The story so far
from Wikipedia & the U.S. CensusOsco is a census designated place in Osco Township, Henry County, Illinois, United States. As of the 2020 census, Osco had a population of 108.
Between the 2010 and 2020 censuses its population fell from 459 to 434 (-5%). Half of its homes were built before 1938.
Wikipedia doesn’t have a history of Osco 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 Osco’s collection
The first neighbors to add old photos shape how Osco’s history is told.
0 of 10 decades since 1900 have photos 📦Share a family photoSign in to add one+10Famous people close to Osco
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By decade
Osco, decade by decade
Before
2000
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 albumNational Register of Historic Places
Nothing in Osco is on the National Register yet
That’s true of most small towns. It doesn’t mean Osco has no history, only that no one has written up a nomination. The closest listed place is Andover Chapter House in Andover, 5.3 miles away.
Osco and the nearest listed places
Dashed line = Osco. Tap a dot.
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. Andover Chapter House’s page links to a real one.
Know an old place in Osco?A mill, a schoolhouse, a cellar hole, a church: add a photo of it to Osco’s story, or a memory of it.
📷 Add a photo of an old placeNational Park Service, National Register of Historic Places · photos from Wikimedia Commons