The Casey Township post office opened in 1838, the earliest record of the town by name. Another post office, Blackburn (1879), opened inside today’s town and later closed.
First census: 778 in 18802020 census: 3,459188 years
How historic is Casey Township?
B
More historic than 62% of U.S. towns, on its age, its old homes and the National Register.
Founding year: the first Casey Township post office (Blevins & Helbock, CC0).
History grade
What drives Casey Township’s History grade
On its age, its old homes and the National Register, Casey Township is more historic than 62% of U.S. towns, #317 of 768 in Illinois. Its age holds the grade up; its National Register listings pull it down.
B
HistoryA character grade: shown, never part of Casey 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 Casey 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.
How sure. Graded on any two of the three inputs instead, the letter would range from B− to A−. The pre-1940 share is a Census survey estimate (±5.8 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 Casey Township’s past
Read from the archive, the National Register and the record. The page puts what stands out first.
Wikipedia doesn’t have a history of Casey Township yet. The photos, dates and memories neighbors add here are how it gets written.
Casey () is a city in Clark and Cumberland counties in the U.S. state of Illinois. The population was 2,404 at the 2020 census. The Cumberland County portion of Casey is part of the Charleston–Mattoon Micropolitan Statistical Area. Casey is noted for its outdoor sculptures listed as Guinness World Records for their size, including the Wind Chime, Rocking Chair, and more. It also hosts the USA Softball of Illinois Hall of Fame Museum.
Its first post office opened in 1838. Between the 2010 and 2020 censuses its population fell from 3,958 to 3,459 (-13%).
Intro from Wikipedia. Population: U.S. Census Bureau.
Every edition of the U.S. Geological Survey’s map of Casey Township. Tap a year, or press play to watch the town change.
1942Casey 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 Casey Township.
People over time
Casey Township, census by census
Between 778 and 3,026 people in every census since 1880.
15 censuses, 1880–2020.
U.S. Census Bureau decennial counts, from the census table on Casey Township’s Wikipedia page.
Places that used to be
Lost post offices, places now gone and burying grounds
Another post office, Blackburn, opened and closed inside today’s town.
Gone or out of use
Concord SchoolschoolKimlin SchoolschoolLiberty SchoolschoolNorth Quarry Number 305mineOak Leaf SchoolschoolSchool Number 3schoolToner SchoolschoolWhite Oak Schoolschool
3cemeteries and burying grounds inside Casey Township
BlackburnCasey CityWashington Street
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 Casey Township post office opened in 1838, the earliest record of the town by name (U.S. post office records).
How does Casey Township rank for history?
Casey Township is more historic than 62% of U.S. towns, #317 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 Casey Township?
19% of Casey Township’s homes were built before 1940 (Census estimate, ±5.8 points), against a typical 11% for an Illinois town; the median home was built in 1969.
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 (1), 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.
2015
