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BHistory
History · Arcola

Arcola dates to 1855, and 19% of its homes were built before 1940

More historic than 60% of U.S. towns · #330 of 768 in Illinois. What drives it

Its Register listing is the Arcola Carnegie Public Library. Below: 1 old photo or paper, maps from 1887 on, and the census since 1880.

1855founded
1on the National Register
19%homes built before 1940
1old photo or paper
4famous people
Add an old photoShare a memory
From Arcola’s archive · credits on each photo
Quick answers

How Arcola began

When was Arcola founded?

1855

Arcola dates its founding to 1855 (Wikidata and Wikipedia’s history agree). The census first counted it in 1880.

First census: 1,515 in 18802020 census: 2,927171 years

How historic is Arcola?

B

More historic than 60% of U.S. towns, on its age, its old homes and the National Register.

What drives the grade ↓
Founding year: Wikidata; Wikipedia’s history section gives the same year. First post office: 1857.The full story ↓
History grade

What drives Arcola’s History grade

On its age, its old homes and the National Register, Arcola is more historic than 60% of U.S. towns, #330 of 768 in Illinois. Its share of homes from before 1940 holds the grade up; its age pulls it down.

B
HistoryA character grade: shown, never part of Arcola’s overall grade.
Founding era1855, from Wikidata: founded 1850–1899, an older era than 37% of U.S. townsC+Homes built before 194019.3% of homes (±6.1) · typical IL town 10.6% · U.S. 8.4%B+National Register1 listing, 3.5 per 10,000 residents · typical IL town 0.5 · U.S. 2.4B
All U.S. towns we grade (21,289)Ahead of 60%
NewerOlder
Illinois towns of 2,500+ (768)Ahead of 57%

Few Illinois towns list much on the Register (a typical Illinois town has 0.5 per 10,000 residents, the U.S. 2.4), so Arcola’s 3.5 sits above most of its state (72% of Illinois towns have fewer) while its 1 listings outnumber those of 51% of U.S. towns.

How sure. Graded on any two of the three inputs instead, the letter would range from C+ to B+. The pre-1940 share is a Census survey estimate (±6.1 points). Two sources give 1855.

Founding year: Wikidata (other dates in Quick answers). Homes: Census ACS 2020–24. National Register: National Park Service, May 2026 list; each listing counted once (boundary changes and added documentation belong to their listing), and a historic district counts its contributing buildings. How TownRatings grades history →

What stands out about Arcola’s past

Read from the archive, the National Register and the record. The page puts what stands out first.

A history waiting to be writtenOnly 1 old photo is in the public archives. The rest are in attics and albums.Mapped building by building5 fire insurance maps, 1887 to 1914, drew every building in Arcola.
★ What stands out · Help out

Start Arcola’s collection

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

Decades since 1900 with photos
00s10s20s30s40s50s60s70s80s90s
0 of 10 decades. The empty ones are waiting for someone’s album.
Date a photo1 archive item has no date. Guess the decade.+2Retake an old viewRangers-2000-04: stand where they stood+15Share a family photoSign in to add one+10
Every building

Arcola, building by building, 1887–1914

Fire insurance maps drew every building, what it was made of and what it was used for, so insurers could price the risk of fire. Pick a year, then a sheet.

Arcola fire insurance map, 1887, sheet 11887Sheet 1 of 2
Edition
BrickWoodStone

Sanborn Map Company, via the Library of Congress. Editions published in 1930 or earlier, which are in the public domain.

The story

How Arcola came to be

From Wikipedia’s history of Arcola.

Read it all →

The city was named Arcola after the town of Arcole, Italy, where the Battle of Arcole took place.

Arcola was the birthplace in 1880 of John Barton Gruelle, or "Johnny" Gruelle, who created Raggedy Ann and Raggedy Andy, the loveable American dolls and storybook characters. He used artistic skills learned from his painter father, Richard Buckner Gruelle, combined with his self-taught writing skills to create stories expressing regional values and aesthetic images. His artistic granddaughter, Joni Gruelle Wannamaker, manages the Raggedy Ann Museum in Arcola.

Text from Wikipedia, licensed CC BY-SA 4.0.

Timeline

Arcola, 1855 to 1935

Woven from the archive, old maps, post office records, the National Register and the people born here.

