Guest, Sign inJoin

Post to Eileen

We’ll email a one-tap link to publish your post. No password, and nothing is public until you click it.
Already a member? Sign in
–Not graded
History · Eileen

Eileen dates to 1904, and 19% of its homes were built before 1940

Below: maps from 1964 on.

1904founded
0on the National Register
19%homes built before 1940
Add an old photoShare a memory
Quick answers

How Eileen began

When was Eileen founded?

1904

Eileen dates its founding to 1904 (Wikidata and Wikipedia’s history agree). Its post office opened in 1890.

2020 census: 722122 years
Founding year: Wikidata; Wikipedia’s history section gives the same year. First post office: 1890.The full story ↓

What stands out about Eileen’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 Eileen are in the public archives yet. The rest are in attics and albums.
★ What stands out · Help out

Start Eileen’s collection

The first neighbors to add old photos shape how Eileen’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 Eileen came to be

From Wikipedia’s history of Eileen.

Read it all →

The town was organized in 1904, in large part due to the efforts of state senator A. Pearce Tomkins. The town was named for the senator's daughter, Eileen Tompkins.

Text from Wikipedia, licensed CC BY-SA 4.0.

Timeline

Eileen, 1890 to 1964

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

  1. 19th century
  2. 1890Post officeThe Ashland Junction post office opens
  3. 20th century
  4. 1904
    FoundingEileen is established
  5. 1910Post officeThe Ashland Junction post office closes
  6. 1964On 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.
Add from your album
On the map

Eileen on the map in 1964

The U.S. Geological Survey’s map of Eileen.

Eileen on the 1964 USGS map1964Ashland West 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 Eileen.

Places that used to be

Lost post offices and old corners

Another post office, Ashland Junction, opened and closed inside today’s town.

Hamlets and corners on the map
Ashland Junction

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

Stories next door

History across the town line

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

BarksdaleIts storynot graded: under 1,000 residents or part of its townAshland15 historic placesAPilsenIts storynot graded: under 1,000 residents or part of its townKellyIts storynot graded: under 1,000 residents or part of its townGinglesIts storynot graded: under 1,000 residents or part of its townKeystoneIts storynot graded: under 1,000 residents or part of its town

Questions about Eileen’s history

What year was Eileen founded?

In 1904, according to Wikidata and Wikipedia’s history of the town. Eileen’s post office opened in 1890.

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.