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History · Eldred

Eldred’s history is
mostly unwritten

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

0old images & papers
0recent photos

The story

from WikipediaRead it all ↗

Eldred was founded because of its situation in the Illinois River Bottoms as a town that combined the values of a river and a bluff-side village. Eldred first appeared on river plat books as "Farrow Town" in the 1830s, but was founded sometime before the admittance of Illinois as a state in 1818. A few of its original founders, were of Scotch-Irish ancestry from the Upland South.

Text from Wikipedia, licensed CC BY-SA 4.0.

Be one of the first

Start Eldred’s collection

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

See all 18 →
Karen AllenKaren AllenCarrollton · 7 miMarcus RenoMarcus RenoCarrollton · 7 miGWGordon WilesJerseyville · 17 miClarence Andrew CannonClarence Andrew CannonElsberry · 15 miAKArthur Scott KingJerseyville · 17 miHenry Thomas RaineyHenry Thomas RaineyCarrollton · 7 mi
By decade

Eldred, 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 Eldred is on the National Register yet

That’s true of most small towns. It doesn’t mean Eldred has no history, only that no one has written up a nomination. The closest listed place is James John Eldred House in Bluffdale, 1.5 miles away.

Eldred and the nearest listed places

Dashed line = Eldred. Tap a dot.
James John Eldred HouseKamp StoreKoster SiteMargaret Black Farmstead (Additional Documentation)Hodges HouseCarrollton Courthouse Square Historic District

Closest to Eldred

James John Eldred HouseBluffdale · Building1.5miKamp StoreKampsville · Building3.1miKoster SiteWoodville · Site5.3miMargaret Black Farmstead (Additional Documentation)Carrollton · Federal6miHodges HouseCarrollton · Building7mi

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. James John Eldred House’s page links to a real one.
Know an old place in Eldred?A mill, a schoolhouse, a cellar hole, a church: add a photo of it to Eldred’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
📜 Bluffdale📜 Kampsville📜 Woodville📜 Carrollton
The porch light’s on

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