Each edition grades its towns against each other only.
More historic than 50% of U.S. towns · #403 of 768 in Illinois. What drives it
Below: maps from 1911 on and the census since 1870.
The Broadwell Township post office opened in 1856, the earliest record of the town by name.
More historic than 50% of U.S. towns, on its age, its old homes and the National Register.
On its age, its old homes and the National Register, Broadwell Township is more historic than 50% of U.S. towns, #403 of 768 in Illinois. Its share of homes from before 1940 holds the grade up; its National Register listings pull it down.
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 Broadwell 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.
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 →
Read from the archive, the National Register and the record. The page puts what stands out first.
The first neighbors to add old photos shape how Broadwell Township’s history is told.
Peaked at 246 in 1910; 136 people lived here in 2020.
16 censuses, 1870–2020.
U.S. Census Bureau decennial counts, from the census table on Broadwell Township’s Wikipedia page.
From Wikipedia’s history of Broadwell Township.
The village of Broadwell was platted in 1856 by William Broadwell and Jacob Eisiminger, which occurred in conjunction with the construction of the railroad linking Chicago and Springfield.
Text from Wikipedia, licensed CC BY-SA 4.0.
Passages that mention Broadwell Township, cut from the printed page as they were published.
The township of Chester lies southeast of Lincoln, and is bounded as follows: On the north by East Lincoln Township, on the east by JEtna Township, on the south by Mt. Pulaski Township, and on the west by Broadwell Township. It is traversed nearly north and south by the Peoria, Decatur & Evansville Railroad, which has one station — Chestervale — within its limits, but no village. The township is drained by Salt Creek on its southern border and Deer Creek on the northern.
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.
Weddings on Main Street, storms, parades, school pictures, the old store. If it’s in your family album, it belongs here.
Every edition of the U.S. Geological Survey’s map of Broadwell Township. Tap a year, or press play to watch the town change.
U.S. Geological Survey historical topographic maps (public domain), via Esri’s collection of the scans. The red ring marks the center of Broadwell Township.
Old hamlets and crossroads still carry their names on the map.
Places and cemeteries from the USGS Geographic Names Information System (2021).
Each neighbor’s History grade, on the same three inputs.
The Broadwell Township post office opened in 1856, the earliest record of the town by name (U.S. post office records).
Broadwell Township is more historic than 50% of U.S. towns, #403 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.
31% of Broadwell Township’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 1961.
What the archives can’t tell you, neighbors can.
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 USGS Geographic Names Information System 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.