  1. 19th century
  2. 1855
    FoundingArcola is established
  3. 1857Post officeThe Arcola post office opens
  4. 1872Born hereCharles L. Craig is born here
  5. 1880Born hereJohnny Gruelle is born here
  6. 1882Born hereFred Ewing is born here
  7. 1883Born hereHenry Ellsworth Ewing is born here
  8. 20th century
  9. 1905BuiltArcola Carnegie Public Library is built
  10. 1935On the mapFirst mapped by the U.S. Geological Survey
By decade

Arcola, decade by decade

Date unknown1 to date
Rangers-2000-04Date?Rangers-2000-04
Today12 recent
New and old-Juha Jousi2012New and old-Juha JousiArcola Township Cemetery in Illinois2011Arcola Township Cemetery in IllinoisArcola Township Cemetery, looking northwest, August 20092009Arcola Township Cemetery, looking northwest, August 2…Arcola Township Cemetery, looking northeast, August 20092009Arcola Township Cemetery, looking northeast, August 2…Hitching shed2008Hitching shedHippie memorial peace sign2008Hippie memorial peace signArcola IL2008Arcola ILArcola IL-edit2008Arcola IL-editArcola IL-edit (US 45 crop)2008Arcola IL-edit (US 45 crop)Arcola IL E Main St2008Arcola IL E Main StAmish Buggie sign2008Amish Buggie signAmish Buggie sign wide2008Amish Buggie sign wide
On the map

Arcola on the map, 1935 to 1998

Every edition of the U.S. Geological Survey’s map of Arcola. Tap a year, or press play to watch the town change.

Arcola on the 1935 USGS mapArcola on the 1940 USGS mapArcola on the 1983 USGS mapArcola on the 1998 USGS map1935Arcola sheet · 1:62,500

U.S. Geological Survey historical topographic maps (public domain), via Esri’s collection of the scans. The red ring marks the center of Arcola.

Then & now

Stand where they stood

No then-and-now pairs yet. Take a photo from the same spot as an old one and they appear here side by side.

Rangers-2000-04
Retake this viewRangers-2000-04

Find the spot, match the angle, and add your photo. It becomes the first then-and-now pair on Arcola’s page.

Retake this view · +15
On the National Register

1 historic place in Arcola

The country’s official list of buildings and places worth saving.

place listed
1
National Historic Landmarks
0
none yet
historic buildings protected
1
each building in a district counts
first listed
2002
Arcola Carnegie Public Library
Arcola Carnegie Public Library, built 1905
Buildings

Architectural styles listings

Classical Revival1
Arcola Carnegie Public LibraryClassical Revival · Built 1905

National Park Service, National Register of Historic Places. Photos from Wikimedia Commons, credited on each place’s page.

People over time

Arcola, census by census

05001,0001,5002,0002,5003,00018801900192019401960198020002020Peak: 2,927

Between 1,515 and 2,927 people in every census since 1880.

15 censuses, 1880–2020.

U.S. Census Bureau decennial counts, from the census table on Arcola’s Wikipedia page.

Famous people

4 famous people were born in Arcola

Writers, athletes, leaders and more, ranked by how widely they’re known.

See all →
J
Johnny GruelleAmerican artist and author · b. 1880
H
Henry Ellsworth EwingAmerican entomologist · b. 1883
F
Fred EwingAmerican football player and coach · b. 1882
Charles L. CraigAmerican politician · b. 1872
Places that used to be

Places now gone and burying grounds

Arcola’s post office has been open since 1857.

Gone or out of use
East Side Public SchoolschoolNazarene ChurchchurchWest Side Public Schoolschool
1cemetery inside Arcola
Arcola Township

US Post Offices dataset (Blevins & Helbock, CC0). Places and cemeteries from the USGS Geographic Names Information System (2021).

Questions about Arcola’s history

What year was Arcola founded?

In 1855, according to Wikidata and Wikipedia’s history of the town. Arcola’s post office opened in 1857, and the census of 1880 counted 1,515 people here.

How does Arcola rank for history?

Arcola is more historic than 60% of U.S. towns, #330 of 768 in Illinois. The History grade combines the town’s founding era, the share of homes built before 1940 and its National Register listings. It’s a character grade, so it isn’t part of the overall grade. How it works.

What is on the National Register in Arcola?

One place: the Arcola Carnegie Public Library (listed 2002).

How old are the homes in Arcola?

19% of Arcola’s homes were built before 1940 (Census estimate, ±6.1 points), against a typical 11% for an Illinois town; the median home was built in 1971.

Memory lane

What the archives can’t tell you, neighbors can.

Town Square →
Start a conversation
Sources

Where this page comes from

Founding dates: Wikidata, Wikipedia, the U.S. post office records of Blevins & Helbock (CC0) and the Census. Homes by year built: Census ACS 2020–24. National Register of Historic Places: National Park Service (list of May 22, 2026). Old photos, postcards and papers: Wikimedia Commons, the Library of Congress and other public archives, credited on each item’s page. Maps: U.S. Geological Survey historical topographic maps (via Esri) and Sanborn fire-insurance maps (Library of Congress). History text and census tables: Wikipedia (CC BY-SA 4.0). Places that used to be: USGS Geographic Names Information System (2021).

From Wikimedia Commons (13), Wikidata (1), the National Register of Historic Places (1), Wikipedia, Wikidata and Wikipedia for famous people, U.S. Geological Survey historical maps, U.S. Census counts (via Wikipedia), the US Post Offices dataset (Blevins & Helbock), the USGS Geographic Names Information System and Sanborn fire insurance maps (Library of Congress). Archive images are copied here with their credits and licenses, shown on each photo’s page. Refreshed monthly.