Bethalto dates to 1834, and 1 of its places is on the National Register
More historic than 56% of U.S. towns · #355 of 768 in Illinois. What drives it
Most of Bethalto was built recently: 4% of its homes predate 1940 and the median home dates from 1976. Its Register listing is the Bethalto Village Hall. Below: maps from 1899 on and the census since 1880.
Founding year: Wikidata. First post office: 1854.The full story ↓
History grade
What drives Bethalto’s History grade
On its age, its old homes and the National Register, Bethalto is more historic than 56% of U.S. towns, #355 of 768 in Illinois. Its age holds the grade up; its share of homes from before 1940 pulls it down.
B
HistoryA character grade: shown, never part of Bethalto’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 Bethalto’s 1.1 sits near the middle of its state (63% 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 (±1.9 points) is firm at this size. Two sources give 1834.
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 Bethalto’s past
Read from the archive, the National Register and the record. The page puts what stands out first.
The name "Bethalto" is commonly believed to be derived from Bethel (the original name of the town) and nearby Alton. The name "Bethel" came from the first church located in the area, with the Post Office Department requiring it to change its name to avoid confusion with the Clay County village of Bethel.
Before pioneering American settlers arrived, there were numerous Native Americans in the area, and Kickapoo villages lined nearby Indian Creek. In 1804, a man named Thomas Rattan arrived in the area from Ohio and established the first pioneer settlement, often referred to in those days as "Rattan's Prairie". The town was laid out by Joel U. Starkey, with the town plat being recorded June 23, 1854.
Ben T. Albers, son of Enoch and Tena Albcrs, was born in Bigelow, Minn., April 11, 1895. The Albers family have always lived around Bethalto, and when Ben was six years of age Enoch Albers and family returned from Minnesota and moved back to Bethalto, where they purchased a farm north of Bethalto. Ben attended the Luman school for a while, and when a little later they were transferred to the Bethalto school district on account of the inconvenience in going to the Luman school, Ben went to school at Bethalto for a while,
Text read by machine from the scan; it may contain errors.
However, Will had but a short time of his dream-life that he could call his own ; for as soon as he completed the Eighth grade work at school at Bethalto he at once went to work for his father, who was section foreman at Bethalto at the time. On account of the poor health of his father Will became section foreman at Bethalto at the age of 15, and also for a while at Alton. He became section foreman at Dorchester when he was 17 years old, and the family moved there in order to be near Will's work.
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.
Every edition of the U.S. Geological Survey’s map of Bethalto. Tap a year, or press play to watch the town change.
1927Alton 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 Bethalto.
Every building
Bethalto, building by building, 1899–1921
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.
1899Sheet 1 of 1
Edition
Sheets
BrickWoodStone
Sanborn Map Company, via the Library of Congress. Editions published in 1930 or earlier, which are in the public domain.
On the National Register
1 historic place in Bethalto
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
1987
Bethalto Village Hall
Buildings
Architectural styles listings
Late Victorian1
Italianate1
Late 19th Century and Early 20th Century American Movements1
In 1834, according to Wikidata. Bethalto’s post office opened in 1854, and the census of 1880 counted 628 people here.
How does Bethalto rank for history?
Bethalto is more historic than 56% of U.S. towns, #355 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 Bethalto?
One place: the Bethalto Village Hall (listed 1987).
How old are the homes in Bethalto?
4% of Bethalto’s homes were built before 1940 (Census estimate, ±1.9 points), against a typical 11% for an Illinois town; the median home was built in 1976.
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 National Register of Historic Places (1), Wikipedia, 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, Sanborn fire insurance maps (Library of Congress) 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.
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