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A+History
History · Barry Township

Barry Township’s post office opened in 1839, and 53% of its homes were built before 1940

Among the most historic 1% of U.S. towns. What drives it

1 place in town is on the National Register. Below: 8 old photos and papers, maps from 1931 on, and the census since 1880.

1839first post office
1on the National Register
53%homes built before 1940
8old photos & papers
Add an old photoShare a memory
From Barry Township’s archive · credits on each photo
Quick answers

How Barry Township began

When was Barry Township founded?

1839

The Barry Township post office opened in 1839, the earliest record of the town by name. Another post office, Stewart (1872), opened inside today’s town and later closed.

First census: 1,392 in 18802020 census: 1,605187 years

How historic is Barry Township?

A+

Among the most historic 1% of U.S. towns, on its age, its old homes and the National Register.

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

What drives Barry Township’s History grade

On its age, its old homes and the National Register, Barry Township is among the most historic 1% of U.S. towns. All 3 inputs are above most U.S. towns; its share of homes from before 1940 ranks highest and its age lowest.

A+
HistoryA character grade: shown, never part of Barry Township’s overall grade.
Founding era1839, from the first post office: founded 1776–1849, an older era than 75% of U.S. townsA−Homes built before 194053.2% of homes (±9.3) · typical IL town 10.6% · U.S. 8.4%A+National Register1 listing, 224 historic buildings, 1,315 per 10,000 residents · typical IL town 0.5 · U.S. 2.4A+
All U.S. towns we grade (21,289)Among the top 1%
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 Barry Township’s 1,315 sits above most of its state (100% of Illinois towns have fewer) while its 224 historic buildings outnumber those of 94% of U.S. towns.

How sure. Graded on any two of the three inputs instead, the letter would still be A+. The pre-1940 share is a Census survey estimate (±9.3 points). The founding year is the first post office, not a stated founding date.

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 Barry Township’s past

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

Old housesHalf of Barry Township’s homes were built before 1938.Mystery photos7 old photos have no date. Neighbors can guess the decade.Deep rootsA post office since 1839: 187 years of Barry Township.
★ What stands out · The story

How Barry Township came to be

From Wikipedia’s history of Barry Township.

Read it all →

Barry was previously known as Worcester, which was platted in 1836. In 1839, residents petitioned to establish a post office, but because there was already a post office named Worcester, a new name was required. The name 'Barre' was chosen after Barre, Vermont, the home city of a prominent settler, Mary Brown, who was arbitrarily selected to choose a name. The state clerk misrecorded the name as 'Barry'.

Text from Wikipedia, licensed CC BY-SA 4.0.

Help out

Start Barry Township’s collection

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

Decades since 1900 with photos
00s10s20s30s40s50s60s70s80s90s
1 of 10 decades. The empty ones are waiting for someone’s album.
Date a photo7 archive items have no date. Guess the decade.+2Retake an old viewThe Devil (1921) - Star Theater: stand where they stood+15Share a family photoSign in to add one+10
Timeline

Barry Township, 1872 to 1931

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

  1. 19th century
  2. 1872Post officeThe Stewart post office opens
  3. 1876Post officeThe Stewart post office closes
  4. 20th century
  5. 1921In the archiveThe Devil (1921) - Star Theater
  6. 1931On the mapFirst mapped by the U.S. Geological Survey
By decade

Barry Township, decade by decade

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

1920s1 item
The Devil (1921) - Star Theater1921The Devil (1921) - Star Theater
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
Date unknown7 to date
VIEW EAST SHOWING WEST (FRONT) ELEVATION - 865 Rodgers Street (House)Date?VIEW EAST SHOWING WEST (FRONT) ELEVATION - 865 Rodger…VIEW NORTHEAST SHOWING SOUTH ELEVATION - 865 Rodgers Street (House)Date?VIEW NORTHEAST SHOWING SOUTH ELEVATION - 865 Rodgers …VIEW NORTHEAST SHOWING WEST (FRONT) AND SOUTH ELEVATIONS - 809 Rodgers Street (House)Date?VIEW NORTHEAST SHOWING WEST (FRONT) AND SOUTH ELEVATI…VIEW SOUTHEAST SHOWING NORTH AND WEST (FRONT) ELEVATIONS - 809 Rodgers Street (House)Date?VIEW SOUTHEAST SHOWING NORTH AND WEST (FRONT) ELEVATI…809 Rodgers Street (House)Date?809 Rodgers Street (House)865 Rodgers Street (House)Date?865 Rodgers Street (House)Burton Gray House, 835 Rodgers StreetDate?Burton Gray House, 835 Rodgers Street
Today7 recent
First Christian Church2025First Christian ChurchFirst Baptist Church2025First Baptist ChurchNew Philadelphia materials in the Barry town library2024New Philadelphia materials in the Barry town libraryAcme Anvil & Dynamite Company - 32024Acme Anvil & Dynamite Company - 3Acme Anvil & Dynamite Company - 22024Acme Anvil & Dynamite Company - 2Acme Anvil & Dynamite Company - 12024Acme Anvil & Dynamite Company - 1Public square in Barry, western side2014Public square in Barry, western side
On the map

Barry Township on the map, 1931 to 1998

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

Barry Township on the 1931 USGS mapBarry Township on the 1944 USGS mapBarry Township on the 1978 USGS mapBarry Township on the 1998 USGS map1931Barry 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 Barry Township.

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.

The Devil (1921) - Star Theater
Retake this viewThe Devil (1921) - Star Theater, 1921

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

Retake this view · +15
On the National Register

1 listing protects 224 historic buildings

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

place listed
1
National Historic Landmarks
0
none yet
historic buildings protected
224
each building in a district counts

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

People over time

Barry Township, census by census

02004006008001,0001,2001,4001,6001,80018801900192019401960198020002020Peak: 1,647

Between 1,303 and 1,647 people in every census since 1880.

15 censuses, 1880–2020.

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

Places that used to be

Lost post offices, places now gone and burying grounds

Another post office, Stewart, opened and closed inside today’s town.

Gone or out of use
Bluegrass SchoolschoolBowler SchoolschoolElm Grove SchoolschoolGrubb Hollow SchoolschoolGully Landing StripairportGuss SchoolschoolMound SchoolschoolPotter AirportairportSpring Valley SchoolschoolWilliams Schoolschool
4cemeteries and burying grounds inside Barry Township
BlairGardHullStewart

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

Stories next door

History across the town line

Each neighbor’s History grade, on the same three inputs.

Kinderhook TownshipIts storynot graded: under 1,000 residents or part of its townHadley Township1 historic placenot graded: under 1,000 residents or part of its townRichfield TownshipIts storynot graded: under 1,000 residents or part of its townPleasant Vale Township1 historic placenot graded: under 1,000 residents or part of its townBeverly TownshipIts storynot graded: under 1,000 residents or part of its town

Questions about Barry Township’s history

What year was Barry Township founded?

The Barry Township post office opened in 1839, the earliest record of the town by name (U.S. post office records).

How does Barry Township rank for history?

Barry Township is among the most historic 1% 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 Barry Township?

53% of Barry Township’s homes were built before 1940 (Census estimate, ±9.3 points), against a typical 11% for an Illinois town; the median home was built in 1938.

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 (12), the Library of Congress (3), Wikipedia, U.S. Geological Survey historical maps, U.S. Census counts (via Wikipedia), 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.