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C+History
History · Arthur

Arthur’s post office opened in 1873, and 18% of its homes were built before 1940

More historic than 38% of U.S. towns. What drives it

Below: 1 old photo or paper, maps from 1935 on, and the census since 1880.

1873first post office
0on the National Register
18%homes built before 1940
1old photo or paper
2famous people
Add an old photoShare a memory
From Arthur’s archive · credits on each photo
Quick answers

How Arthur began

When was Arthur founded?

1873

The Arthur post office opened in 1873, the earliest record of the town by name. Wikidata gives 1877.

First census: 241 in 18802020 census: 2,231153 years

How historic is Arthur?

C+

More historic than 38% of U.S. towns, on its age, its old homes and the National Register.

What drives the grade ↓
Founding year: the first Arthur post office (Blevins & Helbock, CC0). Wikidata: 1877.The full story ↓
History grade

What drives Arthur’s History grade

On its age, its old homes and the National Register, Arthur is more historic than 38% of U.S. towns. Its share of homes from before 1940 holds the grade up; its National Register listings pull it down.

C+
HistoryA character grade: shown, never part of Arthur’s overall grade.
Founding era1873, from the first post office: founded 1850–1899, an older era than 37% of U.S. townsC+Homes built before 194017.5% of homes (±7.1) · typical IL town 10.6% · U.S. 8.4%BNational RegisterNo listings counted · typical IL town 0.5 per 10,000 · U.S. 2.4C
All U.S. towns we grade (21,289)Ahead of 38%
NewerOlder

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 Arthur’s 0.0 sits below most of its state (28% of Illinois towns have fewer) while its 0 listings outnumber those of 23% 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 (±7.1 points). The founding year is the first post office, not a stated founding date; Wikidata’s 1877 falls in the same era, so the grade doesn’t depend on which one is used.

Founding year: the first post office (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 Arthur’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.
★ What stands out · Help out

Start Arthur’s collection

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

Decades since 1900 with photos
00s10s20s30s40s50s60s70s80s90s
1 of 10 decades. The empty ones are waiting for someone’s album.
Retake an old view100 Block South Vine street looking Sou…: stand where they stood+15Share a family photoSign in to add one+10
The story

How Arthur came to be

From Wikipedia’s history of Arthur.

Read it all →

In 1877, the population was approximately 300 people. The community was incorporated as a village in April of that year.

The first village election was held on June 12, 1877, and C. G. McComb, Matt Hunsaker, W. H. Reeder, H. C. Jones, J. W. Sears, and Nick Thompson were elected trustees, and J. W. Barrum, clerk.

The original town was laid out on the farms of M. H. Warren on the Moultrie County side and the Pendleton Murphy farm on the Douglas County side. Early additions to the town included those by Murphy, Reeves, Hunsaker, Gibson, Warren, Reeder, followed by Kensington, Campbell, Boyd, Bennet, Fitzjarrald, and others.

Text from Wikipedia, licensed CC BY-SA 4.0.

From the old history books

What they wrote about Arthur, 1886–1903

Passages that mention Arthur, cut from the printed page as they were published.

said king Lot. With that Merlin vanished away, and came to king Arthur, and had him set on them fiersly; and in the meane while there were three hundred good men, of the best that were with the kings, that went straight to king Arthur, and that comforted him greatly. “ Sir,” said Merlin to king Art…
La Mort d'Arthure1889 · page 18Read the page →
Read the text

said king Lot. With that Merlin vanished away, and came to king Arthur, and had him set on them fiersly; and in the meane while there were three hundred good men, of the best that were with the kings, that went straight to king Arthur, and that comforted him greatly. “ Sir,” said Merlin to king Arthur, “ fight not with the sword that you had by miracle till you see that you goe to the worst, then draw it out and doe your best.” So fortbwithall

Text read by machine from the scan; it may contain errors.
So Sir Ector arose from his knees and stood before the face of Arthur, and he said, " Arthur, why dost thou weep?" And Arthur said, "Because 1 am a tea rd."
The story of King Arthur and his knights1903 · page 24Read the page →
Read the text

So Sir Ector arose from his knees and stood before the face of Arthur, and he said, " Arthur, why dost thou weep?" And Arthur said, "Because 1 am a tea rd."

