use
Edgecombe SchoolschoolGammel SchoolschoolMoniot SchoolschoolSargent SchoolschoolSchool Number 186schoolWaltham Center SchoolschoolWaltham SchoolschoolWhipple SchoolschoolWilson SchoolschoolWylie Schoolschool

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.

Utica Township2 historic placesAWallace TownshipIts storynot graded: under 1,000 residents or part of its townOphir TownshipIts storynot graded: under 1,000 residents or part of its townDimmick TownshipIts storynot graded: under 1,000 residents or part of its town

Questions about Waltham Township’s history

What year was Waltham Township founded?

The Waltham Township post office opened in 1852, 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 →
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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 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.