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History · Ava

Ava’s history is
mostly unwritten

The public archives hold no old photos of Ava. 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

Ava is a city in northwest Jackson County, Illinois, United States. The population was 553 at the 2020 census.

Between the 2010 and 2020 censuses its population fell from 654 to 553 (-15%). Half of its homes were built before 1974.

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

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

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

Famous people from Ava

See all 1 →
Andy HighAndy HighSports
By decade

Ava, 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 Ava is on the National Register yet

That’s true of most small towns. It doesn’t mean Ava has no history, only that no one has written up a nomination. The closest listed place is Shiloh College in Bradley, 7.3 miles away.

Ava and the nearest listed places

Dashed line = Ava. Tap a dot.
Shiloh CollegeGrange HallRiverside Park BandshellMobile and Ohio Railroad DepotWilliam H. Hull HouseLiberty Theater

Closest to Ava

Shiloh CollegeBradley · Building7.3miGrange HallSomerset · Building10.6miRiverside Park BandshellMurphysboro · Built 193811.8miMobile and Ohio Railroad DepotMurphysboro · Building12miWilliam H. Hull HouseMurphysboro · Building12.1mi

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. Shiloh College’s page links to a real one.
Know an old place in Ava?A mill, a schoolhouse, a cellar hole, a church: add a photo of it to Ava’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
📜 Bradley📜 Campbell Hill📜 Ora📜 Kinkaid
We left the porch light on

Where to, neighbor?

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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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