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History · Esmond Township

Esmond Township’s post office opened in 1884, and 1 of its places is on the National Register

Most of Esmond Township was built recently: 0.0% of its homes predate 1940 and the median home dates from 1975. Its Register listing is the Esmond Methodist Episcopal Church and Township Hall. Below: maps from 1899 on.

1884first post office
1on the National Register
0.0%homes built before 1940
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Quick answers

How Esmond Township began

When was Esmond Township founded?

1884

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

2020 census: 45142 years
Founding year: the first Esmond Township post office (Blevins & Helbock, CC0).The full story ↓

What stands out about Esmond 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 Esmond Township are in the public archives yet. The rest are in attics and albums.On the map since 18993 editions of the USGS map, 1899 to 1985. Watch Esmond Township change.Lost villages2 post offices opened and closed inside today’s Esmond Township, and 1 old place names are still on the map.
★ What stands out · Help out

Start Esmond Township’s collection

The first neighbors to add old photos shape how Esmond 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
On the map

Esmond Township on the map, 1899 to 1985

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

Esmond Township on the 1899 USGS mapEsmond Township on the 1971 USGS mapEsmond Township on the 1985 USGS map1899De Smet 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 Esmond Township.

Places that used to be

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

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

Sana
1883–1884
Esmond
1884–1973
18801950today
Hamlets and corners on the map
Esmond
Gone or out of use
Esmond CreamerylocaleSana Post Officepost officeSchool Number 1schoolSchool Number 10schoolSchool Number 2schoolSchool Number 4schoolSchool Number 6schoolSchool Number 7schoolSchool Number 8schoolSchool Number 9school
1cemetery inside Esmond Township
Esmond

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

The story

How Esmond Township came to be

From Wikipedia’s history of Esmond Township.

Read it all →

Esmond was originally called Sana, and under the latter name was platted in 1883. It was renamed Esmond in 1884, some say, after the novel The History of Henry Esmond by William Makepeace Thackeray. Others believe the community was named after Esmond, Illinois, the native home of a first settler. A post office was established as Sana in 1883, renamed Esmond in 1884, and the post office closed in 1973.

Text from Wikipedia, licensed CC BY-SA 4.0.

Timeline

Esmond Township, 1883 to 1973

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

  1. 19th century
  2. 1883Post officeThe Sana post office opens
  3. 1884Post officeThe Sana post office closes
  4. 1884Post officeThe Esmond post office opens
  5. 1899On the mapFirst mapped by the U.S. Geological Survey
  6. 20th century
  7. 1973Post officeThe Esmond 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.
Add from your album
On the National Register

1 historic place in Esmond Township

The country’s official list of buildings and places worth saving.

place listed
1
National Historic Landmarks
0
none yet
historic buildings protected
4
each building in a district counts
first listed
2006
Esmond Methodist Episcopal Church and Township …
Esmond Methodist Episcopal Church and Township Hall
Buildings

Architectural styles listings

Late Victorian1
All 1 listings
Esmond Methodist Episcopal Church and Township HallBuilding · listed 2006

National Park Service, National Register of Historic Places. Photos from Wikimedia Commons, credited on each place’s page.

Famous people

Famous people close to Esmond Township

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

See all →
Rose Wilder LaneAmerican journalist · b. 1886
Harvey DunnPainter · b. 1884
Shantel KrebsAmerican politician · b. 1973
P
Paul A. MagnusonAmerican judge · b. 1937
P
Philip Edward SmithAmerican endocrinologist · b. 1884
A
Alvin PiersonAmerican football player · b. 1898
Stories next door

History across the town line

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

Iroquois Township1 historic placenot graded: under 1,000 residents or part of its townMathews TownshipIts storynot graded: under 1,000 residents or part of its townManchester TownshipIts storynot graded: under 1,000 residents or part of its town

Questions about Esmond Township’s history

What year was Esmond Township founded?

The Esmond Township post office opened in 1884, the earliest record of the town by name (U.S. post office records).

What is on the National Register in Esmond Township?

One place: the Esmond Methodist Episcopal Church and Township Hall (listed 2006).

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 National Register of Historic Places (1), 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.