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B−History
History · Chatham

Chatham’s post office opened in 1841, and 1 of its places is on the National Register

More historic than 50% of U.S. towns · #398 of 768 in Illinois. What drives it

Most of Chatham was built recently: 2% of its homes predate 1940 and the median home dates from 1995. Its Register listing is the Sugar Creek Covered Bridge. Below: maps from 1917 on and the census since 1860.

1841first post office
1on the National Register
2%homes built before 1940
2famous people
Add an old photoShare a memory
Quick answers

How Chatham began

When was Chatham founded?

1841

The Chatham post office opened in 1841, the earliest record of the town by name.

First census: 278 in 18602020 census: 14,377185 years

How historic is Chatham?

B−

More historic than 50% of U.S. towns, on its age, its old homes and the National Register.

What drives the grade ↓
Founding year: the first Chatham post office (Blevins & Helbock, CC0).
History grade

What drives Chatham’s History grade

On its age, its old homes and the National Register, Chatham is more historic than 50% of U.S. towns, #398 of 768 in Illinois. Its age holds the grade up; its share of homes from before 1940 pulls it down.

B−
HistoryA character grade: shown, never part of Chatham’s overall grade.
Founding era1841, from the first post office: founded 1776–1849, an older era than 75% of U.S. townsA−Homes built before 19402.0% of homes (±1.1) · typical IL town 10.6% · U.S. 8.4%C−National Register1 listing, 0.7 per 10,000 residents · typical IL town 0.5 · U.S. 2.4B
All U.S. towns we grade (21,289)Ahead of 50%
NewerOlder
Illinois towns of 2,500+ (768)Ahead of 48%

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 Chatham’s 0.7 sits near the middle of its state (61% of Illinois towns have fewer) while its 1 listings outnumber those of 51% of U.S. towns.

How sure. Graded on any two of the three inputs instead, the letter would range from C to B+. The pre-1940 share (±1.1 points) is firm at this size. 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 Chatham’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 Chatham are in the public archives yet. The rest are in attics and albums.On the map since 19224 editions of the USGS map, 1922 to 1998. Watch Chatham change.Deep rootsA post office since 1841: 185 years of Chatham.
★ What stands out · Help out

Start Chatham’s collection

The first neighbors to add old photos shape how Chatham’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
On the map

Chatham on the map, 1922 to 1998

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

Chatham on the 1922 USGS mapChatham on the 1961 USGS mapChatham on the 1971 USGS mapChatham on the 1998 USGS map1922Divernon 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 Chatham.

Timeline

Chatham, 1841 to 1997

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

  1. 19th century
  2. 1841Post officeThe Chatham post office opens
  3. 1880BuiltSugar Creek Covered Bridge is built
  4. 20th century
  5. 1922On the mapFirst mapped by the U.S. Geological Survey
  6. 1995Born hereDaniel Helm is born here
  7. 1997Born hereNick Maton is born here
The story so far

Chatham, in brief

Wikipedia doesn’t have a history of Chatham yet. The photos, dates and memories neighbors add here are how it gets written.

Chatham is a village in Sangamon County, Illinois, United States. It is located 2.8 miles (4.5 km) south of Springfield. The population was 11,500 as of the 2010 census and 14,377 as of 2020. The village lies along the original alignment of historic U.S. Route 66 (Illinois Route 4). Chatham is part of the Springfield, Illinois Metropolitan Statistical Area.

Its first post office opened in 1841. Between the 2010 and 2020 censuses its population grew from 11,500 to 14,377 (+25%).

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

By decade

Chatham, decade by decade

Today6 recent
Do not pass library Chatham IL 2026-07-052026Do not pass library Chatham IL 2026-07-05Chatham water tower and Jaycee Park 2026-07-052026Chatham water tower and Jaycee Park 2026-07-05Chatham Public Library 2026-07-052026Chatham Public Library 2026-07-05The Sugar Creek Covered Bridge, near Chatham, Illinois. The 1880 bridge, built by Thomas Black, spans 60 feet over the …2019The Sugar Creek Covered Bridge, near Chatham, Illinoi…Bright red barn near Chatham, Illinois2019Bright red barn near Chatham, IllinoisHistoric train depot2019Historic train depot
Every building

Chatham, building by building, 1917

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 sheet.

Chatham fire insurance map, 1917, sheet 11917Sheet 1 of 1
Sheets
BrickWoodStone

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

On the National Register

1 historic place in Chatham

The country’s official list of buildings and places worth saving.

place listed
1
National Historic Landmarks
0
none yet
historic buildings protected
1
each building in a district counts
first listed
1978
Sugar Creek Covered Bridge
Sugar Creek Covered Bridge, built 1880
Structures
Sugar Creek Covered BridgeBuilt 1880

National Park Service, National Register of Historic Places. Photos from Wikimedia Commons, credited on each place’s page.

People over time

Chatham, census by census

02,0004,0006,0008,00010,00012,00014,00016,00019001950200014,377

Grew from 278 people in 1860 to 14,377 in 2020, more than tenfold.

16 censuses, 1860–2020.

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

Famous people

2 famous people were born in Chatham

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

See all →
Daniel HelmAmerican football tight end · b. 1995
Nick MatonAmerican baseball player · b. 1997
Places that used to be

Places now gone and burying grounds

Chatham’s post office has been open since 1841.

Gone or out of use
Sunny Slope Schoolschool
2cemeteries and burying grounds inside Chatham
Chatham CommunityChatham Memorial

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.

Springfield44 historic placesACapital Township44 historic placesABall Township2 historic placesCChatham Township1 historic placeBWoodside Township1 historic placeB−

Questions about Chatham’s history

What year was Chatham founded?

The Chatham post office opened in 1841, the earliest record of the town by name (U.S. post office records).

How does Chatham rank for history?

Chatham is more historic than 50% of U.S. towns, #398 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.

What is on the National Register in Chatham?

One place: the Sugar Creek Covered Bridge (listed 1978).

How old are the homes in Chatham?

2% of Chatham’s homes were built before 1940 (Census estimate, ±1.1 points), against a typical 11% for an Illinois town; the median home was built in 1995.

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 (3), the Library of Congress (3), the National Register of Historic Places (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.