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History · Plato Township

57% of Plato Township’s homes were built before 1940

Its Register listing is the St. Mary's Church, School and Convent. Below: maps from 1899 on.

1on the National Register
57%homes built before 1940
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What stands out about Plato 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 Plato 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 Plato Township change.Lost villages2 post offices opened and closed inside today’s Plato Township.
★ What stands out · Help out

Start Plato Township’s collection

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

Plato Township on the map, 1899 to 1985

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

Plato Township on the 1899 USGS mapPlato Township on the 1966 USGS mapPlato Township on the 1985 USGS map1899Redfield 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 Plato Township.

Places that used to be

Lost post offices, places now gone and burying grounds

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

Eagle
1883–1889
Saylesville
1883–1885
18801950today
Gone or out of use
EaglelocaleSaylesvillelocale
1cemetery inside Plato Township
Saint Marys Catholic

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

The story so far

Plato Township, in brief

Wikipedia doesn’t have a history of Plato 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 52 to 38 (-27%).

Timeline

Plato Township, 1883 to 1899

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

  1. 19th century
  2. 1883Post officeThe Eagle post office opens
  3. 1883Post officeThe Saylesville post office opens
  4. 1885Post officeThe Saylesville post office closes
  5. 1889Post officeThe Eagle post office closes
  6. 1899On the mapFirst mapped by the U.S. Geological Survey
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 National Register

1 historic place in Plato 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
1982
St. Mary's Church, School and Convent
St. Mary's Church, School and Convent
Buildings

Architectural styles listings

Queen Anne1
Gothic1
All 1 listings
St. Mary's Church, School and ConventBuilding · listed 1982

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

Stories next door

History across the town line

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

Wheaton TownshipIts storynot graded: under 1,000 residents or part of its townLinn TownshipIts storynot graded: under 1,000 residents or part of its townExline TownshipIts storynot graded: under 1,000 residents or part of its town

Questions about Plato Township’s history

What is on the National Register in Plato Township?

One place: the St. Mary's Church, School and Convent (listed 1982).

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), 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.