The town was founded on land purchased from the United States government by John Stewart, a native of Ireland, on December 23, 1816. The earliest settlers, most being Protestant, came from Virginia, Pennsylvania, and North Carolina. These early settlers lived in the Irish Settlement, the area that is now the northern Madison Township.
The town was once intended to be called American City, but changed to Ireland when the name was not approved by the post office department. The town was laid out by John Stewart's son James, and four others. The first town map is dated May 20, 1865, but had been a small village many years before that.
The appointment of the Earl of Tirconnell (a strict Roman Catholic) to the office of Lord Lieutenant of Ireland, created a great deal of unrest amongst the Protestants, and they solicited the services of William— Prince of Orange— who landed in England in 1688. The large majority of the people in Ireland were Catholics, and they assisted King James.
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By tho passing of the Local Government (Ireland) Act, 1898, a body was established in each County in Ireland, called Tho County Council, to which was transferred a good deal of tho business of tho Grand Jury, including the County at large presentment Sessions, the business of the Boards of Guardians with respect to making, levying, collecting and
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Scans and text from the Internet Archive. Books published in 1930 or earlier, which are in the public domain.
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 (2), Wikipedia, U.S. Geological Survey historical maps 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.
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