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History · Ferris

Ferris’s history is
mostly unwritten

The public archives hold no old photos of Ferris. 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

Ferris is a village in Hancock County, Illinois, United States. The population was 127 at the 2020 census.

Between the 2010 and 2020 censuses its population fell from 156 to 127 (-19%). Half of its homes were built before 1949.

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

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

0 of 10 decades since 1900 have photos 📦Share a family photoSign in to add one+10

Famous people from Ferris

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James Arthur BairdJames Arthur BairdSports
By decade

Ferris, 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 Ferris is on the National Register yet

That’s true of most small towns. It doesn’t mean Ferris has no history, only that no one has written up a nomination. The closest listed place is Carthage Jail in Carthage, 4.2 miles away.

Ferris and the nearest listed places

Dashed line = Ferris. Tap a dot.
Carthage JailCarthage Courthouse Square Historic DistrictCyrus Felt HouseKeokuk Lock and DamLock and Dam No. 19 Historic DistrictC. R. Joy House

Closest to Ferris

Carthage JailCarthage · Building4.2miCarthage Courthouse Square Historic DistrictCarthage · District4.3miCyrus Felt HouseMontebello · Building10.9miKeokuk Lock and DamKeokuk · Structure11.6miLock and Dam No. 19 Historic DistrictKeokuk · District11.7mi

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. Carthage Jail’s page links to a real one.
Know an old place in Ferris?A mill, a schoolhouse, a cellar hole, a church: add a photo of it to Ferris’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
📜 Rock Creek📜 Carthage📜 Prairie📜 Pilot Grove
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Where to, neighbor?

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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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