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History · West

West’s history is
mostly unwritten

The public archives hold no old photos of West. 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

West Township is located in McLean County, Illinois. As of the 2010 census, its population was 216 and it contained 94 housing units. West Township changed its name from Kickapoo Township on May 17, 1858.

Between the 2010 and 2020 censuses its population grew from 216 to 238 (+10%). Half of its homes were built before 1966.

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

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

See all 7 →
Edwin V. ChampionEdwin V. ChampionMansfield · 10 miKWKenneth L. WilliamsSaybrook · 8 miHCHarry CassadyBellflower · 5 miLWLee WilsonDe Witt · 13 miNWNelva WeberArrowsmith · 7 miLSLinden H. SwiftMansfield · 10 mi
By decade

West, 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 West is on the National Register yet

That’s true of most small towns. It doesn’t mean West has no history, only that no one has written up a nomination. The closest listed place is LeRoy Commercial Historic District in Empire, 6.7 miles away.

West and the nearest listed places

Dashed line = West. Tap a dot.
LeRoy Commercial Historic DistrictHazen BridgeBenjaminville Friends Meetinghouse and Burial GroundAlfred Phillips HouseUS Army Aircraft C-53-DO-41-20124Stevenson House

Closest to West

LeRoy Commercial Historic DistrictEmpire · District6.7miHazen BridgeNewcomb · Structure13.8miBenjaminville Friends Meetinghouse and Burial GroundDawson · Building13.8miAlfred Phillips HouseGibson City · Built 190316.3miUS Army Aircraft C-53-DO-41-20124Bloomington · Structure19.3mi

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. LeRoy Commercial Historic District’s page links to a real one.
Know an old place in West?A mill, a schoolhouse, a cellar hole, a church: add a photo of it to West’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
📜 Bellflower📜 Bellflower📜 Farmer City📜 Empire
We left the porch light on

Where to, neighbor?

You’re in West, ILMcLean 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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