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History · Olney Township

39% of Olney Township’s homes were built before 1940

Below: maps from 1967 on.

0on the National Register
39%homes built before 1940
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What stands out about Olney 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 Olney Township are in the public archives yet. The rest are in attics and albums.Old housesHalf of Olney Township’s homes were built before 1950.
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Start Olney Township’s collection

The first neighbors to add old photos shape how Olney Township’s history is told.

Decades since 1900 with photos
00s10s20s30s40s50s60s70s80s90s
0 of 10 decades. The empty ones are waiting for someone’s album.
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The story

How Olney Township came to be

From Wikipedia’s history of Olney Township.

Read it all →

Organization of Olney Township was approved by the Nobles County Board on July 10, 1873. The original name selected was Hebbard Township in honor of pioneer settler William F Hebbard. However, no township meeting was called until October 14, 1873, and shortly before this meeting occurred, the Nobles County Board changed the name to New Haven Township. Shortly thereafter, the county was informed by the state auditor's office that another New Haven Township existed elsewhere in the state. Finally, on June 15, 1874, the board accepted the suggestion of pioneer settler R. W. Moberly that the township be named after Olney, Illinois, county seat of Richland County, Illinois.

Text from Wikipedia, licensed CC BY-SA 4.0.

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.

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On the map

Olney Township on the map, 1967 to 1985

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

Olney Township on the 1967 USGS mapOlney Township on the 1985 USGS map1967Adrian NE sheet · 1:24,000

U.S. Geological Survey historical topographic maps (public domain), via Esri’s collection of the scans. The red ring marks the center of Olney Township.

Places that used to be

Places now gone and burying grounds

Gone or out of use
Rohwer Airportairport
2cemeteries and burying grounds inside Olney Township
AdrianSaint Adrian

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.

Adrian2 historic placesB+Dewald TownshipIts storynot graded: under 1,000 residents or part of its townWestside TownshipIts storynot graded: under 1,000 residents or part of its townLittle Rock TownshipIts storynot graded: under 1,000 residents or part of its townLarkin TownshipIts storynot graded: under 1,000 residents or part of its town

Questions about Olney Township’s history

Memory lane

What the archives can’t tell you, neighbors can.

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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 Wikipedia, U.S. Geological Survey historical maps 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.