TownTapestry
Sign inJoin
ColetaGood night
History · Coleta

Coleta’s history is
mostly unwritten

The public archives hold no old photos of Coleta. 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

Coleta is a village in Whiteside County, Illinois, United States. As of the 2020 census, Coleta had a population of 167.

Its population held steady between the last two censuses: 164 people in 2010, 167 in 2020. Half of its homes were built before 1947.

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

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

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

Famous people close to Coleta

See all 29 →
Robert Andrews MillikanRobert Andrews MillikanMorrison · 11 miPaul FloryPaul FlorySterling · 8 miTerry BrooksTerry BrooksSterling · 8 miLouie BellsonLouie BellsonRock Falls · 10 miJesse Lynch WilliamsJesse Lynch WilliamsSterling · 8 miLafe McKeeLafe McKeeMorrison · 11 mi
By decade

Coleta, 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 Coleta is on the National Register yet

That’s true of most small towns. It doesn’t mean Coleta has no history, only that no one has written up a nomination. The closest listed place is Malvern Roller Mill in Clyde, 5.1 miles away.

Coleta and the nearest listed places

Dashed line = Coleta. Tap a dot.
Malvern Roller MillJoseph Steffens HouseSterling Masonic TempleFirst Congregational Church of SterlingCol. Edward N. Kirk HouseOdell Building

Closest to Coleta

Malvern Roller MillClyde · Building5.1miJoseph Steffens HouseElkhorn Grove · Built 18436.1miSterling Masonic TempleSterling · Building9.5miFirst Congregational Church of SterlingSterling · Building9.5miCol. Edward N. Kirk HouseRock Falls · Built 198010.1mi

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. Malvern Roller Mill’s page links to a real one.
Know an old place in Coleta?A mill, a schoolhouse, a cellar hole, a church: add a photo of it to Coleta’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
📜 Genesee📜 Milledgeville📜 Wysox📜 Jordan
We left the porch light on

Where to, neighbor?

You’re in Coleta, ILView boundary

Nearby

All towns & citiesExplore the map

Local begins with a boundary.

See what belongs to your selected town.

Loading boundary…

Coleta is your selected town. The feed includes posts assigned to this town, not a distance radius or ZIP code.

Neighborhoods narrow the feed further, while townwide announcements, events, and issues remain visible.

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