Founding year: the first Barry post office (Blevins & Helbock, CC0).The full story ↓
History grade
What drives Barry’s History grade
On its age, its old homes and the National Register, Barry is more historic than 98% 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’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 Barry’s 1,481 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 (±8.2 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’s past
Read from the archive, the National Register and the record. The page puts what stands out first.
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'.
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.
The Barry post office opened in 1839, the earliest record of the town by name (U.S. post office records).
How does Barry rank for history?
Barry is more historic than 98% 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.
What is on the National Register in Barry?
One place: the Barry Historic District (listed 1979).
How old are the homes in Barry?
50% of Barry’s homes were built before 1940 (Census estimate, ±8.2 points), against a typical 11% for an Illinois town; the median home was built in 1938.
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 (6), the National Register of Historic Places (1), Wikipedia, Wikidata and Wikipedia for famous people, 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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2014