The Woodside Township post office opened in 1856, the earliest record of the town by name. Another post office, Woodside (1856), opened inside today’s town and later closed.
2020 census: 11,688170 years
How historic is Woodside Township?
B−
More historic than 52% of U.S. towns, on its age, its old homes and the National Register.
Founding year: the first Woodside Township post office (Blevins & Helbock, CC0).
History grade
What drives Woodside Township’s History grade
On its age, its old homes and the National Register, Woodside Township is more historic than 52% of U.S. towns, #385 of 768 in Illinois. Its share of homes from before 1940 holds the grade up; its age pulls it down.
B−
HistoryA character grade: shown, never part of Woodside Township’s overall grade.
Few Illinois towns list much on the Register (a typical Illinois town has 0.5 per 10,000 residents, the U.S. 2.4), so Woodside Township’s 0.9 sits near the middle of its state (62% of Illinois towns have fewer) while its 1 listings outnumber those of 51% of U.S. towns.
How sure. Graded on any two of the three inputs instead, the letter would range from C+ to B. The pre-1940 share is a Census survey estimate (±3.0 points). The founding year is the first post office, not a stated founding date.
Founding year: the first post office (other dates in Quick answers). Homes: Census ACS 2020–24. National Register: National Park Service, May 2026 list; each listing counted once (boundary changes and added documentation belong to their listing), and a historic district counts its contributing buildings. How TownRatings grades history →
What stands out about Woodside Township’s past
Read from the archive, the National Register and the record. The page puts what stands out first.
Lost post offices, old corners, places now gone and burying grounds
Another post office, Woodside, opened and closed inside today’s town.
Hamlets and corners on the map
IlesMildredWoodside
Gone or out of use
Cummings SchoolschoolEnterprise Schoolschool
4cemeteries and burying grounds inside Woodside Township
BethelHarmonyNewcomerSmith
US Post Offices dataset (Blevins & Helbock, CC0). Places and cemeteries from the USGS Geographic Names Information System (2021).
On the map
Woodside Township on the map, 1922 to 1998
Every edition of the U.S. Geological Survey’s map of Woodside Township. Tap a year, or press play to watch the town change.
1922Divernon 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 Woodside Township.
The story so far
Woodside Township, in brief
Wikipedia doesn’t have a history of Woodside Township yet. The photos, dates and memories neighbors add here are how it gets written.
Woodside Township is located in Sangamon County, Illinois. As of the 2010 census, its population was 11,447 and it contained 5,668 housing units.
Its first post office opened in 1856. Between the 2010 and 2020 censuses its population grew from 11,447 to 11,688 (+2%).
Intro from Wikipedia. Population: U.S. Census Bureau.
Timeline
Woodside Township, 1856 to 1922
Woven from the archive, old maps, post office records, the National Register and the people born here.
The Woodside Township post office opened in 1856, the earliest record of the town by name (U.S. post office records).
How does Woodside Township rank for history?
Woodside Township is more historic than 52% of U.S. towns, #385 of 768 in Illinois. The History grade combines the town’s founding era, the share of homes built before 1940 and its National Register listings. It’s a character grade, so it isn’t part of the overall grade. How it works.
How old are the homes in Woodside Township?
15% of Woodside Township’s homes were built before 1940 (Census estimate, ±3.0 points), against a typical 11% for an Illinois town; the median home was built in 1957.
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).
From Wikimedia Commons (6), U.S. Geological Survey historical maps, 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.
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