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History · Cedarville

Cedarville’s history is
mostly unwritten

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

0old images & papers
2recent photos

The story so far

from Wikipedia & the U.S. Census

Cedarville is a village in Stephenson County, Illinois, United States. As of the 2020 census, Cedarville had a population of 663. It is the birthplace of social activist Jane Addams, the 1931 Nobel Peace Prize winner.

Between the 2010 and 2020 censuses its population fell from 741 to 663 (-11%). Half of its homes were built before 1957.

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

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

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

Famous people from Cedarville

See all 2 →
Jane AddamsJane AddamsPolitics & LawAlice HaldemanAlice HaldemanBusiness
By decade

Cedarville, 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
Today2 photos
Cedarville Il Historical Museum1CommonsCedarville Il Historical Museum12007ILMap-doton-CedarvilleCommonsILMap-doton-Cedarville2005
National Register of Historic Places

Nothing in Cedarville is on the National Register yet

That’s true of most small towns. It doesn’t mean Cedarville has no history, only that no one has written up a nomination. The closest listed place is John H. Addams Homestead in Buckeye, 1 miles away.

Cedarville and the nearest listed places

Dashed line = Cedarville. Tap a dot.
John H. Addams HomesteadSoldiers' MonumentStephenson County CourthouseWilliam Ritzman HouseHarbach, Gerald, Round BarnOtte, Dennis, Round Barn

Closest to Cedarville

John H. Addams HomesteadBuckeye · Building1miSoldiers' MonumentFreeport · Built 18715.4miStephenson County CourthouseFreeport · Built 18735.4miWilliam Ritzman HouseBuckeye · Greek Revival5.8miHarbach, Gerald, Round BarnHarlem · Building6mi

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. John H. Addams Homestead’s page links to a real one.
Know an old place in Cedarville?A mill, a schoolhouse, a cellar hole, a church: add a photo of it to Cedarville’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
📜 Buckeye📜 Lancaster📜 Harlem📜 Dakota

From Wikimedia Commons (2). Images are copied here with their credits and licenses, shown on each photo’s page. Refreshed monthly.

We left the porch light on

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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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