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History · Zion Township

Zion Township dates to 1900, and 18% of its homes were built before 1940

3 places in town are on the National Register. Below: 17 old photos and papers, maps from 1906 on, and the census since 1910.

1900founded
3on the National Register
18%homes built before 1940
17old photos & papers
Add an old photoShare a memory
From Zion Township’s archive · credits on each photo
Quick answers

How Zion Township began

When was Zion Township founded?

1900

Zion Township dates its founding to 1900 (Wikipedia’s history). The census first counted it in 1910.

First census: 4,789 in 19102020 census: 24,655126 years
Founding year: Wikipedia. First post office: 1902.The full story ↓

What stands out about Zion Township’s past

Read from the archive, the National Register and the record. The page puts what stands out first.

A town in old photos17 old photos, postcards and papers, 1865–1921.On the map since 19065 editions of the USGS map, 1906 to 1993. Watch Zion Township change.
★ What stands out · By decade

Zion Township, decade by decade

4 decades in the archive, from the 1860s to the 1920s. Scroll each row; tap a photo for its story.

1860s2 items
People participating in Baptismal scene, Zion City, July 17, 1901c. 1865People participating in Baptismal scene, Zion City, J…People participating in Baptismal scene, Zion City, July 17, 1901c. 1865People participating in Baptismal scene, Zion City, J…
1900s10 items
Zion Industries at Shiloh Tabernacle, July 1904, Zion City, Ill1904Zion Industries at Shiloh Tabernacle, July 1904, Zion…Zion City, Ill1904Zion City, IllZion Industries at Shiloh Tabernacle, July 19041904Zion Industries at Shiloh Tabernacle, July 1904Fourth anniversary of consrecration [sic] of Zion Temple site, July, 19041904Fourth anniversary of consrecration [sic] of Zion Tem…Officers and Choir of Zion1904Officers and Choir of ZionIndustrial parade, July 19041904Industrial parade, July 1904Shiloh Tabernacle, July 17, 19041904Shiloh Tabernacle, July 17, 1904Welcome home of the general overseer, Rev. John Alex Dowie [i.e. Dowey], July, 19041904Welcome home of the general overseer, Rev. John Alex …Administration building, Zion City, Illinois, recto (NBY 8593)1908Administration building, Zion City, Illinois, recto (…PostcardAdministration building, Zion City, Illinois, recto (NBY 8594)1908Administration building, Zion City, Illinois, recto (…Postcard
1910s–1920s5 items
Truck loads of beer enroute to Chicago, which were waylaid and captured at Zion City, Ill. ... all bottles were destroy…1910Truck loads of beer enroute to Chicago, which were wa…Bottle close-up, Woman with a bottle of Miller Beer in 1921 detail, from- Zion City, Ill., destroys 80,000 pint bottles…1921Bottle close-up, Woman with a bottle of Miller Beer i…Zion City, Ill., destroys 80,000 pint bottles of beer1921Zion City, Ill., destroys 80,000 pint bottles of beerZion City, Ill., destroys 80,000 pint bottles of beer1921Zion City, Ill., destroys 80,000 pint bottles of beerZion City, Ill., destroys 80,000 pint bottles of beer1921Zion City, Ill., destroys 80,000 pint bottles of beer
1930s–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
On the map

Zion Township on the map, 1906 to 1993

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

Zion Township on the 1906 USGS mapZion Township on the 1960 USGS mapZion Township on the 1972 USGS mapZion Township on the 1980 USGS mapZion Township on the 1993 USGS map1906Waukegan 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 Zion Township.

The story

How Zion Township came to be

From Wikipedia’s history of Zion Township.

Read it all →

The city was founded in 1900 by John Alexander Dowie, a Scots-Australian evangelical minister and faith healer who had migrated to the United States in 1888. By 1890, he had settled in Chicago, where he built a faith healing business that included a mail order component, and he had also attracted thousands of followers.

He bought land 40 miles (60 km) north of Chicago to found Zion, where he personally owned all of the land and most businesses. The city was named after Mount Zion in Jerusalem.

Text from Wikipedia, licensed CC BY-SA 4.0.

Timeline

Zion Township, 1865 to 1921

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

  1. 19th century
  2. 1865In the archivePeople participating in Baptismal scene, Zion City, July 17, 1901
  3. 20th century
  4. 1900
    FoundingZion Township is established
  5. 1904In the archiveZion Industries at Shiloh Tabernacle, July 1904, Zion City, Ill
  6. 1906On the mapFirst mapped by the U.S. Geological Survey
  7. 1910In the archiveTruck loads of beer enroute to Chicago, which were waylaid and captured at Zion City, Ill…
  8. 1921In the archiveBottle close-up, Woman with a bottle of Miller Beer in 1921 detail, from- Zion City, Ill.…
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.

People participating in Baptismal scene, Zion City, July 17, 1901
Retake this viewPeople participating in Baptismal scene, Zion City, July 17, 1901, c. 1865

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

Retake this view · +15
On the National Register

3 listings protect 12 historic buildings

The country’s official list of buildings and places worth saving.

places listed
3
National Historic Landmarks
0
none yet
historic buildings protected
12
each building in a district counts

National Park Service, National Register of Historic Places. Photos from Wikimedia Commons, credited on each place’s page.

People over time

Zion Township, census by census

05,00010,00015,00020,00025,00019201940196019802000202024,655

Grew from 4,789 people in 1910 to 24,655 in 2020, 5 times over.

12 censuses, 1910–2020.

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

Help out

Finish Zion Township’s story

Most archives stop around 1920. The photos from after that are in family albums, not libraries.

Decades since 1900 with photos
00s10s20s30s40s50s60s70s80s90s
3 of 10 decades. The empty ones are waiting for someone’s album.
Retake an old viewPeople participating in Baptismal scene…: stand where they stood+15Share a family photoSign in to add one+10
Stories next door

History across the town line

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

Zion3 historic placesB−Benton Township1 historic placeC+Beach ParkIts storyC−WadsworthIts storyCNewport Township1 historic placeB+Winthrop Harbor1 historic placeC+

Questions about Zion Township’s history

What year was Zion Township founded?

In 1900, according to Wikipedia’s history of the town. Zion Township’s post office opened in 1902, and the census of 1910 counted 4,789 people here.

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 (7), the Library of Congress (10), Wikidata (1), Wikipedia, U.S. Geological Survey historical maps and U.S. Census counts (via Wikipedia). Archive images are copied here with their credits and licenses, shown on each photo’s page. Refreshed monthly.