Each edition grades its towns against each other only.
Below: old-book passages.
The Clayton Township post office opened in 1837, the earliest record of the town by name.
Read from the archive, the National Register and the record. The page puts what stands out first.
The first neighbors to add old photos shape how Clayton Township’s history is told.
From Wikipedia’s history of Clayton Township.
Clayton is named for Kentucky statesman Henry Clay. It was established in 1834.
Text from Wikipedia, licensed CC BY-SA 4.0.
Passages that mention Clayton Township, cut from the printed page as they were published.
this part of Illinois. Mr. Adair continued this special branch of his business actively from about 1890 until 1907. In 1890 he moved to Clayton Township, and at the present he and wife have 140 acres, eighty acres of this being in Clayton Township and sixty acres in Brown Township. A part of this land came to his wife through her father's estate. His term as supervisor from Clayton Township ran from 1906 to 1912.
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.
Old hamlets and crossroads still carry their names on the map.
Places and cemeteries from the USGS Geographic Names Information System (2021).
Each neighbor’s History grade, on the same three inputs.
The Clayton Township post office opened in 1837, the earliest record of the town by name (U.S. post office records).
What the archives can’t tell you, neighbors can.
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). How TownRatings grades history →
From Wikimedia Commons (1), Wikipedia, the USGS Geographic Names Information System 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.
2025