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History · Wenona

Wenona’s post office opened in 1873, and 33% of its homes were built before 1940

Below: 3 old photos and papers, maps from 1934 on, and the census since 1870.

1873first post office
0on the National Register
33%homes built before 1940
3old photos & papers
1famous people
Add an old photoShare a memory
From Wenona’s archive · credits on each photo
Quick answers

How Wenona began

When was Wenona founded?

1873

The Wenona post office opened in 1873, the earliest record of the town by name. Another post office, Wenona Station (1853), opened inside today’s city and later closed.

First census: 879 in 18702020 census: 974153 years
Founding year: the first Wenona post office (Blevins & Helbock, CC0).The full story ↓

What stands out about Wenona’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 3 old photos are in the public archives. The rest are in attics and albums.Boom and bustPeaked at 1,486 in 1900; 974 people lived here in 2020.Old housesHalf of Wenona’s homes were built before 1957.
★ What stands out · Help out

Start Wenona’s collection

The first neighbors to add old photos shape how Wenona’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 viewWenona Coal Co. Mine: stand where they stood+15Share a family photoSign in to add one+10
People over time

Wenona, census by census

02004006008001,0001,2001,4001,60018801900192019401960198020002020Peak: 1,486

Peaked at 1,486 in 1900; 974 people lived here in 2020.

16 censuses, 1870–2020.

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

The story

How Wenona came to be

From Wikipedia’s history of Wenona.

Read it all →

Around 1852, the first buildings had been erected within the town, including living quarters for the rail-men, the freight depot, and passenger station. This same year, the house for Gr. W. Goodwell, Wenona's station agent and first postmaster, was completed. Along with the post office, in June 1854, the Presbyterian Church was set up. During the winter months of 1854, W.M Brown arrived in Wenona with a large stock of goods; a building was constructed to accommodate his sales. Wenona was laid off by the Illinois Central Railroad Company on May 15, 1855. At the time, the town had around nine buildings and fifty permanent citizens. By 1858 it had grown rapidly, and was now a thrifty village of several hundred inhabitants, with two hotels, a number of stores, and other branches of business in proportion.

Text from Wikipedia, licensed CC BY-SA 4.0.

Timeline

Wenona, 1853 to 1934

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

  1. 19th century
  2. 1853Post officeThe Wenona Station post office opens
  3. 1873Post officeThe Wenona Station post office closes
  4. 1873Post officeThe Wenona post office opens
  5. 1890Born hereMahlon Tisdale is born here
  6. 20th century
  7. 1900In the archiveWenona Coal Co. Mine
  8. 1900CensusPopulation peaks at 1,486
  9. 1934On the mapFirst mapped by the U.S. Geological Survey
By decade

Wenona, decade by decade

One decade in the archive so far: the 1900s. Scroll each row; tap a photo for its story.

1900s3 items
Wenona Coal Co. Mine1900Wenona Coal Co. MineI.C. Station1900I.C. StationBird's-eye view1900Bird's-eye view
1910s–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
Today2 recent
Downtown2018DowntownILMap-doton-Wenona2007ILMap-doton-Wenona
On the map

Wenona on the map, 1934 to 1996

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

Wenona on the 1934 USGS mapWenona on the 1982 USGS mapWenona on the 1996 USGS map1934Wenona 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 Wenona.

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.

Wenona Coal Co. Mine
Retake this viewWenona Coal Co. Mine, 1900

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

Retake this view · +15
Places that used to be

Lost post offices and places now gone

Wenona’s post office has been open since 1873. Another post office, Wenona Station, opened and closed inside today’s town.

Wenona Station
1853–1873
Wenona
1873–today
18501940today
Gone or out of use
Nike Site CM-55Rmilitary

US Post Offices dataset (Blevins & Helbock, CC0). Places and cemeteries from the USGS Geographic Names Information System (2021).

Questions about Wenona’s history

What year was Wenona founded?

The Wenona post office opened in 1873, 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 →
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 (2), the Library of Congress (3), 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) 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.