History · Danforth

Danforth’s history is
mostly unwritten

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

0old images & papers
2recent photos

The story

from WikipediaRead it all ↗

Danforth was laid out in 1872 when the railroad was extended to that point. It mainly started out with most of the population being farmers and their families. The village was named for its founder, George M. Danforth.

Text from Wikipedia, licensed CC BY-SA 4.0.

Be one of the first

Start Danforth’s collection

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

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

Danforth, 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 Danforth is on the National Register yet

That’s true of most small towns. It doesn’t mean Danforth has no history, only that no one has written up a nomination. The closest listed place is Watseka Union Depot in Watseka, 14.6 miles away.

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. Watseka Union Depot’s page links to a real one.
Know an old place in Danforth?A mill, a schoolhouse, a cellar hole, a church: add a photo of it to Danforth’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

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

Where to, neighbor?

You’re in Danforth, ILIroquois CountyView boundary

Nearby

All towns & citiesExplore the map
Loading boundary…

Danforth 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/15 · 2025-01-01