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History · Austin

Austin’s history is
mostly unwritten

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

0old images & papers
1recent photos

The story so far

from Wikipedia & the U.S. Census

Austin Township is located in Macon County, Illinois. As of the 2020 census, its population was 240 and it contained 95 housing units.

Between the 2010 and 2020 censuses its population grew from 214 to 240 (+12%). Half of its homes were built before 1967.

Wikipedia doesn’t have a history of Austin 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 Austin’s collection

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

0 of 10 decades since 1900 have photos 📦Share a family photoSign in to add one+10

Famous people from Austin

See all 1 →
CMCharles F. MontgomeryNotable
By decade

Austin, 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
Today1 photo
Austin Township building 2026-09-18CommonsAustin Township building 2026-09-182026
National Register of Historic Places

Nothing in Austin is on the National Register yet

That’s true of most small towns. It doesn’t mean Austin has no history, only that no one has written up a nomination. The closest listed place is Robert Buckles Barn in Mount Pulaski, 10 miles away.

Austin and the nearest listed places

Dashed line = Austin. Tap a dot.
Robert Buckles BarnTheodore H. O. Mattfeldt HouseMount Pulaski CourthouseGarfield SchoolRoosevelt Junior High SchoolMagill House

Closest to Austin

Robert Buckles BarnMount Pulaski · Building10miTheodore H. O. Mattfeldt HouseMount Pulaski · Building10.6miMount Pulaski CourthouseMount Pulaski · Building10.6miGarfield SchoolDecatur · Building12.1miRoosevelt Junior High SchoolDecatur · Late Gothic Revival12.2mi

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. Robert Buckles Barn’s page links to a real one.
Know an old place in Austin?A mill, a schoolhouse, a cellar hole, a church: add a photo of it to Austin’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
📜 Latham📜 Warrensburg📜 Laenna📜 Illini

From Wikimedia Commons (1). Images are copied here with their credits and licenses, shown on each photo’s page. Refreshed monthly.

We left the porch light on

Where to, neighbor?

You’re in Austin, ILMacon CountyView boundary

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Boundary source: https://tigerweb.geo.census.gov/arcgis/rest/services/TIGERweb/Places_CouSub_ConCity_SubMCD/MapServer/15 · 2025-01-01
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