Founding year: Wikipedia. First post office: 1880.The full story ↓
History grade
What drives Christopher’s History grade
On its age, its old homes and the National Register, Christopher is more historic than 53% of U.S. towns, #380 of 768 in Illinois. 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 Christopher’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 Christopher’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 C− to B+. The pre-1940 share is a Census survey estimate (±9.1 points). Two sources give 1879.
Founding year: Wikipedia (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 Christopher’s past
Read from the archive, the National Register and the record. The page puts what stands out first.
Christopher was founded in 1879 as a railroad stop, and named for Christopher Harrison, a grandson of prominent early settler Isham Harrison. A post office opened the following year. The community voted to become a village in 1903, and a city in 1910.
In 1906, the United Coal Mining Company No. 1 mine opened near Christopher. An explosion at the mine killed eight men on July 27, 1915. The mine was sold to the Old Ben Coal Corporation, and renamed Old Ben Coal Mine No. 1 in 1916. The mine closed in 1929.
On November 29, 1917, an explosion at Old Ben Coal Corporation's Mine No. 11 killed 17 men.
On March 22, 1918, five men who were accused of being "pro-German" became victims of a mob numbering more than 300 people. They were:
Passages that mention Christopher, cut from the printed page as they were published.
Franklin County, Illinois, war history, 1832-19191920 · page 218Read the page →
Read the text
BODLAVICH, TOM, Christopher BERWONTI, WILLIAM, Christopher BARESELLI, JNO., Christopher BELLITTI. GRATE, Christopher BRUCE, JOHX H., Christopher BRATTOX, JAS. O., Christopher BROWN*, Mart., Christopher
Text read by machine from the scan; it may contain errors.
The building of the C. B. & O. Railroad and the great coal development has transformed the little village of Chris¬ topher into one of the best cities in the county. Christopher has four large coal mines lying near, with an output that is enormous. The population of Christopher is about 8,000.
Text read by machine from the scan; it may contain errors.
Franklin County, Illinois, war history, 1832-19191920 · page 359Read the page →
Read the text
In 1903, Christopher was incorporated as a village, being named in honor of Christopher Harrison. The original corporation lines were the same as at present except that the east line was some half mile east of its present location. In 1905 the United Coal Mining Company and the Zeigler Collieries Company began preparations for opening
Text read by machine from the scan; it may contain errors.
Scans and text from the Internet Archive. Books published in 1930 or earlier, which are in the public domain.
Timeline
Christopher, 1879 to 1955
Woven from the archive, old maps, post office records, the National Register and the people born here.
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.
In 1879, according to Wikipedia’s history of the town. Christopher’s post office opened in 1880, and the census of 1910 counted 1,825 people here.
How does Christopher rank for history?
Christopher is more historic than 53% of U.S. towns, #380 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 Christopher?
36% of Christopher’s homes were built before 1940 (Census estimate, ±9.1 points), against a typical 11% for an Illinois town; the median home was built in 1950.
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 (7), Wikipedia, 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, Sanborn fire insurance maps (Library of Congress) and old county and town histories (Internet Archive). Archive images are copied here with their credits and licenses, shown on each photo’s page. Refreshed monthly.
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