History · Smithfield

Smithfield’s history is
mostly unwritten

The public archives hold no old photos of Smithfield. The rest are in attics, shoeboxes and the historical society. Help start the collection.

0old images & papers
0recent photos

The story

from WikipediaRead it all ↗

Smithfield Township was named for Isaac B. Smith, a pioneer settler.

Text from Wikipedia, licensed CC BY-SA 4.0.

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Start Smithfield’s collection

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

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Famous people close to Smithfield

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Smithfield, 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 Smithfield is on the National Register yet

That’s true of most small towns. It doesn’t mean Smithfield has no history, only that no one has written up a nomination. The closest listed place is Waterloo Community Mausoleum in Waterloo, 3.2 miles away.

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. Waterloo Community Mausoleum’s page links to a real one.
Know an old place in Smithfield?A mill, a schoolhouse, a cellar hole, a church: add a photo of it to Smithfield’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
We left the porch light on

Where to, neighbor?

You’re in Smithfield, INDeKalb 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