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History · Derinda

Derinda’s history is
mostly unwritten

The public archives hold no old photos of Derinda. 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

Derinda Township is one of 23 townships in Jo Daviess County, Illinois, United States. As of the 2020 census, its population was 274 and it contained 176 housing units. Derinda Township was named in the 1850s for Derinda Barr, the wife of an early settler.

Between the 2010 and 2020 censuses its population fell from 321 to 274 (-15%). Half of its homes were built before 1961.

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

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

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

Derinda, 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 Derinda is on the National Register yet

That’s true of most small towns. It doesn’t mean Derinda has no history, only that no one has written up a nomination. The closest listed place is Apple River Fort Site in Woodbine, 6.4 miles away.

Derinda and the nearest listed places

Dashed line = Derinda. Tap a dot.
Apple River Fort SiteChicago Great Western Railroad DepotBishop’s Busy Big Store-Lyric Opera HouseSavanna-Sabula BridgeW.E. White BuildingTownsend House

Closest to Derinda

Apple River Fort SiteWoodbine · Site6.4miChicago Great Western Railroad DepotElizabeth · Building6.5miBishop’s Busy Big Store-Lyric Opera HouseElizabeth · Building6.6miSavanna-Sabula BridgeSabula · Built 19329.2miW.E. White BuildingStockton · Building10.8mi

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. Apple River Fort Site’s page links to a real one.
Know an old place in Derinda?A mill, a schoolhouse, a cellar hole, a church: add a photo of it to Derinda’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
📜 Pleasant Valley📜 Hanover📜 Woodbine📜 Washington
The door’s open

Where to, neighbor?

You’re in Derinda, ILJo Daviess 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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