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History · Waynesville

Waynesville dates to 1825, and 47% of its homes were built before 1940

Below: maps from 1957 on and the census since 1850.

1825founded
0on the National Register
47%homes built before 1940
1famous people
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Quick answers

How Waynesville began

When was Waynesville founded?

1825

Waynesville dates its founding to 1825 (Wikidata). The census first counted it in 1850.

First census: 322 in 18502020 census: 381201 years
Founding year: Wikidata. First post office: 1837.The full story ↓

What stands out about Waynesville’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 Waynesville are in the public archives yet. The rest are in attics and albums.Boom and bustPeaked at 592 in 1920; 381 people lived here in 2020.Old housesHalf of Waynesville’s homes were built before 1949.Deep rootsEstablished in 1825: 201 years of Waynesville.
★ What stands out · Help out

Start Waynesville’s collection

The first neighbors to add old photos shape how Waynesville’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

Waynesville, census by census

01002003004005006001850190019502000Peak: 592

Peaked at 592 in 1920; 381 people lived here in 2020.

16 censuses, 1850–2020.

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

The story

How Waynesville came to be

From Wikipedia’s history of Waynesville.

Read it all →

Waynesville is one of the oldest settlements in central Illinois. The area was first settled around 1825, by Prettyman Marvel and his wife, Rebecca (Barr) Marvel. They cleared an area of land near the present location of the village and were followed shortly thereafter by several other settlers. As a result, a small settlement sprung up about a mile south of Kickapoo Creek.

Text from Wikipedia, licensed CC BY-SA 4.0.

From the old history books

What they wrote about Waynesville in 1882

Passages that mention Waynesville, cut from the printed page as they were published.

Glenn, and Samuel P Glenn were also among the first. The first blacksmith was Robert Eckler, a native of New York. His shop was a little pole cabin, situated in the north part of the town of Waynesville. This was in 1833. Mr. Eckler moved away in an early day to parts unknown. The first mill was bu…
... History of De Witt county, Illinois. With illustrations descriptive of the scenery, and biographical sketches of some of the prominent men and pioneers1882 · page 297Read the page →
Read the text

Glenn, and Samuel P Glenn were also among the first. The first blacksmith was Robert Eckler, a native of New York. His shop was a little pole cabin, situated in the north part of the town of Waynesville. This was in 1833. Mr. Eckler moved away in an early day to parts unknown. The first mill was built by Zion and Edom Shugart in 1829, and was situated on Kickapoo creek in the northern part of the township on the land now owned by Mrs. Tenney. It was a water grist-mill, and had a capacity of

Text read by machine from the scan; it may contain errors.
of Edom iShugart, who is said to have been possessed of a good education for the time, taught this school. The second school we find was taught in 1831, on the site of the town of Waynesville, by William S. Dunham. This was the first school taught in what is now Waynesville township, and the second…
... History of De Witt county, Illinois. With illustrations descriptive of the scenery, and biographical sketches of some of the prominent men and pioneers1882 · page 105Read the page →
Read the text

of Edom iShugart, who is said to have been possessed of a good education for the time, taught this school. The second school we find was taught in 1831, on the site of the town of Waynesville, by William S. Dunham. This was the first school taught in what is now Waynesville township, and the second in the county. Again, in the winter of 1832, we find Edom Shugart teaching in the first house built in the county for school purposes, as we found him in 1829 in Tunbridge township, teaching

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.

Timeline

Waynesville, 1825 to 1957

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

  1. 19th century
  2. 1825
    FoundingWaynesville is established
  3. 1837Post officeThe Waynesville post office opens
  4. 1894Born hereCarl Shipp Marvel is born here
  5. 20th century
  6. 1920CensusPopulation peaks at 592
  7. 1957On the mapFirst mapped by the U.S. Geological Survey
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.

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On the map

Waynesville on the map, 1957 to 1980

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

Waynesville on the 1957 USGS mapWaynesville on the 1980 USGS map1957Kenney 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 Waynesville.

Questions about Waynesville’s history

What year was Waynesville founded?

In 1825, according to Wikidata. Waynesville’s post office opened in 1837, and the census of 1850 counted 322 people here.

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 Wikipedia, Wikidata and Wikipedia for famous people, 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.