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History · Illinois Township

The history of Illinois Township

Below: 1 old photo or paper and maps from 1930 on.

0on the National Register
0.0%homes built before 1940
1old photo or paper
Add an old photoShare a memory

What stands out about Illinois 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 writtenOnly 1 old photo is in the public archives. The rest are in attics and albums.
★ What stands out · Help out

Start Illinois Township’s collection

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

Decades since 1900 with photos
00s10s20s30s40s50s60s70s80s90s
0 of 10 decades. The empty ones are waiting for someone’s album.
Retake an old viewRain-In-The-Face. (Sioux Indian): stand where they stood+15Share a family photoSign in to add one+10
The story so far

Illinois Township, in brief

Wikipedia doesn’t have a history of Illinois 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 70 to 31 (-56%).

By decade

Illinois Township, decade by decade

One decade in the archive so far: the 1890s. Scroll each row; tap a photo for its story.

1890s1 item
Rain-In-The-Face. (Sioux Indian)1895Rain-In-The-Face. (Sioux Indian)
1900s–1990snothing yet
Nothing in the archives for these yearsWeddings on Main Street, storms, parades, school pictures, the old store. If it’s in your family album, it belongs here.
Add from your album
On the map

Illinois Township on the map, 1930 to 1951

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

Illinois Township on the 1930 USGS mapIllinois Township on the 1951 USGS map1930Pekin sheet · 1:62,500

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

Then & now

Stand where they stood

No then-and-now pairs yet. Take a photo from the same spot as an old one and they appear here side by side.

Rain-In-The-Face. (Sioux Indian)
Retake this viewRain-In-The-Face. (Sioux Indian), 1895

Find the spot, match the angle, and add your photo. It becomes the first then-and-now pair on Illinois Township’s page.

Retake this view · +15
Stories next door

History across the town line

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

Dodds TownshipIts storynot graded: under 1,000 residents or part of its townLeval TownshipIts storynot graded: under 1,000 residents or part of its townBartlett TownshipIts storynot graded: under 1,000 residents or part of its townLakota TownshipIts storynot graded: under 1,000 residents or part of its town

Questions about Illinois Township’s history

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 the Library of Congress (1) and U.S. Geological Survey historical maps. Archive images are copied here with their credits and licenses, shown on each photo’s page. Refreshed monthly.