The story
from WikipediaRead it all ↗Dongola was laid out in 1857 as a stop along the Illinois Central Railroad. A post office known as "Unionville" had been established in 1855, but the name was changed to "Dongola," after Dongola, Sudan.
Text from Wikipedia, licensed CC BY-SA 4.0.
Be one of the first
Start Dongola’s collection
The first neighbors to add old photos shape how Dongola’s history is told.
0 of 10 decades since 1900 have photos 📦Share a family photoSign in to add one+10By decade
Dongola, decade by decade
Before
2000
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 Dongola is on the National Register yet
That’s true of most small towns. It doesn’t mean Dongola has no history, only that no one has written up a nomination. The closest listed place is Illinois Central Railroad Depot in Ullin, 5.6 miles away.
Dongola and the nearest listed places
Dashed line = Dongola. Tap a dot.
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. Illinois Central Railroad Depot’s page links to a real one.
Know an old place in Dongola?A mill, a schoolhouse, a cellar hole, a church: add a photo of it to Dongola’s story, or a memory of it.
📷 Add a photo of an old placeNational 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’ historyFrom Wikimedia Commons (7). Images are copied here with their credits and licenses, shown on each photo’s page. Refreshed monthly.