Each edition grades its towns against each other only.
Below: maps from 1947 on and the census since 1860.
The Wataga post office opened in 1855, the earliest record of the town by name.
Read from the archive, the National Register and the record. The page puts what stands out first.
The first neighbors to add old photos shape how Wataga’s history is told.
Wikipedia doesn’t have a history of Wataga yet. The photos, dates and memories neighbors add here are how it gets written.
Wataga is a village in Knox County, Illinois, United States. The population was 744 at the 2020 census. It is part of the Galesburg Micropolitan Statistical Area.
Its first post office opened in 1855. Between the 2010 and 2020 censuses its population fell from 843 to 744 (-12%).
Intro from Wikipedia. Population: U.S. Census Bureau.
Passages that mention Wataga, cut from the printed page as they were published.
![Passage from History of Knox County, Illinois [microform] that mentions Wataga](https://images.townratings.com/story/3624/bk-2931b9a9b2560e03-l.jpg)
Wataga. — The Swedish Evangelical Lutheran Church was organized in 1856. The first church edifice was erected in 1860, and on July 17, 1875, was struck by lightning and destroyed by fire. The following fall the present commodious structure was completed. Rev. J. F, Borg is the present pastor.
Text read by machine from the scan; it may contain errors.
W. S. Wood was one of the very early store keepers of the village of Wataga. In 1859 he bought a general merchandise store, which means about everything that is wanted in a country store, dry goods, clothing, boots and shoes, hardware, paints and oils, farm implements, etc., etc., and in those days the general store keeper had also to receive general produce of the farm in pay for his goods.
Text read by machine from the scan; it may contain errors.
The village of Wataga was commenced in 1855. J. M. Holyoke was the first resident. The first religious services were held in private houses and "then in the depot building. The first store was built by J. M. Holyoke and A. P. Cassel for the firm of Willard & Babcock.
Text read by machine from the scan; it may contain errors.Scans and text from the Internet Archive. Books published in 1930 or earlier, which are in the public domain.
Every edition of the U.S. Geological Survey’s map of Wataga. Tap a year, or press play to watch the town change.
U.S. Geological Survey historical topographic maps (public domain), via Esri’s collection of the scans. The red ring marks the center of Wataga.
Between 444 and 1,538 people in every census since 1860.
17 censuses, 1860–2020.
U.S. Census Bureau decennial counts, from the census table on Wataga’s Wikipedia page.
Nobody well known was born in Wataga itself, so here are the best known from just nearby.
The Wataga post office opened in 1855, the earliest record of the town by name (U.S. post office records).
What the archives can’t tell you, neighbors can.
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), 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 old county and town histories (Internet Archive). Archive images are copied here with their credits and licenses, shown on each photo’s page. Refreshed monthly.
2016
