Founding year: Wikipedia. First post office: 1875.The full story ↓
History grade
What drives Coal City’s History grade
On its age, its old homes and the National Register, Coal City is more historic than 33% of U.S. towns, #529 of 768 in Illinois. 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 Coal City’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 Coal City’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 C+. The pre-1940 share is a Census survey estimate (±5.1 points). Two sources give 1870.
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 Coal City’s past
Read from the archive, the National Register and the record. The page puts what stands out first.
Coal City was incorporated in 1870, named for coal mines in the vicinity that were built following the 1820 discovery of large coal reserves. During the 20th century, coal mining operations in the area declined, with the local economy being driven more by growth in manufacturing and the construction of nearby power plants, including Dresden Nuclear Power Plant and Braidwood Nuclear Generating Station.
A tornado passed through Coal City damaging a number of homes during the tornado outbreak of November 17, 2013. The National Weather Service rated the tornado an EF2. The max wind speed was rated at 122 miles per hour, with a reported path length of 12.9 miles. 3 injuries would be recorded.
Passages that mention Coal City, cut from the printed page as they were published.
Historical encyclopedia of Illinois /cedited by Newton Bateman, Paul Selby,1914Read the page →
Read the text
in the meat business with his father, and also assisted with the work on the farm. In 1012 the linn of John Trotter & Suns, dealers in hay and grain, with elevator at Coal City, was established, the partners being John Trotter and his sons, William J. and Samuel A., the latter being secretary of the Commercial Club of Coal City, and an enterprising and highly
Text read by machine from the scan; it may contain errors.
Historical encyclopedia of Illinois /cedited by Newton Bateman, Paul Selby,1914Read the page →
Read the text
obtained a knowledge of the requirements of the rural districts which have developed them into good citizens. One of the prosperous business men of Coal City, who was brought up in a farming district is Robert Trotter, proprietor of the Racket store of Coal City, and
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
Coal City, 1870 to 2020
Woven from the archive, old maps, post office records, the National Register and the people born here.
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.
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.
1885Sheet 1 of 1
Edition
Sheets
BrickWoodStone
Sanborn Map Company, via the Library of Congress. Editions published in 1930 or earlier, which are in the public domain.
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.
Retake this view1940 Census Enumeration District Maps - Illinois - Grundy County - Coal - ED 32-5, ED 32-11, 1880
Find the spot, match the angle, and add your photo. It becomes the first then-and-now pair on Coal City’s page.
Big Four Wilmington Number 1 MinemineBig Four Wilmington Number 3 MinemineBraceville Number 5 MinemineEureka Number 4 MinemineStar Number 4 MinemineWilmington Star Number 3 MinemineWilmington Star Number 4 MinemineWilmington Star Number 5 Minemine
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.
In 1870, according to Wikipedia’s history of the town. Coal City’s post office opened in 1875, and the census of 1890 counted 1,672 people here.
How does Coal City rank for history?
Coal City is more historic than 33% of U.S. towns, #529 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 Coal City?
13% of Coal City’s homes were built before 1940 (Census estimate, ±5.1 points), against a typical 11% for an Illinois town; the median home was built in 1985.
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 (5), 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.
1880
2015
2012