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History · Ashley

Ashley’s history is
mostly unwritten

The public archives hold no old photos of Ashley. The rest are in attics, shoeboxes and the historical society. Help start the collection.

0old images & papers
0recent photos

The story so far

from Wikipedia & the U.S. Census

Ashley Township is a township located in Washington County, Illinois, United States. As of the 2010 census, its population was 816 and it contained 404 housing units.

Between the 2010 and 2020 censuses its population fell from 536 to 462 (-14%). Half of its homes were built before 1958.

Wikipedia doesn’t have a history of Ashley yet — the old photos, dates and memories neighbors add here are how it gets written.

Intro from Wikipedia, licensed CC BY-SA 4.0. Population and housing: U.S. Census Bureau.

Be one of the first

Start Ashley’s collection

The first neighbors to add old photos shape how Ashley’s history is told.

0 of 10 decades since 1900 have photos 📦Share a family photoSign in to add one+10
Famous people from AshleyWriters, athletes, leaders and more who were born in Ashley.Meet them →
By decade

Ashley, decade by decade

Before
2000
No old photos in the archives yetWeddings on Main Street, storms, parades, school pictures, the old store. If it’s in your family album, it belongs here.
📷 Add from your album
National Register of Historic Places

Nothing in Ashley is on the National Register yet

That’s true of most small towns. It doesn’t mean Ashley has no history, only that no one has written up a nomination. The closest listed place is Louisville and Nashville Depot in Nashville, 10.5 miles away.

Ashley and the nearest listed places

Dashed line = Ashley. Tap a dot.
Louisville and Nashville DepotSentinel BuildingCentralia Commercial Historic DistrictAppellate Court, 5th DistrictParadise Missionary Baptist ChurchSesser Opera House

Closest to Ashley

Louisville and Nashville DepotNashville · Building10.5miSentinel BuildingCentralia · Building14.1miCentralia Commercial Historic DistrictCentralia · District14.2miAppellate Court, 5th DistrictMount Vernon · Built 185415.5miParadise Missionary Baptist ChurchSt. Johns · Building17mi

How a place gets listed

1Talk to the stateEvery nomination goes through the State Historic Preservation Office. Owners, towns and historical societies can start one.
2Try a local or state list firstMany states keep their own register with a shorter form, a common first step for old barns, halls and schoolhouses.
3Write it upA nomination covers the history, photos and a map. Louisville and Nashville Depot’s page links to a real one.
Know an old place in Ashley?A mill, a schoolhouse, a cellar hole, a church: add a photo of it to Ashley’s story, or a memory of it.
📷 Add a photo of an old place
National Park Service, National Register of Historic Places · photos from Wikimedia Commons

Then & now

When neighbors add old photos, retakes from the same spot appear here side by side.

Stories next door

nearby towns’ history
📜 Ashley📜 Richview📜 Richview📜 Radom
We left the porch light on

Where to, neighbor?

You’re in Ashley, ILView boundary

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Boundary source: https://tigerweb.geo.census.gov/arcgis/rest/services/TIGERweb/Places_CouSub_ConCity_SubMCD/MapServer/18 · 2025-01-01
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