On its age, its old homes and the National Register, Cartwright Township is more historic than 84% of U.S. towns. All 2 inputs are above most U.S. towns; its share of homes from before 1940 ranks highest and its National Register listings lowest.
A−
HistoryA character grade: shown, never part of Cartwright 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 Cartwright Township’s 8.9 sits above most of its state (82% of Illinois towns have fewer) while its 1 listings outnumber those of 51% of U.S. towns.
How sure. Graded on two of the three inputs, so a change in either one moves the letter more than it would with three. The pre-1940 share is a Census survey estimate (±8.9 points).
Founding year: our sources. 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 Cartwright Township’s past
Read from the archive, the National Register and the record. The page puts what stands out first.
Lost post offices, old corners and burying grounds
Two other post offices opened and closed inside today’s town.
Harrison
1832–1833
Richland
1834–1902
18301930today
Hamlets and corners on the map
ClaysvilleRichland
5cemeteries and burying grounds inside Cartwright Township
AndersonBethelHarrisonIrwinRichland Baptist
US Post Offices dataset (Blevins & Helbock, CC0). Places and cemeteries from the USGS Geographic Names Information System (2021).
The story so far
Cartwright Township, in brief
Wikipedia doesn’t have a history of Cartwright Township yet. The photos, dates and memories neighbors add here are how it gets written.
Cartwright Township is located in Sangamon County, Illinois. As of the 2010 census, its population was 1,482 and it contained 615 housing units. The township is named after pioneer missionary and Methodist minister Peter Cartwright, who lived in the township and is buried there. A United Methodist congregation within the limits of Pleasant Plains also bears his name. The most populated area of Cartwright Township is the town of Pleasant Plains, Illinois. Pleasant Plains has approximately 800 residents within its boundaries. The rest of the township is dotted with farmsteads and crop fields. Cartwright Township is known for its rich, fertile land and its agricultural roots. It is also the or…
Between the 2010 and 2020 censuses its population grew from 1,482 to 1,518 (+2%).
Intro from Wikipedia. Population: U.S. Census Bureau.
From the old history books
What they wrote about Cartwright Township in 1912
Passages that mention Cartwright Township, cut from the printed page as they were published.
Historical Encyclopedia of Illinois and history of Sangamon County1912 · page 1494Read the page →
Read the text
then in 1902, rented 400 acres south of Pleasant Plains from E. D. Boynton, and as before made a success of his work. In 1901, he bought land on Section 25 Cartwright Township, but did not live on that farm, renting it until 1909, when he sold it and bought 186 acres on Section 31, Cartwright Township, to which he moved the Same year. For the past two years he has been
Text read by machine from the scan; it may contain errors.
Historical Encyclopedia of Illinois and history of Sangamon County1912 · page 1524Read the page →
Read the text
The boyhood of Asa W. Plunkett was spent on his father’s farm in Cartwright Township and he attended school in Richland Creek school house, a crude log building. As a boy, he often hunted coons and deer after leaving school and worked for his father. He built a log cabin, fourteen feet square, of buckeye timber, and put in one window and one door.
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
Cartwright Township, 1832 to 1902
Woven from the archive, old maps, post office records, the National Register and the people born here.
Cartwright Township is more historic than 84% 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.
What is on the National Register in Cartwright Township?
One place: the Clayville Tavern (listed 1973).
How old are the homes in Cartwright Township?
24% of Cartwright Township’s homes were built before 1940 (Census estimate, ±8.9 points), against a typical 11% for an Illinois town; the median home was built in 1966.
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 (2), the National Register of Historic Places (1), the US Post Offices dataset (Blevins & Helbock), 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.
2026
2015
