Silverhill’s history is
mostly unwritten
The public archives hold just one old photo of Silverhill. The rest are in attics, shoeboxes and the historical society. Help start the collection.
The story
from WikipediaRead it all ↗Silverhill was founded in 1897 by Oscar Johnson, C. O. Carlson and C. A. Valentin of Chicago, Illinois. Oscar Johnson was an immigrant from Dalarna, Sweden. The Svea Land Company in Chicago, which advertised land for sale in Silverhill, was founded by Oscar Johnson. Land was acquired by purchase from a Mr. Harford, the first block of land being 1,500 acres (610 ha), which was added to from time to time as the colonization work progressed. Scandinavian settlers came to Silverhill from virtually every state in the Union and began the development of what is now the Silverhill district.
In 1902, the local general store, People's Supply Company opened; and it served as a major hub for the community until the 1980s.
Text from Wikipedia, licensed CC BY-SA 4.0.
Timeline
built from the dates on the items belowStart Silverhill’s collection
The first neighbors to add old photos shape how Silverhill’s history is told.
1 of 10 decades since 1900 have photos 🔁Retake an old viewNOLF Silverhill 1952, 1952: stand where they stood+15 📦Share a family photoSign in to add one+10Silverhill, decade by decade
1990s
3 historic places in Silverhill
3 places in Silverhill are on the National Register of Historic Places, the country’s official list of buildings and places worth saving.
Where they are
Architectural styles
When they were listed
Listed 1985Svea Land Company Office
Listed 1997People's Supply Company
Listed 2001State Bank SilverhillThen & now
No then-and-now pairs yet. Take a photo from the same spot as NOLF Silverhill 1952 (1952) and it appears here side by side.
🔁 Retake this view · +15Stories next door
nearby towns’ historyFrom Wikimedia Commons (4) and the National Register (2). Images are copied here with their credits and licenses, shown on each photo’s page. Refreshed monthly.