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Campustown Scott ParkPhoto: BonkerStonker29 · CC BY-SA 4.0
C−History
History · Champaign Township

Champaign Township dates to 1855

More historic than 21% of U.S. towns · #626 of 768 in Illinois. What drives it

Most of Champaign Township was built recently: 4% of its homes predate 1940 and the median home dates from 1987. Below: 16 old photos and papers, maps from 1907 on, and the census since 1860.

1855founded
0on the National Register
4%homes built before 1940
16old photos & papers
Add an old photoShare a memory
From Champaign Township’s archive · credits on each photo
Quick answers

How Champaign Township began

When was Champaign Township founded?

1855

Champaign Township dates its founding to 1855 (Wikidata and Wikipedia’s history agree). The census first counted it in 1860.

First census: 1,727 in 18602020 census: 11,264171 years

How historic is Champaign Township?

C−

More historic than 21% of U.S. towns, on its age, its old homes and the National Register.

What drives the grade ↓
Founding year: Wikidata; Wikipedia’s history section gives the same year. First post office: 1862.The full story ↓
History grade

What drives Champaign Township’s History grade

On its age, its old homes and the National Register, Champaign Township is more historic than 21% of U.S. towns, #626 of 768 in Illinois. Its age holds the grade up; its National Register listings pull it down.

C−
HistoryA character grade: shown, never part of Champaign Township’s overall grade.
Founding era1855, from Wikidata: founded 1850–1899, an older era than 37% of U.S. townsC+Homes built before 19404.4% of homes (±2.4) · typical IL town 10.6% · U.S. 8.4%CNational 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 21%
NewerOlder
Illinois towns of 2,500+ (768)Ahead of 19%

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 Champaign 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 still be C−. The pre-1940 share (±2.4 points) is firm at this size. Two sources give 1855.

Founding year: Wikidata (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 Champaign Township’s past

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

A town in old photos16 old photos, postcards and papers, 1869–1986.On the map since 19074 editions of the USGS map, 1907 to 1998. Watch Champaign Township change.
★ What stands out · By decade

Champaign Township, decade by decade

6 decades in the archive, from the 1860s to the 1980s. Scroll each row; tap a photo for its story.

1860s1 item
Bird's eye view of the city of Champaign, Champaign County, Illinois 18691869Bird's eye view of the city of Champaign, Champaign C…
1900s–1950s5 items
First Church of Christ, Scientist1909First Church of Christ, ScientistStudents in corn course, Illinois University1909Students in corn course, Illinois UniversityUnique view of a huddle1930Unique view of a huddleJet 22 Nov 1951 pg PA331951Jet 22 Nov 1951 pg PA33Champaign, Illinois hook echo, 19531953Champaign, Illinois hook echo, 1953
1960s–1980s10 items
Corporal Missilec. 1964Corporal MissileAmtrak 361 (F40PH), the Shawnee1984Amtrak 361 (F40PH), the ShawneeICG Train, Central Illinois1984ICG Train, Central IllinoisIllinois Central Gulf 1504 (SW1400)1984Illinois Central Gulf 1504 (SW1400)Illinois Central Gulf 1507 (SW1400)1984Illinois Central Gulf 1507 (SW1400)Trailer Train Auto Carrier1984Trailer Train Auto CarrierIllinois Central Gulf 1446 (SW14)1985Illinois Central Gulf 1446 (SW14)Covered Hopper, Old Forester1986Covered Hopper, Old ForesterHoppers, Inland Steel1986Hoppers, Inland SteelIllinois Central Gulf 1400 (SW14)1986Illinois Central Gulf 1400 (SW14)
1990snothing yet
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.
Add from your album
On the map

Champaign Township on the map, 1907 to 1998

Every edition of the U.S. Geological Survey’s map of Champaign Township. Tap a year, or press play to watch the town change.

Champaign Township on the 1907 USGS mapChampaign Township on the 1957 USGS mapChampaign Township on the 1970 USGS mapChampaign Township on the 1998 USGS map1907Mahomet 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 Champaign Township.

The story

How Champaign Township came to be

From Wikipedia’s history of Champaign Township.

Read it all →

Champaign was founded in 1855, when the Illinois Central Railroad laid its rail track two miles (3 km) west of downtown Urbana. Originally called "West Urbana", it was renamed Champaign when it acquired a city charter in 1860. Both the city and county name were derived from Champaign County, Ohio, which took its name from the French word for "open, level country".

Chapters19th century20th century21st century

Text from Wikipedia, licensed CC BY-SA 4.0.

Timeline

Champaign Township, 1855 to 1984

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

  1. 19th century
  2. 1855
    FoundingChampaign Township is established
  3. 1869In the archiveBird's eye view of the city of Champaign, Champaign County, Illinois 1869
  4. 20th century
  5. 1907On the mapFirst mapped by the U.S. Geological Survey
  6. 1909In the archiveFirst Church of Christ, Scientist
  7. 1930In the archiveUnique view of a huddle
  8. 1951In the archiveJet 22 Nov 1951 pg PA33
  9. 1964In the archiveCorporal Missile
  10. 1984In the archiveAmtrak 361 (F40PH), the Shawnee
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.

Bird's eye view of the city of Champaign, Champaign County, Illinois 1869
Retake this viewBird's eye view of the city of Champaign, Champaign County, Illinois 1869, 1869

Find the spot, match the angle, and add your photo. It becomes the first then-and-now pair on Champaign Township’s page.

Retake this view · +15
People over time

Champaign Township, census by census

020,00040,00060,00080,00019001950200088,302

Grew from 1,727 people in 1860 to 88,302 in 2020, more than tenfold.

17 censuses, 1860–2020.

U.S. Census Bureau decennial counts, from the census table on Champaign Township’s Wikipedia page.

Places that used to be

Places now gone and burying grounds

Gone or out of use
Equity SchoolschoolStandard Schoolschool
1cemetery inside Champaign Township
Saint Marys

Places and cemeteries from the USGS Geographic Names Information System (2021).

Help out

Finish Champaign Township’s story

Most archives stop around 1920. The photos from after that are in family albums, not libraries.

Decades since 1900 with photos
00s10s20s30s40s50s60s70s80s90s
5 of 10 decades. The empty ones are waiting for someone’s album.
Retake an old viewBird's eye view of the city of Champaig…: stand where they stood+15Share a family photoSign in to add one+10
Stories next door

History across the town line

Each neighbor’s History grade, on the same three inputs.

Champaign27 historic placesBChampaign City Township26 historic placesBSavoyIts storyC−Scott TownshipIts storynot graded: under 1,000 residents or part of its townHensley TownshipIts storyC+Urbana Township1 historic placeB+Tolono TownshipIts storyC

Questions about Champaign Township’s history

What year was Champaign Township founded?

In 1855, according to Wikidata and Wikipedia’s history of the town. Champaign Township’s post office opened in 1862, and the census of 1860 counted 1,727 people here.

How does Champaign Township rank for history?

Champaign Township is more historic than 21% of U.S. towns, #626 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 Champaign Township?

4% of Champaign Township’s homes were built before 1940 (Census estimate, ±2.4 points), against a typical 11% for an Illinois town; the median home was built in 1987.

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 (13), the Library of Congress (3), Wikidata (2), Wikipedia, U.S. Geological Survey historical maps, U.S. Census counts (via Wikipedia) 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.