Willow Branch Township
Township
Location in Piatt County
Location in Piatt County
Piatt County's location in Illinois
Piatt County's location in Illinois
Coordinates: 39°59′N 88°41′W / 39.983°N 88.683°W / 39.983; -88.683
CountryUnited States
StateIllinois
CountyPiatt
Area
 • Total67.39 sq mi (174.5 km2)
 • Land67.33 sq mi (174.4 km2)
 • Water0.06 sq mi (0.2 km2)  0.09%
Elevation
630 ft (192 m)
Population
 (2010)
 • Estimate 
(2016)[1]
830
 • Density12.5/sq mi (4.8/km2)
Time zoneUTC-6 (CST)
 • Summer (DST)UTC-5 (CDT)
FIPS code17-147-81906

Willow Branch Township is a township in Piatt County, Illinois, USA. As of the 2010 census, its population was 839 and it contained 355 housing units.[2]

History

Willow Branch Township changed its name from Liberty Township sometime around 1860.

The area is the site of a major archaeological site of the University of Illinois along the nearby Sangamon River of the homestead of Ira Sarlls, an early pioneer farmer to the area from New York[3]

Geography

According to the 2010 census, the township has a total area of 67.39 square miles (174.5 km2), of which 67.33 square miles (174.4 km2) (or 99.91%) is land and 0.06 square miles (0.16 km2) (or 0.09%) is water.[2] The streams of Wildcat Creek and Willow Branch run through this township. Both streams are tributaries of the Sangamon River which runs from northeast to southwest through the township.

Willow Branch is part of Townships 17 and 18 North, Range 4 and 5 East of the Third Principal Meridian.

Robert Allerton Park, owned by the University of Illinois, is located in parts of Sections 20, 21, 22, 27, 28, 29, 30; T.18 N., R.5 E.

Cities and towns

Extinct towns

  • Amenia

Adjacent townships

Cemeteries

The township contains eight cemeteries: Ater, Cronninger, Pioneer, Stringtown, Van Meter, Warfield Family, West France and Willow Branch. The Sheppard Family Cemetery and West Family Cemetery (both no longer used) are located in Robert Allerton Park.

Grain Elevators

Amenia—Allerton Station elevator (Section 17; T. 18 N.,R. 5 E.) was built along the Decatur–Monticello–Champaign—Illinois Central railroad on the Allerton farm Piatt North No. 1 in 1912. The wooden elevator burned 15 April 2015. Two concrete silos remain on the site.

Schools

Rural schools in T.18 N., R.5 E. included Excelsior School No. 66 (Section 7), Shady Nook School No.4, later No. 67 (Section 20), Stringtown School No. 65 (Section 8), Wildcat School No. 2, later No. 68 (Section 15), Willow Branch School No. 70 (Section 32).

The rural schools were all demolished or converted to residences.

Major highways

Airports and landing strips

  • Norfleet Farms Airport

Demographics

Historical population
CensusPop.Note%±
2016 (est.)830[1]
U.S. Decennial Census[4]

References

  1. 1 2 "Population and Housing Unit Estimates". Retrieved June 9, 2017.
  2. 1 2 "Population, Housing Units, Area, and Density: 2010 - County -- County Subdivision and Place -- 2010 Census Summary File 1". United States Census. Archived from the original on February 12, 2020. Retrieved May 28, 2013.
  3. ↑ The Ira Sarlls site Illinois Archaeology Fever River Research, Springfield, IL http://www.illinoisarchaeology.com/Ira%20Sarlls%20Site.pdf
  4. ↑ "Census of Population and Housing". Census.gov. Retrieved June 4, 2016.
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