Guest, Sign inJoin

Post to Rantoul

We’ll email a one-tap link to publish your post. No password, and nothing is public until you click it.
Already a member? Sign in
–Not graded
History · Rantoul

Rantoul’s post office opened in 1862, and 32% of its homes were built before 1940

Below: maps from 1885 on and the census since 1920.

1862first post office
0on the National Register
32%homes built before 1940
Add an old photoShare a memory
Photo: Jared Winkler · CC BY-SA 4.0
Quick answers

How Rantoul began, and where its name came from

When was Rantoul founded?

1862

The Rantoul post office opened in 1862, the earliest record of the town by name.

First census: 317 in 19202020 census: 165164 years

How did Rantoul get its name?

Rantoul was named for Senator Robert Rantoul Jr., of Massachusetts.

Founding year: the first Rantoul post office (Blevins & Helbock, CC0). Name: Wikipedia, licensed CC BY-SA 4.0.The full story ↓

What stands out about Rantoul’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 Rantoul are in the public archives yet. The rest are in attics and albums.On the map since 18853 editions of the USGS map, 1885 to 1983. Watch Rantoul change.
★ What stands out · Help out

Start Rantoul’s collection

The first neighbors to add old photos shape how Rantoul’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
On the map

Rantoul on the map, 1885 to 1983

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

Rantoul on the 1885 USGS mapRantoul on the 1963 USGS mapRantoul on the 1983 USGS map1885Lawrence 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 Rantoul.

The story

How Rantoul came to be

From Wikipedia’s history of Rantoul.

Read it all →

The first post office in Rantoul was established in 1862. It was named for Senator Robert Rantoul Jr., of Massachusetts.

Text from Wikipedia, licensed CC BY-SA 4.0.

By decade

Rantoul, decade by decade

Today2 recent
Rantoul, KS2022Rantoul, KSKSMap-doton-Rantoul2004KSMap-doton-Rantoul
People over time

Rantoul, census by census

0100200300192019401960198020002020Peak: 317

Between 157 and 317 people in every census since 1920.

11 censuses, 1920–2020.

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

Questions about Rantoul’s history

What year was Rantoul founded?

The Rantoul post office opened in 1862, 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 (2), 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.