From Carterville’s archive · credits on each photo
Quick answers
How Carterville began
When was Carterville founded?
1871
The Carterville post office opened in 1871, the earliest record of the town by name. Another post office, Dewmaine (1901), opened inside today’s city and later closed.
First census: 692 in 18802020 census: 5,848155 years
How historic is Carterville?
C
More historic than 30% of U.S. towns, on its age, its old homes and the National Register.
Founding year: the first Carterville post office (Blevins & Helbock, CC0).The full story ↓
History grade
What drives Carterville’s History grade
On its age, its old homes and the National Register, Carterville is more historic than 30% of U.S. towns, #562 of 768 in Illinois. 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 Carterville’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 Carterville’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 C+. The pre-1940 share is a Census survey estimate (±4.1 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 Carterville’s past
Read from the archive, the National Register and the record. The page puts what stands out first.
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.
Carterville was founded by George Monroe McNeill and Laban Carter. McNeill married Olive Herrin of Herrin's Prairie and in 1866 they settled on the farm now known as Carterville. Carter came to Williamson County in 1864, purchased 100 acres (0.40 km2) of land, and helped organize and secure a post office for Carterville in 1871. The town was named in his honor. McNeill was one of the youngest members of the Union army during the American Civil War. He enlisted at 16 and was with General William T. Sherman during his March to the Sea.
During the month of August, ‘Field’? Henderson and Monroe Bulliner accidentally met in Marion, and had a talk, and agreed to meet at Carterville, and compromise and have no more trouble. Monroe said he would get John, and “Field” said he would get all the Hendersons, and meet him on a set day. ‘Field’ saw the Hendersons, and they said so far they had nothing to do with the troubles, and were not going to have; but “Field” went to Carterville by him-
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.
Timeline
Carterville, 1871 to 1939
Woven from the archive, old maps, post office records, the National Register and the people born here.
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.
The Carterville post office opened in 1871, the earliest record of the town by name (U.S. post office records).
How does Carterville rank for history?
Carterville is more historic than 30% of U.S. towns, #562 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.
How old are the homes in Carterville?
11% of Carterville’s homes were built before 1940 (Census estimate, ±4.1 points), against a typical 11% for an Illinois town; the median home was built in 1986.
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 (4), the Library of Congress (5), 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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