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History · Galesburg

Galesburg’s post office opened in 1871, and 14% of its homes were built before 1940

Below: maps from 1945 on and the census since 1880.

1871first post office
0on the National Register
14%homes built before 1940
Add an old photoShare a memory
Quick answers

How Galesburg began

When was Galesburg founded?

1871

The Galesburg post office opened in 1871, the earliest record of the town by name. Another post office, Rose Hill (1870), opened inside today’s city and later closed.

First census: 63 in 18802020 census: 149155 years
Founding year: the first Galesburg post office (Blevins & Helbock, CC0).The full story ↓

What stands out about Galesburg’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 Galesburg are in the public archives yet. The rest are in attics and albums.Boom and bustPeaked at 205 in 1920; 149 people lived here in 2020.
★ What stands out · Help out

Start Galesburg’s collection

The first neighbors to add old photos shape how Galesburg’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
People over time

Galesburg, census by census

010020018801900192019401960198020002020Peak: 205

Peaked at 205 in 1920; 149 people lived here in 2020.

13 censuses, 1880–2020.

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

The story

How Galesburg came to be

From Wikipedia’s history of Galesburg.

Read it all →

Galesburg was laid out and platted in 1871 when the railroad was extended to that point. A post office established in Rose Hill (an extinct town) was moved to Galesburg, and opened in March 1871.

Text from Wikipedia, licensed CC BY-SA 4.0.

Timeline

Galesburg, 1870 to 1945

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

  1. 19th century
  2. 1870Post officeThe Rose Hill post office opens
  3. 1871Post officeThe Rose Hill post office closes
  4. 1871Post officeThe Galesburg post office opens
  5. 20th century
  6. 1920CensusPopulation peaks at 205
  7. 1945On the mapFirst mapped by the U.S. Geological Survey
By decade

Galesburg, decade by decade

Today1 recent
KSMap-doton-Galesburg2005KSMap-doton-Galesburg
On the map

Galesburg on the map, 1945 to 1973

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

Galesburg on the 1945 USGS mapGalesburg on the 1973 USGS map1945Parsons 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 Galesburg.

Places that used to be

Lost post offices

Galesburg’s post office has been open since 1871. Another post office, Rose Hill, opened and closed inside today’s town.

Rose Hill
1870–1871
Galesburg
1871–today
18701950today

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

Questions about Galesburg’s history

What year was Galesburg founded?

The Galesburg post office opened in 1871, 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), Wikipedia, 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.