History · Casey

Casey’s post office opened in 1838, and 20% of its homes were built before 1940

More historic than 62% of U.S. towns. What drives it

Below: maps from 1893 on and the census since 1880.

1838first post office

0on the National Register

20%homes built before 1940

3famous people

Add an old photo Share a memory

Photo: Jud McCranie · CC BY-SA 4.0

Quick answers

How Casey began

When was Casey founded?

1838

The Casey post office opened in 1838, the earliest record of the town by name.

First census: 778 in 18802020 census: 2,404188 years

How historic is Casey?

More historic than 62% of U.S. towns, on its age, its old homes and the National Register.

What drives the grade ↓

Founding year: the first Casey post office (Blevins & Helbock, CC0).

History grade

What drives Casey’s History grade

On its age, its old homes and the National Register, Casey is more historic than 62% of U.S. towns. Its age holds the grade up; its National Register listings pull it down.

HistoryA character grade: shown, never part of Casey’s overall grade.

Founding era1838, from the first post office: founded 1776–1849, an older era than 75% of U.S. townsA⁻Homes built before 194019.6% of homes (±6.2) · 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 62%

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 Casey’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 (±6.2 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’s past

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

A history waiting to be writtenNo old photos of Casey are in the public archives yet. The rest are in attics and albums.Mapped building by building4 fire insurance maps, 1893 to 1912, drew every building in Casey.Deep rootsA post office since 1838: 188 years of Casey.

★ What stands out · Help out

Start Casey’s collection

The first neighbors to add old photos shape how Casey’s history is told.

Decades since 1900 with photos

00s10s20s30s40s50s60s70s80s90s

0 of 10 decades. The empty ones are waiting for someone’s album.

Share a family photoSign in to add one+10

Every building

Casey, building by building, 1893–1912

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.

1893Sheet 1 of 2

Edition

Sheets

+1 more at the Library of Congress

BrickWoodStone

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

Timeline

Casey, 1838 to 1942

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

19th century
1838Post officeThe Casey post office opens
1854Born hereLaura Andrews Rhodes is born here
1896Born herePayne Ratner is born here
20th century
1922Born hereSamuel H. Young is born here
1942On the mapFirst mapped by the U.S. Geological Survey

The story so far

Casey, in brief

Wikipedia doesn’t have a history of Casey 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 2,769 to 2,404 (-13%).

Intro from Wikipedia. Population: U.S. Census Bureau.

By decade

Casey, decade by decade

Today1 recent

2015City Hall

On the map

Casey on the map, 1942 to 1998

Every edition of the U.S. Geological Survey’s map of Casey. 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.

People over time

Casey, 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’s Wikipedia page.

Famous people

3 famous people were born in Casey

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

See all →

Payne RatnerAmerican politician · b. 1896

Samuel H. YoungAmerican politician · b. 1922

Laura Andrews RhodesAmerican musician and opera singer · b. 1854

Places that used to be

Old corners and burying grounds

Casey’s post office has been open since 1838.

Hamlets and corners on the map

Cumberland

1cemetery inside Casey

Casey Cumberland

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.

Casey TownshipIts storyB Union TownshipIts storynot graded: under 1,000 residents or part of its town

Questions about Casey’s history

What year was Casey founded?

The Casey post office opened in 1838, the earliest record of the town by name (U.S. post office records).

How does Casey rank for history?

Casey is more historic than 62% 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 Casey?

20% of Casey’s homes were built before 1940 (Census estimate, ±6.2 points), against a typical 11% for an Illinois town; the median home was built in 1969.

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 (1), 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.

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