The Blue Ridge Township post office opened in 1879, the earliest record of the town by name. Two smaller post offices, Blue Ridge (1879) and Harris (1883), opened inside today’s town and later closed.
2020 census: 1,382147 years
How historic is Blue Ridge Township?
C+
More historic than 44% of U.S. towns, on its age, its old homes and the National Register.
Founding year: the first Blue Ridge Township post office (Blevins & Helbock, CC0).
History grade
What drives Blue Ridge Township’s History grade
On its age, its old homes and the National Register, Blue Ridge Township is more historic than 44% 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 Blue Ridge 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 Blue Ridge Township’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 (±5.7 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 Blue Ridge 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.
Blue Ridge
1879–1912
Harris
1883–1931
18701950today
Hamlets and corners on the map
Blue RidgeHarris
Gone or out of use
Ashworth Landing StripairportElwood SchoolschoolKlinger SchoolschoolMarvin D Bradd AirportairportMcGath SchoolschoolPleasant Grove SchoolschoolRobert A Ashworth AirportairportSouth Prairie SchoolschoolVictory SchoolschoolWatson SchoolschoolWeidner Landing FieldairportWest Point Schoolschool
3cemeteries and burying grounds inside Blue Ridge Township
Blue RidgeDunkardMansfield
US Post Offices dataset (Blevins & Helbock, CC0). Places and cemeteries from the USGS Geographic Names Information System (2021).
The story so far
Blue Ridge Township, in brief
Wikipedia doesn’t have a history of Blue Ridge Township yet. The photos, dates and memories neighbors add here are how it gets written.
Blue Ridge is an unincorporated community in Blue Ridge Township Piatt County, Illinois, United States, on County Route 10 and the Norfolk Southern Railway, 4 miles (6.4 km) north-northeast of Mansfield.
Its first post office opened in 1879. Between the 2010 and 2020 censuses its population fell from 1,480 to 1,382 (-7%).
Intro from Wikipedia. Population: U.S. Census Bureau.
Timeline
Blue Ridge Township, 1879 to 1937
Woven from the archive, old maps, post office records, the National Register and the people born here.
Every edition of the U.S. Geological Survey’s map of Blue Ridge Township. Tap a year, or press play to watch the town change.
1937Monticello 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 Blue Ridge Township.
Famous people
Famous people close to Blue Ridge Township
Nobody well known was born in Blue Ridge Township itself, so here are the best known from just nearby.
The Blue Ridge Township post office opened in 1879, the earliest record of the town by name (U.S. post office records).
How does Blue Ridge Township rank for history?
Blue Ridge Township is more historic than 44% 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 Blue Ridge Township?
24% of Blue Ridge Township’s homes were built before 1940 (Census estimate, ±5.7 points), against a typical 11% for an Illinois town; the median home was built in 1968.
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 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.
