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History · Wapella Township

Wapella Township dates to 1854, and 15% of its homes were built before 1940

Below: maps from 1953 on and the census since 1880.

1854founded
0on the National Register
15%homes built before 1940
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Photo: James Morris (Jbpo from en.wikipedia) · Public domain
Quick answers

How Wapella Township began

When was Wapella Township founded?

1854

Wapella Township dates its founding to 1854 (Wikidata and Wikipedia’s history agree). The census first counted it in 1880.

First census: 369 in 18802020 census: 905172 years
Founding year: Wikidata; Wikipedia’s history section gives the same year. First post office: 1855.The full story ↓

What stands out about Wapella 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 Wapella Township are in the public archives yet. The rest are in attics and albums.Boom and bustPeaked at 768 in 1980; 513 people lived here in 2020.
★ What stands out · Help out

Start Wapella Township’s collection

The first neighbors to add old photos shape how Wapella 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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People over time

Wapella Township, census by census

020040060080018801900192019401960198020002020Peak: 768

Peaked at 768 in 1980; 513 people lived here in 2020.

15 censuses, 1880–2020.

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

The story

How Wapella Township came to be

From Wikipedia’s history of Wapella Township.

Read it all →

Wapella was founded in 1854, but settlers were arriving in Wapella as early as 1829 due to the dense timber and rich soil. The name of the village comes from Chief Wapello of the Meskwaki people. A group of settlers from Kentucky were the first Europeans to call Wapella home. A short time later a substantial group of Irish immigrants moved to Wapella to build and work on the Illinois Central Railroad. Wapella was laid out by David Augustus Neal, vice president and a surveyor of the Illinois Central Railroad Line. The village population was approximately 500 residents by the beginning of the Civil War.

Text from Wikipedia, licensed CC BY-SA 4.0.

Timeline

Wapella Township, 1854 to 1980

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

  1. 19th century
  2. 1854
    FoundingWapella Township is established
  3. 20th century
  4. 1953On the mapFirst mapped by the U.S. Geological Survey
  5. 1980CensusPopulation peaks at 768
By decade

Wapella Township, decade by decade

Today1 recent
Wapellamain2006Wapellamain
On the map

Wapella Township on the map, 1953 to 1999

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

Wapella Township on the 1953 USGS mapWapella Township on the 1979 USGS mapWapella Township on the 1999 USGS map1953Clinton sheet · 1:24,000

U.S. Geological Survey historical topographic maps (public domain), via Esri’s collection of the scans. The red ring marks the center of Wapella Township.

Famous people

Famous people close to Wapella Township

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

See all →
Brenda ChapmanAmerican animator, storyboard artist, and direc… · b. 1962
C
Charles Christopher AdamsAmerican zoologist · b. 1873
Gene VanceAmerican basketball player, college athletics a… · b. 1923
John Allen SterlingAmerican politician · b. 1857
A
Al AtkinsonMajor League Baseball player · b. 1861
LaFayette FunkAmerican politician · b. 1834
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
BucksCarle Springs
Gone or out of use
Alexander SchoolschoolBurr Oak SchoolschoolLiberty SchoolschoolLong Point ChurchchurchProgress Schoolschool
4cemeteries and burying grounds inside Wapella Township
CrumLong PointSaint PatrickSugar Grove

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.

Waynesville TownshipIts storynot graded: under 1,000 residents or part of its townRandolph TownshipIts storyCClintonia Township2 historic placesABarnett TownshipIts storynot graded: under 1,000 residents or part of its townWilson TownshipIts storynot graded: under 1,000 residents or part of its town

Questions about Wapella Township’s history

What year was Wapella Township founded?

In 1854, according to Wikidata and Wikipedia’s history of the town. Wapella Township’s post office opened in 1855, and the census of 1880 counted 369 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 (1), Wikipedia, U.S. Geological Survey historical maps, U.S. Census counts (via Wikipedia) 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.