The Bradley Township post office opened in 1846, the earliest record of the town by name. Another post office, Bradley (1846), opened inside today’s town and later closed.
First census: 1,671 in 20002020 census: 1,908180 years
How historic is Bradley Township?
B
More historic than 58% of U.S. towns, on its age, its old homes and the National Register.
Founding year: the first Bradley Township post office (Blevins & Helbock, CC0).The full story ↓
History grade
What drives Bradley Township’s History grade
On its age, its old homes and the National Register, Bradley Township is more historic than 58% of U.S. towns. Its age holds the grade up; its National Register listings pull it down.
B
HistoryA character grade: shown, never part of Bradley 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 Bradley 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 A−. The pre-1940 share is a Census survey estimate (±4.0 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 Bradley Township’s past
Read from the archive, the National Register and the record. The page puts what stands out first.
Bradley Township lies in the extreme north-western part of Jackson County and was named in honor of Judge William Bradley who had migrated to the county with his father Joshua Bradley from Tennessee. The township contained a few settlers before the organization of the State in 1818. It contains two towns, Campbell Hill on the railroad named above, 4 miles (6.4 km) from its rival, Ava.
Every edition of the U.S. Geological Survey’s map of Bradley Township. Tap a year, or press play to watch the town change.
1916Campbell Hill 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 Bradley Township.
People over time
Bradley Township, census by census
Between 1,671 and 1,951 people in every census since 2000.
3 censuses, 2000–2020.
U.S. Census Bureau decennial counts, from the census table on Bradley Township’s Wikipedia page.
Famous people
Famous people close to Bradley Township
Nobody well known was born in Bradley Township itself, so here are the best known from just nearby.
The Bradley Township post office opened in 1846, the earliest record of the town by name (U.S. post office records).
How does Bradley Township rank for history?
Bradley Township is more historic than 58% 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 Bradley Township?
17% of Bradley Township’s homes were built before 1940 (Census estimate, ±4.0 points), against a typical 11% for an Illinois town; the median home was built in 1984.
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 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.
