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History · Lillian Township

Lillian Township’s post office opened in 1883, and 43% of its homes were built before 1940

Below: maps from 1951 on.

1883first post office
0on the National Register
43%homes built before 1940
Add an old photoShare a memory
Quick answers

How Lillian Township began

When was Lillian Township founded?

1883

The Lillian Township post office opened in 1883, the earliest record of the town by name. Five smaller post offices, Lillian (1883), Somerford (1883) and Gates (1884), opened inside today’s town and later closed.

2020 census: 130143 years
Founding year: the first Lillian Township post office (Blevins & Helbock, CC0).The full story ↓

What stands out about Lillian Township’s past

Read from the archive, the National Register and the record. The page puts what stands out first.

Lost villages5 post offices opened and closed inside today’s Lillian Township, and 4 old place names are still on the map.A history waiting to be writtenNo old photos of Lillian Township are in the public archives yet. The rest are in attics and albums.
★ What stands out · Places that used to be

Lost post offices, old corners, places now gone and burying grounds

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

Lillian
1883–1934
Somerford
1883–1910
Gates
1884–1989
Round Valley
1884–1899
Walworth
1884–1928
18801950today
Hamlets and corners on the map
GatesLillianRound ValleyWalworth
Gone or out of use
Lillian Post Officepost officeLillian SchoolschoolOxford SchoolschoolRound Valley Post Officepost officeSomerford Post Officepost officeSomerford SchoolschoolTableland SchoolschoolWalworth Post Officepost office
3cemeteries and burying grounds inside Lillian Township
GatesRound ValleySomerford

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

Help out

Start Lillian Township’s collection

The first neighbors to add old photos shape how Lillian Township’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
The story

How Lillian Township came to be

From Wikipedia’s history of Lillian Township.

Read it all →

Lillian was named for Lillian Gohean, daughter of the postmaster. The Lillian post office opened in 1883, closed in 1902, reopened in 1907, and closed permanently in 1934.

Text from Wikipedia, licensed CC BY-SA 4.0.

Timeline

Lillian Township, 1883 to 1989

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

  1. 19th century
  2. 1883Post officeThe Lillian post office opens
  3. 1883Post officeThe Somerford post office opens
  4. 1884Post officeThe Gates post office opens
  5. 20th century
  6. 1910Post officeThe Somerford post office closes
  7. 1934Post officeThe Lillian post office closes
  8. 1951On the mapFirst mapped by the U.S. Geological Survey
  9. 1989Post officeThe Gates 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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On the map

Lillian Township on the map, 1951 to 1994

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

Lillian Township on the 1951 USGS mapLillian Township on the 1985 USGS mapLillian Township on the 1994 USGS map1951Round Valley 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 Lillian Township.

Famous people

Famous people close to Lillian Township

Nobody well known was born in Lillian Township itself, so here are the best known from just nearby.

See all →
J
Jay Wright ForresterAmerican operations researcher · b. 1918
L
Leo J. PowersUnited States Army Medal of Honor recipient · b. 1909
Robert M. WilkinsonAmerican politician · b. 1921
Stories next door

History across the town line

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

West Union TownshipIts storynot graded: under 1,000 residents or part of its townMilburn TownshipIts storynot graded: under 1,000 residents or part of its townSargent TownshipIts storynot graded: under 1,000 residents or part of its townVictoria Township1 historic placenot graded: under 1,000 residents or part of its townGarfield TownshipIts storynot graded: under 1,000 residents or part of its townDouglas Grove TownshipIts storynot graded: under 1,000 residents or part of its townBroken Bow TownshipIts storynot graded: under 1,000 residents or part of its town

Questions about Lillian Township’s history

What year was Lillian Township founded?

The Lillian Township post office opened in 1883, 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 Wikipedia, 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.