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–Not graded
History · Township 1

71% of Township 1’s homes were built before 1940

Below: maps from 1896 on.

0on the National Register
71%homes built before 1940
Add an old photoShare a memory

What stands out about Township 1’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 Township 1 are in the public archives yet. The rest are in attics and albums.Lost villages4 post offices opened and closed inside today’s Township 1.On the map since 18964 editions of the USGS map, 1896 to 1985. Watch Township 1 change.Old housesHalf of Township 1’s homes were built before 1938.
★ What stands out · Help out

Start Township 1’s collection

The first neighbors to add old photos shape how Township 1’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
Places that used to be

Lost post offices, places now gone and burying grounds

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

Ash Rock
1876–1885
Igo
1877–1904
Survey
1880–1890
Highbill
1885–1891
18701950today
Gone or out of use
High HilllocaleIgolocaleSurveylocale
5cemeteries and burying grounds inside Township 1
Ash RockChalk MoundSpring BranchSurveyWoodstown

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

On the map

Township 1 on the map, 1896 to 1985

Every edition of the U.S. Geological Survey’s map of Township 1. Tap a year, or press play to watch the town change.

Township 1 on the 1896 USGS mapTownship 1 on the 1953 USGS mapTownship 1 on the 1979 USGS mapTownship 1 on the 1985 USGS map1896Plainville 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 Township 1.

The story so far

Township 1, in brief

Wikipedia doesn’t have a history of Township 1 yet. The photos, dates and memories neighbors add here are how it gets written.

Between the 2010 and 2020 censuses its population fell from 242 to 196 (-19%).

Timeline

Township 1, 1876 to 1904

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

  1. 19th century
  2. 1876Post officeThe Ash Rock post office opens
  3. 1877Post officeThe Igo post office opens
  4. 1880Post officeThe Survey post office opens
  5. 1885Post officeThe Ash Rock post office closes
  6. 1890Post officeThe Survey post office closes
  7. 1896On the mapFirst mapped by the U.S. Geological Survey
  8. 20th century
  9. 1904Post officeThe Igo 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.
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Stories next door

History across the town line

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

Township 2Its storynot graded: under 1,000 residents or part of its townSumner TownshipIts storynot graded: under 1,000 residents or part of its townMount Ayr TownshipIts storynot graded: under 1,000 residents or part of its townGrant TownshipIts storynot graded: under 1,000 residents or part of its townTownship 12Its storynot graded: under 1,000 residents or part of its townValley TownshipIts storynot graded: under 1,000 residents or part of its town

Questions about Township 1’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.