From Carthage Township’s archive · credits on each photo
Quick answers
How Carthage Township began
When was Carthage Township founded?
1833
The Carthage Township post office opened in 1833, the earliest record of the town by name. Wikidata gives 1838. Another post office, Middle Creek (1857), opened inside today’s town and later closed.
First census: 400 in 18502020 census: 2,947193 years
How historic is Carthage Township?
A
More historic than 94% of U.S. towns, on its age, its old homes and the National Register.
Founding year: the first Carthage Township post office (Blevins & Helbock, CC0). Wikidata: 1838.The full story ↓
History grade
What drives Carthage Township’s History grade
On its age, its old homes and the National Register, Carthage Township is more historic than 94% of U.S. towns, #42 of 768 in Illinois. All 3 inputs are above most U.S. towns; its National Register listings ranks highest and its age lowest.
A
HistoryA character grade: shown, never part of Carthage 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 Carthage Township’s 147 sits above most of its state (95% of Illinois towns have fewer) while its 43 historic buildings outnumber those of 84% of U.S. towns.
How sure. Graded on any two of the three inputs instead, the letter would still be A. The pre-1940 share is a Census survey estimate (±6.9 points). The founding year is the first post office, not a stated founding date; Wikidata’s 1838 falls in the same era, so the grade doesn’t depend on which one is used.
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 Carthage Township’s past
Read from the archive, the National Register and the record. The page puts what stands out first.
The first European-American settlers arrived in Carthage and in Hancock County in the first few decades of the 19th century. While sharing a name with the ancient city of Carthage, it is likely named more directly for Carthage, Tennessee. By 1833, they had erected simple buildings in Carthage. That year, a log cabin was built to serve as the county courthouse, and the county seat was moved from Montebello to Carthage. The town was platted in 1837.
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.
Every edition of the U.S. Geological Survey’s map of Carthage Township. Tap a year, or press play to watch the town change.
1933Carthage 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 Carthage Township.
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.
Retake this viewMartyrdom of Joseph and Hiram Smith, 1851
Find the spot, match the angle, and add your photo. It becomes the first then-and-now pair on Carthage Township’s page.
The country’s official list of buildings and places worth saving.
places listed
2
National Historic Landmarks
0
none yet
historic buildings protected
43
each building in a district counts
National Park Service, National Register of Historic Places. Photos from Wikimedia Commons, credited on each place’s page.
Places that used to be
Lost post offices, old corners, places now gone and burying grounds
Another post office, Middle Creek, opened and closed inside today’s town.
Hamlets and corners on the map
Middle Creek
Gone or out of use
East Union SchoolschoolFairplay SchoolschoolFranklin SchoolschoolGrant SchoolschoolHancock County FarmlocaleMount Zion SchoolschoolPleasant Valley SchoolschoolValleydale Schoolschool
5cemeteries and burying grounds inside Carthage Township
County HomeFranklinMoss RidgeOld Brick ChurchWoodring
US Post Offices dataset (Blevins & Helbock, CC0). Places and cemeteries from the USGS Geographic Names Information System (2021).
Stories next door
History across the town line
Each neighbor’s History grade, on the same three inputs.
The Carthage Township post office opened in 1833, the earliest record of the town by name (U.S. post office records). Wikidata gives 1838.
How does Carthage Township rank for history?
Carthage Township is more historic than 94% of U.S. towns, #42 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 Carthage Township?
27% of Carthage Township’s homes were built before 1940 (Census estimate, ±6.9 points), against a typical 11% for an Illinois town; the median home was built in 1961.
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 (6), the Library of Congress (2), Wikidata (1), 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.
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