The Clay City Township post office opened in 1858, the earliest record of the town by name. Another post office, Wilcox (1892), opened inside today’s town and later closed.
First census: 594 in 18702020 census: 1,166168 years
How historic is Clay City Township?
C+
More historic than 42% of U.S. towns, on its age, its old homes and the National Register.
Founding year: the first Clay City Township post office (Blevins & Helbock, CC0).The full story ↓
History grade
What drives Clay City Township’s History grade
On its age, its old homes and the National Register, Clay City Township is more historic than 42% of U.S. towns. Its share of homes from before 1940 holds the grade up; its National Register listings pull it down.
C+
HistoryA character grade: shown, never part of Clay City 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 Clay City 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 C− to B−. The pre-1940 share is a Census survey estimate (±8.9 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 Clay City Township’s past
Read from the archive, the National Register and the record. The page puts what stands out first.
In the early 1800s, Solomon Harter Mueller (later Miller) came to Clay City with his Cherokee wife (later Ida) and 6 children from West Virginia to establish a farm and grinding mill. He later built a smokehouse, general store, and milinary shop. Solomon also brought his brother George C. with his wife Caroline and 5 children. Solomon and Ida had children: Isom, Mary, Otto, Roy, Louise, and Zella, all born in Clay City. Louise's great-grandchildren, Wallace and Caroline, left Clay City for St. Louis. Paul George left for Ohio and ultimately lost oil and mineral rights in Clay City.
Every edition of the U.S. Geological Survey’s map of Clay City Township. Tap a year, or press play to watch the town change.
1948Flora 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 Clay City Township.
Places that used to be
Lost post offices, old corners, places now gone and burying grounds
Another post office, Wilcox, opened and closed inside today’s town.
Hamlets and corners on the map
Camp Travis
Gone or out of use
Black SchoolschoolBurcham SchoolschoolThomas SchoolschoolWells SchoolschoolWheeler SchoolschoolWilcox Churchchurch
3cemeteries and burying grounds inside Clay City Township
BarnesClay CityTravis
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.
The Clay City Township post office opened in 1858, the earliest record of the town by name (U.S. post office records).
How does Clay City Township rank for history?
Clay City Township is more historic than 42% 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 Clay City Township?
21% of Clay City Township’s homes were built before 1940 (Census estimate, ±8.9 points), against a typical 11% for an Illinois town; the median home was built in 1974.
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 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.
