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History · Clarion

Clarion’s history is
mostly unwritten

The public archives hold no old photos of Clarion. 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

Clarion Township is one of twenty-five townships in Bureau County, Illinois, United States. As of the 2020 census, its population was 410 and it contained 177 housing units.

Between the 2010 and 2020 censuses its population fell from 421 to 410 (-3%). Half of its homes were built before 1938.

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

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

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

Clarion, 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 Clarion is on the National Register yet

That’s true of most small towns. It doesn’t mean Clarion has no history, only that no one has written up a nomination. The closest listed place is Allen School in La Moille, 3.1 miles away.

Clarion and the nearest listed places

Dashed line = Clarion. Tap a dot.
Allen SchoolFirst Congregational Church of LaMoilleWood-Tellkamp HouseAmboy Illinois Central DepotWestclox Manufacturing Plant Historic DistrictHegeler-Carus Mansion

Closest to Clarion

Allen SchoolLa Moille · Built 18873.1miFirst Congregational Church of LaMoilleLa Moille · Building3.1miWood-Tellkamp HouseLa Moille · Built 18723.1miAmboy Illinois Central DepotAmboy · Built 187613.3miWestclox Manufacturing Plant Historic DistrictPeru · District15.7mi

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. Allen School’s page links to a real one.
Know an old place in Clarion?A mill, a schoolhouse, a cellar hole, a church: add a photo of it to Clarion’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
📜 La Moille📜 Arlington📜 Sublette📜 La Moille
The door’s open

Where to, neighbor?

You’re in Clarion, ILBureau 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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