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History · Kinsman

Kinsman’s history is
mostly unwritten

The public archives hold no old photos of Kinsman. 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

Kinsman is a village in Grundy County, Illinois, United States. The population was 90 at the 2020 census.

Between the 2010 and 2020 censuses its population fell from 99 to 90 (-9%). Half of its homes were built before 1938.

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

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

See all 22 →
Clyde TombaughClyde TombaughStreator · 14 miFranklin Sumner EarleFranklin Sumner EarleDwight · 10 miFrank Leslie SmithFrank Leslie SmithDwight · 10 miJerry HadleyJerry HadleyManlius · 11 miJerry WellerJerry WellerStreator · 14 miMabel TrunnelleMabel TrunnelleDwight · 10 mi
By decade

Kinsman, 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 Kinsman is on the National Register yet

That’s true of most small towns. It doesn’t mean Kinsman has no history, only that no one has written up a nomination. The closest listed place is Ransom Water Tower in Ransom, 4.7 miles away.

Kinsman and the nearest listed places

Dashed line = Kinsman. Tap a dot.
Ransom Water TowerAmbler's Texaco Gas StationArmour's WarehousePioneer Gothic ChurchJohn R. Oughton HouseDwight Chicago and Alton Railroad Depot

Closest to Kinsman

Ransom Water TowerRansom · Built 18964.7miAmbler's Texaco Gas StationDwight · House with Canopy Gas Station9.5miArmour's WarehouseSeneca · Built 18619.5miPioneer Gothic ChurchDwight · Building9.9miJohn R. Oughton HouseDwight · Building10.3mi

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. Ransom Water Tower’s page links to a real one.
Know an old place in Kinsman?A mill, a schoolhouse, a cellar hole, a church: add a photo of it to Kinsman’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
📜 Highland📜 Verona📜 Vienna📜 Allen
We left the porch light 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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