The story so far
Swan Township, in brief
Wikipedia doesn’t have a history of Swan Township yet. The photos, dates and memories neighbors add here are how it gets written.
Between the 2010 and 2020 censuses its population fell from 48 to 28 (-42%).
–Not graded
History · Swan Township
69% of Swan Township’s homes were built before 1940
Below: maps from 1893 on.
0on the National Register
69%homes built before 1940
What stands out about Swan 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 Swan Township are in the public archives yet. The rest are in attics and albums.On the map since 18933 editions of the USGS map, 1893 to 1985. Watch Swan Township change.Old housesHalf of Swan Township’s homes were built before 1938.Lost villages2 post offices opened and closed inside today’s Swan Township.
★ What stands out · Help out
Start Swan Township’s collection
The first neighbors to add old photos shape how Swan 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
Swan Township on the map, 1893 to 1985
Every edition of the U.S. Geological Survey’s map of Swan Township. Tap a year, or press play to watch the town change.
1893Phillipsburg 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 Swan Township.
Timeline
Swan Township, 1881 to 1904
Woven from the archive, old maps, post office records, the National Register and the people born here.
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 albumPlaces that used to be
Lost post offices, places now gone and burying grounds
Two other post offices opened and closed inside today’s town.
Tyner
Hardilee
18801950today
Gone or out of use
HardileelocaleTynerlocale
1cemetery inside Swan Township
Germantown
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.
Pleasant Township1 historic placenot graded: under 1,000 residents or part of its townGerman TownshipIts storynot graded: under 1,000 residents or part of its townCrystal TownshipIts storynot graded: under 1,000 residents or part of its townCedar TownshipIts storynot graded: under 1,000 residents or part of its town
Questions about Swan Township’s history
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 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.