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History · Walnut Grove

Walnut Grove’s history is
mostly unwritten

The public archives hold no old photos of Walnut Grove. 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

Walnut Grove Township is one of twenty-one townships in Knox County, Illinois, USA. As of the 2020 census, its population was 685 and it contained 317 housing units.

Between the 2010 and 2020 censuses its population fell from 770 to 685 (-11%). Half of its homes were built before 1938.

Wikipedia doesn’t have a history of Walnut Grove 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 Walnut Grove’s collection

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

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

Walnut Grove, 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 Walnut Grove is on the National Register yet

That’s true of most small towns. It doesn’t mean Walnut Grove has no history, only that no one has written up a nomination. The closest listed place is J. Newton Conger House in Ontario, 4.1 miles away.

Walnut Grove and the nearest listed places

Dashed line = Walnut Grove. Tap a dot.
J. Newton Conger HouseBishop Hill Historic DistrictGalva Opera HouseOlof Johnson HouseHenry County CourthouseWalnut Grove Farm

Closest to Walnut Grove

J. Newton Conger HouseOntario · Building4.1miBishop Hill Historic DistrictBishop Hill · Built 18466.7miGalva Opera HouseGalva · Building7.1miOlof Johnson HouseGalva · Building7.1miHenry County CourthouseCambridge · Building13.7mi

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. J. Newton Conger House’s page links to a real one.
Know an old place in Walnut Grove?A mill, a schoolhouse, a cellar hole, a church: add a photo of it to Walnut Grove’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
📜 Altona📜 Oneida📜 Copley📜 Ontario
The porch light’s on

Where to, neighbor?

You’re in Walnut Grove, ILKnox CountyView boundary

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Boundary source: https://tigerweb.geo.census.gov/arcgis/rest/services/TIGERweb/Places_CouSub_ConCity_SubMCD/MapServer/15 · 2025-01-01
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