The story
Read it all →How Lyon Township came to be
From Wikipedia’s history of Lyon Township.
Lyon Township was established in 1877. It was named for Gen. Nathaniel Lyon.
Text from Wikipedia, licensed CC BY-SA 4.0.
–Not graded
History · Lyon Township
26% of Lyon Township’s homes were built before 1940
Its Register listings are the Old Katy Bridge and the Lyon Creek Rainbow Arch. Below: maps from 1889 on.
2on the National Register
26%homes built before 1940
Quick answers
Where Lyon Township’s name came from
How did Lyon Township get its name?
Lyon Township was named for Gen. Nathaniel Lyon.
Name: Wikipedia, licensed CC BY-SA 4.0.The full story ↓
What stands out about Lyon Township’s past
Read from the archive, the National Register and the record. The page puts what stands out first.
★ What stands out · Help out
Start Lyon Township’s collection
The first neighbors to add old photos shape how Lyon Township’s history is told.
Decades since 1900 with photos
00s10s20s30s40s50s60s70s80s90s
0 of 10 decades. The empty ones are waiting for someone’s album.On the map
Lyon Township on the map, 1889 to 1985
Every edition of the U.S. Geological Survey’s map of Lyon Township. Tap a year, or press play to watch the town change.
1889Parkerville sheet · 1:125,000U.S. Geological Survey historical topographic maps (public domain), via Esri’s collection of the scans. The red ring marks the center of Lyon Township.
Timeline
Lyon Township, 1882 to 1918
Woven from the archive, old maps, post office records, the National Register and the people born here.
- 19th century
- 1882Post officeThe Wreford post office opens
- 1889
On the mapFirst mapped by the U.S. Geological Survey - 20th century
- 1918Post officeThe Wreford 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.
Be the first to add onePhotograph a print flat, in daylight, no flash.
Add from your albumOn the National Register
2 historic places in Lyon Township
The country’s official list of buildings and places worth saving.
places listed
2
National Historic Landmarks
0
none yet
historic buildings protected
2
each building in a district counts
first listed
2003
Old Katy Bridge
Structures
All 2 listings
National Park Service, National Register of Historic Places. Photos from Wikimedia Commons, credited on each place’s page.
Places that used to be
Lost post offices and old corners
Another post office, Wreford, opened and closed inside today’s town.
Hamlets and corners on the map
Wreford
US Post Offices dataset (Blevins & Helbock, CC0). Places and cemeteries from the USGS Geographic Names Information System (2021).
Stories next door
History across the town line
Each neighbor’s History grade, on the same three inputs.
Smoky Hill Township2 historic placesA−Rinehart Township3 historic placesnot graded: under 1,000 residents or part of its townJefferson Township2 historic placesB+Liberty Township1 historic placenot graded: under 1,000 residents or part of its townBlakely TownshipIts storynot graded: under 1,000 residents or part of its town
Questions about Lyon Township’s history
What is on the National Register in Lyon Township?
Two places: the Old Katy Bridge (listed 2003) and the Lyon Creek Rainbow Arch (2020).
Memory lane
What the archives can’t tell you, neighbors can.
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 the National Register of Historic Places (2), Wikipedia, 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.