Text read by machine from the scan; it may contain errors.
that castle and a great many people who had come to witness the conclusion of the adventure. And when the knight beheld King .. . ., i«/o«i i i i King Arthur Arthur he said to him, "Sir, hast thou come to redeem thy retumeth to the pledge ?" " Yea/' said King Arthur, " for so I made my vow castu of…
The story of King Arthur and his knights1903 · page 305Read the page →
Read the text

that castle and a great many people who had come to witness the conclusion of the adventure. And when the knight beheld King .. . ., i«/o«i i i i King Arthur Arthur he said to him, "Sir, hast thou come to redeem thy retumeth to the pledge ?" " Yea/' said King Arthur, " for so I made my vow castu of the to thee." Then the knight of the castle said, " Sir, hast thou guessed that riddle? " And King Arthur said, "I believe that I have."

Text read by machine from the scan; it may contain errors.
Arthur, come home now for the long vacation, seemed again his merry boyish self. He had got triumphantly through his ‘‘schools” — and seemed determined to enjoy himself. He went singing about the house as when he was ten years old; though now just past one-and-twenty; he walked, he fished, he bicyc…
King Arthur. Not a love story1886 · page 167Read the page →
Read the text

Arthur, come home now for the long vacation, seemed again his merry boyish self. He had got triumphantly through his ‘‘schools” — and seemed determined to enjoy himself. He went singing about the house as when he was ten years old; though now just past one-and-twenty; he walked, he fished, he bicycled; he “tramped” the parish for the rector, and visited the old women with Nanny, who was also at home for her holidays.

Text read by machine from the scan; it may contain errors.

Scans and text from the Internet Archive. Books published in 1930 or earlier, which are in the public domain.

Timeline

Arthur, 1873 to 1935

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

  1. 19th century
  2. 1873Born hereHugh M. Rigney is born here
  3. 1873Post officeThe Arthur post office opens
  4. 1892Born hereMargery C. Carlson is born here
  5. 20th century
  6. 1924In the archive100 Block South Vine street looking South from railroad
  7. 1935On the mapFirst mapped by the U.S. Geological Survey
By decade

Arthur, decade by decade

One decade in the archive so far: the 1920s. Scroll each row; tap a photo for its story.

1920s1 item
100 Block South Vine street looking South from railroadc. 1924100 Block South Vine street looking South from railro…
1930s–1990snothing yet
Nothing in the archives for these yearsWeddings on Main Street, storms, parades, school pictures, the old store. If it’s in your family album, it belongs here.
Add from your album
Today2 recent
Amish country 22008Amish country 2Fall 2007 002 - Flickr - GregTheBusker2007Fall 2007 002 - Flickr - GregTheBusker
On the map

Arthur on the map, 1935 to 1998

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

Arthur on the 1935 USGS mapArthur on the 1940 USGS mapArthur on the 1983 USGS mapArthur 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 Arthur.

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.

100 Block South Vine street looking South from railroad
Retake this view100 Block South Vine street looking South from railroad, c. 1924

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

Retake this view · +15
People over time

Arthur, census by census

05001,0001,5002,0002,50018801900192019401960198020002020Peak: 2,288

Between 241 and 2,288 people in every census since 1880.

15 censuses, 1880–2020.

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

Famous people

2 famous people were born in Arthur

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

See all →
M
Margery C. CarlsonU.S. botanist and conservationist · b. 1892
Hugh M. RigneyAmerican politician · b. 1873

Questions about Arthur’s history

What year was Arthur founded?

The Arthur post office opened in 1873, the earliest record of the town by name (U.S. post office records). Wikidata gives 1877.

How does Arthur rank for history?

Arthur is more historic than 38% of U.S. towns. 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.

How old are the homes in Arthur?

18% of Arthur’s homes were built before 1940 (Census estimate, ±7.1 points), against a typical 11% for an Illinois town; the median home was built in 1969.

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 (3), 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 old county and town histories (Internet Archive). Archive images are copied here with their credits and licenses, shown on each photo’s page. Refreshed monthly.