Each edition grades its towns against each other only.
Below: 1 old photo or paper, maps from 1921 on, and the census since 1880.
Woodhull dates its founding to 1857 (Wikipedia’s history). The census first counted it in 1880.
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 Woodhull’s history is told.
From Wikipedia’s history of Woodhull.
The town was laid out by Maxwell Woodhull on September 30, 1857. An addition was laid out in 1867, and another in 1870. That same year, the town was incorporated. In 1994, the High School girls' basketball team almost made history in the I.H.S.A. Basketball state championship but came up short.
Text from Wikipedia, licensed CC BY-SA 4.0.
Passages that mention Woodhull, cut from the printed page as they were published.
the Mississippi River, etc. ; and from 1850 to 1876 he has been engaged in rearing live stock ; since the latter date he has purchased property in the village of Woodhull, such as houses and lots, and rents them. He is also building, and selling the property thus improved. He built the brick block on Main Street in 1876, the lower story of which is devoted to mercantile business, and the upper contains a
Text read by machine from the scan; it may contain errors.
and entered actively and energetically upon the task of its cultivation and improvement. He remained on that farm for 15 years, then sold it and went to Woodhull, where he erected a residence and where he is at present residing. He engaged in the hardware business at Woodhull in 1879 and is still following the same at that place, meeting with success by his straightforward and honest way of doing
Text read by machine from the scan; it may contain errors.
as a member of the regimental band. Later he was offered a lieutenancy but this he declined as he did not want to leave the band. On being discharged from the service he returned to the life of a farmer, which he followed for twenty-seven years in Oxford township, near the village of Woodhull. He was progressive in his ideas and met with unequivocal success. In 1891 he was active in the organization of the State Bank of Alpha, the first institution of its kind established in the village, and for seven years was its cashier. In 1898 he retired from participation in the banking business, having witnessed the enterprise assume gratifying
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.
Woven from the archive, old maps, post office records, the National Register and the people born here.
Born hereDon Samuelson is born here
In the archiveSanborn Fire Insurance Map from Woodbull, Henry County, Illinois. LOC sanborn02236 001
On the mapFirst mapped by the U.S. Geological SurveyOne decade in the archive so far: the 1920s. Scroll each row; tap a photo for its story.
Every edition of the U.S. Geological Survey’s map of Woodhull. 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 Woodhull.
Fire insurance maps drew every building, what it was made of and what it was used for, so insurers could price the risk of fire. Pick a sheet.
1921Sheet 1 of 1Sanborn Map Company, via the Library of Congress. Editions published in 1930 or earlier, which are in the public domain.
Between 567 and 905 people in every census since 1880.
15 censuses, 1880–2020.
U.S. Census Bureau decennial counts, from the census table on Woodhull’s Wikipedia page.
In 1857, according to Wikipedia’s history of the town. Woodhull’s post office opened in 1858, and the census of 1880 counted 650 people here.
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), 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, Sanborn fire insurance maps (Library of Congress) 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.
