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History · Wythe Township

Wythe Township’s post office opened in 1851, and 22% of its homes were built before 1940

Below: maps from 1964 on and the census since 1860.

1851first post office
0on the National Register
22%homes built before 1940
Add an old photoShare a memory
Photo: User:Visviva · CC BY-SA 4.0
Quick answers

How Wythe Township began

When was Wythe Township founded?

1851

The Wythe Township post office opened in 1851, the earliest record of the town by name. Three smaller post offices, Sylvan Dale (1851), Wythe (1851) and Elderville (1873), opened inside today’s town and later closed.

First census: 1,289 in 18602020 census: 246175 years
Founding year: the first Wythe Township post office (Blevins & Helbock, CC0).

What stands out about Wythe 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 Wythe Township are in the public archives yet. The rest are in attics and albums.Lost villages3 post offices opened and closed inside today’s Wythe Township, and 1 old place names are still on the map.
★ What stands out · Help out

Start Wythe Township’s collection

The first neighbors to add old photos shape how Wythe 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
Places that used to be

Lost post offices, old corners, places now gone and burying grounds

Three other post offices opened and closed inside today’s town.

Sylvan Dale
1851–1871
Wythe
1851–1865
Elderville
1873–1910
18501940today
Hamlets and corners on the map
Elderville
Gone or out of use
Excelsior SchoolschoolFroggy SchoolschoolHarmony SchoolschoolMount Vernon SchoolschoolOak Grove SchoolschoolOrange SchoolschoolPrairie SchoolschoolSylvandale SchoolschoolWalnut Grove SchoolschoolWythe Schoolschool
3cemeteries and burying grounds inside Wythe Township
McGeeWythe Congregational ChurchWythe Presbyterian

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

The story so far

Wythe Township, in brief

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

Wythe Township is one of twenty-four townships in Hancock County, Illinois, USA. As of the 2020 census, its population was 246 and it contained 117 housing units.

Its first post office opened in 1851. Its population held steady between the last two censuses: 248 in 2010, 246 in 2020.

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

Timeline

Wythe Township, 1851 to 1964

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

  1. 19th century
  2. 1851Post officeThe Sylvan Dale post office opens
  3. 1851Post officeThe Wythe post office opens
  4. 1865Post officeThe Wythe post office closes
  5. 1871Post officeThe Sylvan Dale post office closes
  6. 1873Post officeThe Elderville post office opens
  7. 20th century
  8. 1910Post officeThe Elderville post office closes
  9. 1964On the mapFirst mapped by the U.S. Geological Survey
By decade

Wythe Township, decade by decade

Today1 recent
Wythe Township building 2026-08-292026Wythe Township building 2026-08-29
On the map

Wythe Township on the map, 1964 to 1986

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

Wythe Township on the 1964 USGS mapWythe Township on the 1986 USGS map1964Sutter sheet · 1:24,000

U.S. Geological Survey historical topographic maps (public domain), via Esri’s collection of the scans. The red ring marks the center of Wythe Township.

People over time

Wythe Township, census by census

02004006008001,0001,2001,400190019502000Peak: 1,289

Between 246 and 1,289 people in every census since 1860.

17 censuses, 1860–2020.

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

Famous people

Famous people close to Wythe Township

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

See all →
Virginia CherrillAmerican actress · b. 1908
Conrad NagelAmerican actor · b. 1897
Elsa MaxwellAmerican gossip columnist, author, songwriter, … · b. 1883
Ina CoolbrithAmerican poet, writer, and librarian · b. 1841
Nedra VolzAmerican actress · b. 1908
Richard PageAmerican musician · b. 1953
Stories next door

History across the town line

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

Bear Creek TownshipIts storynot graded: under 1,000 residents or part of its townWalker TownshipIts storynot graded: under 1,000 residents or part of its townMontebello Township4 historic placesARocky Run-Wilcox TownshipIts storynot graded: under 1,000 residents or part of its town

Questions about Wythe Township’s history

What year was Wythe Township founded?

The Wythe Township post office opened in 1851, 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 (1), 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.