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Ufiles1004Photo: Ruhe1986 at English Wikipedia · Public domain
C+History
History · Carrier Mills

Carrier Mills dates to 1872, and 21% of its homes were built before 1940

More historic than 42% of U.S. towns. What drives it

Below: 10 old photos and papers, maps from 1914 on, and the census since 1900.

1872founded
0on the National Register
21%homes built before 1940
10old photos & papers
2famous people
Add an old photoShare a memory
From Carrier Mills’ archive · credits on each photo
Quick answers

How Carrier Mills began

When was Carrier Mills founded?

1872

Carrier Mills dates its founding to 1872 (Wikidata). The census first counted it in 1900.

First census: 427 in 19002020 census: 1,672154 years

How historic is Carrier Mills?

C+

More historic than 42% of U.S. towns, on its age, its old homes and the National Register.

What drives the grade ↓
Founding year: Wikidata. First post office: 1873.The full story ↓
History grade

What drives Carrier Mills’ History grade

On its age, its old homes and the National Register, Carrier Mills is more historic than 42% 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 Carrier Mills’ overall grade.
Founding era1872, from Wikidata: founded 1850–1899, an older era than 37% of U.S. townsC+Homes built before 194021.3% of homes (±6.5) · typical IL town 10.6% · U.S. 8.4%B+National RegisterNo listings counted · typical IL town 0.5 per 10,000 · U.S. 2.4C
All U.S. towns we grade (21,289)Ahead of 42%
NewerOlder

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 Carrier Mills’ 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 (±6.5 points). Two sources give 1872.

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 Carrier Mills’ past

Read from the archive, the National Register and the record. The page puts what stands out first.

Boom and bustPeaked at 3,000 in 1920; 1,672 people lived here in 2020.On the map since 19254 editions of the USGS map, 1925 to 1990. Watch Carrier Mills change.Old housesHalf of Carrier Mills’ homes were built before 1960.
★ What stands out · People over time

Carrier Mills, census by census

05001,0001,5002,0002,5003,0001900192019401960198020002020Peak: 3,000

Peaked at 3,000 in 1920; 1,672 people lived here in 2020.

13 censuses, 1900–2020.

U.S. Census Bureau decennial counts, from the census table on Carrier Mills’ Wikipedia page.

On the map

Carrier Mills on the map, 1925 to 1990

Every edition of the U.S. Geological Survey’s map of Carrier Mills. Tap a year, or press play to watch the town change.

Carrier Mills on the 1925 USGS mapCarrier Mills on the 1939 USGS mapCarrier Mills on the 1961 USGS mapCarrier Mills on the 1990 USGS map1925Harrisburg 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 Carrier Mills.

The story

How Carrier Mills came to be

From Wikipedia’s history of Carrier Mills.

Read it all →

The first settler in the village now known as Carrier Mills was Hampton Pankey. He was also one of the earliest settlers in Saline County. Pankey was living in the area in 1804 or 1805 and he registered his land deed in 1814, the earliest date that was available to register them. In about 1811 the settlers began building blockhouses for protection from American Indians. A blockhouse was built on his land around this time. One of his sons was John Pankey, who was one of the founding fathers of Harrisburg.

ChaptersLocal school historyDowntown abandonmentLakeview (Pond Settlement)Carrier Mills Archaeological District

Text from Wikipedia, licensed CC BY-SA 4.0.

Timeline

Carrier Mills, 1872 to 1982

Woven from the archive, old maps, post office records, the National Register and the people born here.

  1. 19th century
  2. 1872
    FoundingCarrier Mills is established
  3. 1873Post officeThe Carrier Mills post office opens
  4. 20th century
  5. 1905In the archiveCarrier Mills High School in 1905
  6. 1909Born hereFred Wampler is born here
  7. 1920CensusPopulation peaks at 3,000
  8. 1925On the mapFirst mapped by the U.S. Geological Survey
  9. 1927Born hereEmerson Cole is born here
  10. 1939In the archiveOak Street at the railroad tracks, Carrier Mills, Illinois, 8b17311
  11. 1982In the archiveLakeview Cemetery, August 1982
By decade

Carrier Mills, decade by decade

3 decades in the archive, from the 1900s to the 1980s. Scroll each row; tap a photo for its story.

1900s–1930s9 items
Carrier Mills High School in 19051905Carrier Mills High School in 1905Cmillsdntwn19051905Cmillsdntwn1905Oak Street at the railroad tracks, Carrier Mills, Illinois, 8b173111939Oak Street at the railroad tracks, Carrier Mills, Ill…Oak Street at the railroad tracks, Carrier Mills, Illinois, 8b173111939Oak Street at the railroad tracks, Carrier Mills, Ill…Coal mine. Carrier Mills, Illinois1939Coal mine. Carrier Mills, IllinoisMiner's home. Carrier Mills, Illinois1939Miner's home. Carrier Mills, IllinoisClean clothes. Carrier Mills, Illinois1939Clean clothes. Carrier Mills, IllinoisStreet corner. Carrier Mills, Illinois1939Street corner. Carrier Mills, IllinoisRuins of O'Gara Coal Company mine at Carrier Mills. Saline County, Illinois (see 26984-D)1939Ruins of O'Gara Coal Company mine at Carrier Mills. S…
1940s–1970snothing yet
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.
Add from your album
1980s1 item
Lakeview Cemetery, August 19821982Lakeview Cemetery, August 1982
1990snothing yet
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.
Add from your album
Today2 recent
Carrie482006Carrie48Ufiles10042003Ufiles1004
Every building

Carrier Mills, building by building, 1914

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 sheet.

Carrier Mills fire insurance map, 1914, sheet 11914Sheet 1 of 2
BrickWoodStone

Sanborn Map Company, via the Library of Congress. Editions published in 1930 or earlier, which are in the public domain.

Then & now

Stand where they stood

No then-and-now pairs yet. Take a photo from the same spot as an old one and they appear here side by side.

Carrier Mills High School in 1905
Retake this viewCarrier Mills High School in 1905, 1905

Find the spot, match the angle, and add your photo. It becomes the first then-and-now pair on Carrier Mills’ page.

Retake this view · +15
Famous people

2 famous people were born in Carrier Mills

Writers, athletes, leaders and more, ranked by how widely they’re known.

See all →
E
Emerson ColeAmerican football player · b. 1927
Fred WamplerAmerican politician · b. 1909
Help out

Finish Carrier Mills’s story

Most archives stop around 1920. The photos from after that are in family albums, not libraries.

Decades since 1900 with photos
00s10s20s30s40s50s60s70s80s90s
3 of 10 decades. The empty ones are waiting for someone’s album.
Retake an old viewCarrier Mills High School in 1905: stand where they stood+15Share a family photoSign in to add one+10

Questions about Carrier Mills’ history

What year was Carrier Mills founded?

In 1872, according to Wikidata. Carrier Mills’ post office opened in 1873, and the census of 1900 counted 427 people here.

How does Carrier Mills rank for history?

Carrier Mills is more historic than 42% 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 Carrier Mills?

21% of Carrier Mills’ homes were built before 1940 (Census estimate, ±6.5 points), against a typical 11% for an Illinois town; the median home was built in 1960.

Memory lane

What the archives can’t tell you, neighbors can.

Town Square →
Start a conversation
Sources

Where this page comes from

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 (7), the Library of Congress (5), Wikipedia, Wikidata and Wikipedia for famous people, 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 and Sanborn fire insurance maps (Library of Congress). Archive images are copied here with their credits and licenses, shown on each photo’s page. Refreshed monthly.