On its age, its old homes and the National Register, Ball Township is more historic than 29% of U.S. towns, #566 of 768 in Illinois. Its National Register listings hold the grade up; its share of homes from before 1940 pulls it down.
C
HistoryA character grade: shown, never part of Ball Township’s overall grade.
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 Ball Township’s 2.6 sits above most of its state (69% of Illinois towns have fewer) while its 2 listings outnumber those of 60% of U.S. towns.
How sure. Graded on two of the three inputs, so a change in either one moves the letter more than it would with three. The pre-1940 share (±0.6 points) is firm at this size.
Founding year: our sources. 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 Ball Township’s past
Read from the archive, the National Register and the record. The page puts what stands out first.
Lost post offices, old corners, places now gone and burying grounds
Two other post offices opened and closed inside today’s town.
Cotton Hill
1862–1907
Glenarm
1886–today
Beamington
1897–1903
18601940today
Hamlets and corners on the map
BeamingtonGlenarm
Gone or out of use
Cottonhill Post Officepost officeDrury Jones SchoolschoolNew College SchoolschoolO'Neal SchoolschoolRobinson RLA AirportairportStout Churchchurch
6cemeteries and burying grounds inside Ball Township
BeckCumberland Sugar CreekEasleySaint BernardStoutSugar Creek
US Post Offices dataset (Blevins & Helbock, CC0). Places and cemeteries from the USGS Geographic Names Information System (2021).
On the map
Ball Township on the map, 1922 to 1998
Every edition of the U.S. Geological Survey’s map of Ball Township. Tap a year, or press play to watch the town change.
1922Divernon 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 Ball Township.
The story so far
Ball Township, in brief
Wikipedia doesn’t have a history of Ball Township yet. The photos, dates and memories neighbors add here are how it gets written.
Ball Township is located in Sangamon County, Illinois. As of the 2010 census, its population was 6,701 and it contained 2,403 housing units. The township's offices are located in Glenarm. Portions of the village of Chatham are located in this township. Portions of Lake Springfield are also located in the township, including the former site of the flooded town of Cotton Hill.
Between the 2010 and 2020 censuses its population grew from 6,701 to 7,520 (+12%).
Intro from Wikipedia. Population: U.S. Census Bureau.
Timeline
Ball Township, 1862 to 1922
Woven from the archive, old maps, post office records, the National Register and the people born here.
Ball Township is more historic than 29% of U.S. towns, #566 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 Ball Township?
2 listings: 1 structure.
How old are the homes in Ball Township?
0.3% of Ball Township’s homes were built before 1940 (Census estimate), against a typical 11% for an Illinois town; the median home was built in 1996.
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 (2), the National Register of Historic Places (1), U.S. Geological Survey historical maps, the US Post Offices dataset (Blevins & Helbock) and the USGS Geographic Names Information System. Archive images are copied here with their credits and licenses, shown on each photo’s page. Refreshed monthly.
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