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History · Woosung Township

Woosung Township’s post office opened in 1855, and 39% of its homes were built before 1940

Below: maps from 1946 on.

1855first post office
0on the National Register
39%homes built before 1940
Add an old photoShare a memory
Photo: Wayne Wilkinson · CC BY 2.0
Quick answers

How Woosung Township began

When was Woosung Township founded?

1855

The Woosung Township post office opened in 1855, the earliest record of the town by name.

2020 census: 363171 years
Founding year: the first Woosung Township post office (Blevins & Helbock, CC0).

What stands out about Woosung Township’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 Woosung Township are in the public archives yet. The rest are in attics and albums.
★ What stands out · Help out

Start Woosung Township’s collection

The first neighbors to add old photos shape how Woosung Township’s history is told.

Decades since 1900 with photos
00s10s20s30s40s50s60s70s80s90s
0 of 10 decades. The empty ones are waiting for someone’s album.
Share a family photoSign in to add one+10
The story so far

Woosung Township, in brief

Wikipedia doesn’t have a history of Woosung Township yet. The photos, dates and memories neighbors add here are how it gets written.

Woosung is an unincorporated community in Ogle County, Illinois, U.S., and is located in the far southwestern part of the county, northwest of Dixon. Woosung was named by a railroad official who had once visited Woosung, China during his former career as a sea captain.

Its first post office opened in 1855. Between the 2010 and 2020 censuses its population fell from 389 to 363 (-7%).

Intro from Wikipedia. Population: U.S. Census Bureau.

By decade

Woosung Township, decade by decade

Today5 recent
Thar Be Pirates, Lawn Art2012Thar Be Pirates, Lawn ArtGrain Elevator2012Grain ElevatorWoosung, IL Sign2007Woosung, IL SignWoosung, IL Old Grain Mill 022007Woosung, IL Old Grain Mill 02Woosung, IL Old Grain Mill 012007Woosung, IL Old Grain Mill 01
On the map

Woosung Township on the map, 1946 to 1983

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

Woosung Township on the 1946 USGS mapWoosung Township on the 1983 USGS map1946Sterling 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 Woosung Township.

Famous people

Famous people close to Woosung Township

Nobody well known was born in Woosung Township itself, so here are the best known from just nearby.

See all →
Louie BellsonAmerican jazz drummer · b. 1924
A
Akiane KramarikAmerican artist, humanitarian, poet, child prod… · b. 1994
Ralph Waldo TrineAmerican author · b. 1866
Zelma O'NealAmerican actress · b. 1903
George PeekAmerican economist · b. 1873
G
George Perkins ClintonAmerican plant pathologist · b. 1867
Places that used to be

Old corners and places now gone

Old hamlets and crossroads still carry their names on the map.

Hamlets and corners on the map
Woosung
Gone or out of use
Kemper QuarrymineMoore SchoolschoolUnion Schoolschool

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

Stories next door

History across the town line

Each neighbor’s History grade, on the same three inputs.

Buffalo Township9 historic placesA+Palmyra Township1 historic placeC+

Questions about Woosung Township’s history

What year was Woosung Township founded?

The Woosung Township post office opened in 1855, 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 (5), 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.