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History · McHenry Township

McHenry Township dates to 1785, and 28% of its homes were built before 1940

Below: maps from 1937 on.

1785founded
0on the National Register
28%homes built before 1940
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Photo: Nicholas · CC BY 2.0
Quick answers

How McHenry Township began, and where its name came from

When was McHenry Township founded?

1785

McHenry Township dates its founding to 1785 (Wikidata). Its post office opened in 1855.

2020 census: 122241 years

How did McHenry Township get its name?

McHenry Township was named in honor of a Jersey Shore surveyor, Alexander H. McHenry.

Founding year: Wikidata. First post office: 1855. Name: Wikipedia, licensed CC BY-SA 4.0.The full story ↓

What stands out about McHenry Township’s past

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

Lost villages3 post offices opened and closed inside today’s McHenry Township, and 7 old place names are still on the map.A history waiting to be writtenNo old photos of McHenry Township are in the public archives yet. The rest are in attics and albums.Deep rootsEstablished in 1785: 241 years of McHenry Township.Old housesHalf of McHenry Township’s homes were built before 1961.
★ What stands out · Places that used to be

Lost post offices, old corners and burying grounds

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

Jersey Mills
1855–today
Haneyville
1879–1936
Cammal
1882–today
Okome
1890–1930
Lucullus
1905–1918
18501940today
Hamlets and corners on the map
BluestoneCammalHaneyvilleJersey MillsLebo VistaLucullusOkome
3cemeteries and burying grounds inside McHenry Township
BluestoneCammalOkome

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

Help out

Start McHenry Township’s collection

The first neighbors to add old photos shape how McHenry 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
Timeline

McHenry Township, 1785 to 1937

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

  1. 18th century
  2. 1785
    FoundingMcHenry Township is established
  3. 19th century
  4. 1855Post officeThe Jersey Mills post office opens
  5. 1879Post officeThe Haneyville post office opens
  6. 1882Post officeThe Cammal post office opens
  7. 20th century
  8. 1936Post officeThe Haneyville post office closes
  9. 1937On the mapFirst mapped by the U.S. Geological Survey
The story

How McHenry Township came to be

From Wikipedia’s history of McHenry Township.

Read it all →

McHenry Township was formed from parts of Cummings and Brown townships on August 21, 1861. It was named in honor of a Jersey Shore surveyor, Alexander H. McHenry.

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.

Be the first to add onePhotograph a print flat, in daylight, no flash.
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On the map

McHenry Township on the map, 1937 to 1994

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

McHenry Township on the 1937 USGS mapMcHenry Township on the 1943 USGS mapMcHenry Township on the 1965 USGS mapMcHenry Township on the 1973 USGS mapMcHenry Township on the 1994 USGS map1937Waterville 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 McHenry Township.

Stories next door

History across the town line

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

Gallagher TownshipIts storynot graded: under 1,000 residents or part of its townChapman TownshipIts storynot graded: under 1,000 residents or part of its townGrugan TownshipIts storynot graded: under 1,000 residents or part of its townBrown Township1 historic placenot graded: under 1,000 residents or part of its townCummings TownshipIts storynot graded: under 1,000 residents or part of its townPine Township1 historic placenot graded: under 1,000 residents or part of its town

Questions about McHenry Township’s history

What year was McHenry Township founded?

In 1785, according to Wikidata. McHenry Township’s post office opened in 1855.

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.