Georgetown’s history is
mostly unwritten
The public archives hold just one old photo of Georgetown. The rest are in attics, shoeboxes and the historical society. Help start the collection.
The story
from WikipediaRead it all ↗Georgetown was established in 1826 and was platted by James Haworth with the length of a grapevine, although the first home was established in 1820 by Henry Johnson. The town may have been named after George Beckwith, since Danville had been named after Dan Beckwith; another possibility is that it was named after James Haworth's son George. The first post office was established in 1828.
The Paris and Danville Railroad was built in 1871, and the "Interurban" started carrying passengers between Georgetown and Danville sometime after 1900.
Text from Wikipedia, licensed CC BY-SA 4.0.
Timeline
built from the dates on the items belowStart Georgetown’s collection
The first neighbors to add old photos shape how Georgetown’s history is told.
1 of 10 decades since 1900 have photos 🔁Retake an old viewFriends Church and belfry contain…, 1908: stand where they stood+15 📦Share a family photoSign in to add one+10Famous people from Georgetown
See all 4 →
Georgetown, decade by decade
1990s
Nothing in Georgetown is on the National Register yet
That’s true of most small towns. It doesn’t mean Georgetown has no history, only that no one has written up a nomination. The closest listed place is Eugene Covered Bridge in Eugene, 8.6 miles away.
Georgetown and the nearest listed places
How a place gets listed
Then & now
No then-and-now pairs yet. Take a photo from the same spot as Friends Church and belfry containing first 'Quaker' bell in the United States. Georgetown, Illinois (1908) and it appears here side by side.
🔁 Retake this view · +15Stories next door
nearby towns’ historyFrom Wikimedia Commons (2) and the Library of Congress (1). Images are copied here with their credits and licenses, shown on each photo’s page. Refreshed monthly.