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History · Bluff Township

39% of Bluff Township’s homes were built before 1940

Below: maps from 1889 on.

0on the National Register
39%homes built before 1940
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What stands out about Bluff 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 Bluff Township are in the public archives yet. The rest are in attics and albums.On the map since 18894 editions of the USGS map, 1889 to 1985. Watch Bluff Township change.Lost villages3 post offices opened and closed inside today’s Bluff Township, and 2 old place names are still on the map.Old housesHalf of Bluff Township’s homes were built before 1955.
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Start Bluff Township’s collection

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

Decades since 1900 with photos
00s10s20s30s40s50s60s70s80s90s
0 of 10 decades. The empty ones are waiting for someone’s album.
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On the map

Bluff Township on the map, 1889 to 1985

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

Bluff Township on the 1889 USGS mapBluff Township on the 1893 USGS mapBluff Township on the 1971 USGS mapBluff Township on the 1985 USGS map1889Caldwell sheet · 1:125,000

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

Places that used to be

Lost post offices, old corners and places now gone

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

Doster
1878–1902
Rex
1882–1888
Blackstone
1888–1905
18701950today
Hamlets and corners on the map
DosterMetcalf
Gone or out of use
Blackstonelocale

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

The story so far

Bluff Township, in brief

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

Between the 2010 and 2020 censuses its population grew from 48 to 59 (+23%).

Timeline

Bluff Township, 1878 to 1905

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

  1. 19th century
  2. 1878Post officeThe Doster post office opens
  3. 1882Post officeThe Rex post office opens
  4. 1888Post officeThe Rex post office closes
  5. 1888Post officeThe Blackstone post office opens
  6. 1889On the mapFirst mapped by the U.S. Geological Survey
  7. 20th century
  8. 1902Post officeThe Doster post office closes
  9. 1905Post officeThe Blackstone post office closes
By decade

No old photos in the archives yet

Weddings on Main Street, storms, parades, school pictures, the old store. If it’s in your family album, it belongs here.

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Stories next door

History across the town line

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

Caldwell TownshipIts storynot graded: under 1,000 residents or part of its townTownship 4Its storynot graded: under 1,000 residents or part of its townMorris TownshipIts storynot graded: under 1,000 residents or part of its townChikaskia TownshipIts storynot graded: under 1,000 residents or part of its town

Questions about Bluff Township’s history

Memory lane

What the archives can’t tell you, neighbors can.

Town Square →
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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 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.