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May Township, Christian County, Illinois

township in Christian County, Illinois

Architectural plans, a scale model, maps and brass measuring instruments
Places and architectureInterpretive dossier study · Crown Archives visual atlas
Record originEnglish Wikipedia
Text licenseCC BY-SA 4.0
Source revisionSep 12, 2026
Entity authorityQ6796603 ↗
Source-derived summary

May Township is one of seventeen townships in Christian County, Illinois, United States. As of the 2020 census, its population was 1,760 and it contained 774 housing units.

History

May Township was established November 7, 1865, as Smith Township, but was later changed to Howard, then Penn, and finally to May. References as to when the name changes happened have been lost. It was named in honor of Colonel Charles May, of the artillery arm of the service in the Mexican–American War.

Geography

According to the 2010 census, the township has a total area of 36.41 square miles (94.3 km2), of which 36.34 square miles (94.1 km2) (or 99.81%) is land and 0.07 square miles (0.18 km2) (or 0.19%) is water.

The highest point in May Township is located approximately 20 feet south of the centerline of County Road 1600 North, at roughly 1816 East (.16 miles East of 1800 North Road, a/k/a Christian County Highway #7).

Cities, towns, villages

Taylorville (east edge)

Unincorporated towns

Old Stonington at 39.611431°N 89.147861°W / 39.611431; -89.147861

Willey Station at 39.596988°N 89.233419°W / 39.596988; -89.233419

Cemeteries

The township contains these four cemeteries: Fraley, Harris Number 2, Long and Tanner.

Major highways

Illinois Route 29

Illinois Route 48

Airports and landing strips

Anselm Landing Strip

Demographics

As of the 2020 census there were 1,760 people, 620 households, and 482 families residing in the township. The population density was 48.35 inhabitants per square mile (18.67/km2).

Editorial summary

The public source identifies “May Township, Christian County, Illinois” as township in Christian County, Illinois. This brief keeps that definition visible, then builds a research path around Township, Christian and County.

Editorial reviewA valuable geographic starting point for tracing changing names, boundaries, uses and administrative responsibility. The current lead gives the account dated anchors—2020, 1865, 2010, 1600—that can be checked directly. The linked authority record independently contributes the date 1865-11-07. Its value is orientation rather than verdict, with Township, Christian and County providing the first useful test.
Editorial analysis

Why this record matters

A short description can identify a subject without explaining its stakes. For “May Township, Christian County, Illinois”, the useful work is to connect “township in Christian County, Illinois” to the records capable of establishing context and consequence.

Evidence profile

Maps, plans, fabric surveys and administrative records can establish how the site’s name, extent and function changed over time. The source revision retrieved here is dated Sep 12, 2026. The linked authority identifier is Q6796603. Authority coordinates are 39.565, -89.193. 2 of 2 selected statements include explicit references; 0 carry qualifiers and 0 use preferred rank. The first chronological checks are 2020, 1865, 2010 and 1600.

Critical limits

Modern boundaries and familiar names can conceal earlier jurisdictions or structures that do not align with the present site. The source lead contains qualifying language; that uncertainty should survive quotation, summary and reuse. Authority statements aid reconciliation but still require their own references, qualifiers and ranks to be checked.

How to read it

Treat names, boundaries and functions as historically changeable. Maps, plans, inventories and administrative records can clarify what the place meant at different dates.

Best used for
  • Historic place names
  • Jurisdictional context
  • Routes into maps and plans
Verify next

Contemporary maps, plans, listed-building records, estate papers and the responsible local or national archive.

Three-step research path

  1. Establish the record: confirm the title “May Township, Christian County, Illinois”, its source revision and the description used here.
  2. Expand the search: follow May Township, Christian County, Illinois primary sources, May Township, Christian County, Illinois archive and Township research across catalogues and specialist indexes.
  3. Test the account: compare the strongest cited source with the responsible institution’s current record and note any disagreement.

Questions for further research

  1. Which source most directly establishes the central claim about “May Township, Christian County, Illinois”?
  2. Which authority defined the place, boundary or structure at the relevant date?
  3. Which earlier names or jurisdictions may reveal additional records?
Subject index

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Source & attribution

This entry incorporates text from “May Township, Christian County, Illinois” on English Wikipedia. Contributors are listed in the page history. Text is available under the Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 License. Selected authority identifiers and statements are retrieved from Wikidata under CC0; their references and qualifiers remain part of the verification path.