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History · Duncan

Duncan’s history is
mostly unwritten

The public archives hold no old photos of Duncan. 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

Duncan Township is located in Mercer County, Illinois. As of the 2010 census, its population was 272 and it contained 124 housing units. Duncan Township bears the name of Buford Duncan, a pioneer settler. Educational Attainment: 16.4% Bachelor's Degree or Higher in Duncan township, Mercer County, Illinois

Between the 2010 and 2020 censuses its population grew from 272 to 301 (+11%). Half of its homes were built before 1938.

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

The first neighbors to add old photos shape how Duncan’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 Duncan

See all 17 →
Margo PriceMargo PriceBuffalo Prairie · 4 miSuzy BoggussSuzy BoggussAledo · 7 miBen W. OlcottBen W. OlcottKeithsburg · 12 miDLDoris LeeAledo · 7 miCCCharles CarpenterEdgington · 9 miJudson Churchill WelliverJudson Churchill WelliverAledo · 7 mi
By decade

Duncan, 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 Duncan is on the National Register yet

That’s true of most small towns. It doesn’t mean Duncan has no history, only that no one has written up a nomination. The closest listed place is Mercer County Fairgrounds in Mercer, 7.3 miles away.

Duncan and the nearest listed places

Dashed line = Duncan. Tap a dot.
Mercer County FairgroundsMercer County JailDowntown Aledo Historic DistrictMercer County CourthouseVerduretteJames S. Thompson House

Closest to Duncan

Mercer County FairgroundsMercer · District7.3miMercer County JailAledo · Building7.3miDowntown Aledo Historic DistrictAledo · District7.3miMercer County CourthouseAledo · Built 18947.4miVerduretteNew Boston · District9.8mi

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. Mercer County Fairgrounds’s page links to a real one.
Know an old place in Duncan?A mill, a schoolhouse, a cellar hole, a church: add a photo of it to Duncan’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
📜 Millersburg📜 Joy📜 Perryton📜 Aledo
The coffee’s on

Where to, neighbor?

You’re in Duncan, ILMercer 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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