The Cerro Gordo Township post office opened in 1847, the earliest record of the town by name. Three smaller post offices, Lintner Station (1878), Lintner (1883) and Burrowsville (1890), opened inside today’s town and later closed.
First census: 565 in 18802020 census: 1,899179 years
How historic is Cerro Gordo Township?
B+
More historic than 75% of U.S. towns, on its age, its old homes and the National Register.
Founding year: the first Cerro Gordo Township post office (Blevins & Helbock, CC0).The full story ↓
History grade
What drives Cerro Gordo Township’s History grade
On its age, its old homes and the National Register, Cerro Gordo Township is more historic than 75% of U.S. towns. Its share of homes from before 1940 holds the grade up; its National Register listings pull it down.
B+
HistoryA character grade: shown, never part of Cerro Gordo 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 Cerro Gordo 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 (±6.7 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 Cerro Gordo Township’s past
Read from the archive, the National Register and the record. The page puts what stands out first.
When the Mexican–American War began General John S. Williams took command. At the battle of Cerro Gordo (Mexico) he led the troops in a victory over Mexican troops. He took the nickname of "Cerro Gordo" Williams. After the battle, he returned to Illinois and settled in Bement. About the same time (1855) the people of the town of Griswold chose to move the town from the stagecoach line along the river to the path of the Great Western Railroad. The town was platted by Sheridan Wait and Henry Durfee. "Cerro Gordo" Williams was one of the citizens, and as the town had other citizens who fought in the battle of Cerro Gordo, they selected the name Cerro Gordo. When the Civil War erupted, "Cerro Gordo" Williams returned to Kentucky and became a general in the Army of the Confederacy. On May 31, 1864, his residence was destroyed by fire, with arson being suspected. After the Civil War, with "Ce…
Every edition of the U.S. Geological Survey’s map of Cerro Gordo Township. Tap a year, or press play to watch the town change.
1955Bement 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 Cerro Gordo Township.
People over time
Cerro Gordo Township, census by census
Between 565 and 1,553 people in every census since 1880.
15 censuses, 1880–2020.
U.S. Census Bureau decennial counts, from the census table on Cerro Gordo Township’s Wikipedia page.
Stories next door
History across the town line
Each neighbor’s History grade, on the same three inputs.
The Cerro Gordo Township post office opened in 1847, the earliest record of the town by name (U.S. post office records).
How does Cerro Gordo Township rank for history?
Cerro Gordo Township is more historic than 75% 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 Cerro Gordo Township?
37% of Cerro Gordo Township’s homes were built before 1940 (Census estimate, ±6.7 points), against a typical 11% for an Illinois town; the median home was built in 1958.
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), 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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