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History · Evansville

Evansville’s history is
mostly unwritten

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

0old images & papers
1recent photos

The story so far

from Wikipedia & the U.S. Census

Evansville is a village in Randolph County, Illinois, United States, on the banks of the Kaskaskia River. The population was 547 at the 2020 census.

Between the 2010 and 2020 censuses its population fell from 701 to 547 (-22%). Half of its homes were built before 1949.

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

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

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

Evansville, 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
Today1 photo
Evansville, IllinoisCommonsEvansville, Illinois2020
National Register of Historic Places

Nothing in Evansville is on the National Register yet

That’s true of most small towns. It doesn’t mean Evansville has no history, only that no one has written up a nomination. The closest listed place is French Colonial Historic District in Prairie du Rocher, 7.4 miles away.

Evansville and the nearest listed places

Dashed line = Evansville. Tap a dot.
French Colonial Historic DistrictCharter Oak SchoolhouseCreole HousePierre Menard HouseRed Bud Historic DistrictSte. Genevieve Historic District

Closest to Evansville

French Colonial Historic DistrictPrairie du Rocher · District7.4miCharter Oak SchoolhouseSparta · Built 18737.5miCreole HousePrairie du Rocher · Building8.8miPierre Menard HouseKaskaskia · French Colonial8.9miRed Bud Historic DistrictRed Bud · District9.1mi

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. French Colonial Historic District’s page links to a real one.
Know an old place in Evansville?A mill, a schoolhouse, a cellar hole, a church: add a photo of it to Evansville’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
📜 Ruma📜 Ellis Grove📜 Baldwin📜 Prairie du Rocher

From Wikimedia Commons (1). Images are copied here with their credits and licenses, shown on each photo’s page. Refreshed monthly.

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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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