From Collinsville Township’s archive · credits on each photo
Quick answers
How Collinsville Township began
When was Collinsville Township founded?
1825
The Collinsville Township post office opened in 1825, the earliest record of the town by name. Another post office, Donkville (1901), opened inside today’s town and later closed.
First census: 2,887 in 18802020 census: 35,636201 years
How historic is Collinsville Township?
A−
More historic than 77% of U.S. towns, on its age, its old homes and the National Register.
Founding year: the first Collinsville Township post office (Blevins & Helbock, CC0).The full story ↓
History grade
What drives Collinsville Township’s History grade
On its age, its old homes and the National Register, Collinsville Township is more historic than 77% of U.S. towns, #203 of 768 in Illinois. All 3 inputs are above most U.S. towns; its age ranks highest and its share of homes from before 1940 lowest.
A−
HistoryA character grade: shown, never part of Collinsville 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 Collinsville Township’s 2.0 sits above most of its state (67% of Illinois towns have fewer) while its 7 listings outnumber those of 73% of U.S. towns.
How sure. Graded on any two of the three inputs instead, the letter would range from B+ to A−. The pre-1940 share (±2.6 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 Collinsville Township’s past
Read from the archive, the National Register and the record. The page puts what stands out first.
3cemeteries and burying grounds inside Collinsville Township
Buck RoadCook FamilyPeters
US Post Offices dataset (Blevins & Helbock, CC0). Places and cemeteries from the USGS Geographic Names Information System (2021).
On the map
Collinsville Township on the map, 1907 to 1991
Every edition of the U.S. Geological Survey’s map of Collinsville Township. Tap a year, or press play to watch the town change.
1907Belleville 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 Collinsville Township.
On the National Register
7 historic places in Collinsville Township
The country’s official list of buildings and places worth saving.
places listed
7
National Historic Landmarks
0
none yet
historic buildings protected
7
each building in a district counts
National Park Service, National Register of Historic Places. Photos from Wikimedia Commons, credited on each place’s page.
The story
How Collinsville Township came to be
From Wikipedia’s history of Collinsville Township.
Cahokia, the largest Pre-Columbian settlement north of Mexico, was developed by the Mississippian culture and is located in what is now the westernmost part of Collinsville. At its peak about 1200 CE, Cahokia had a population of 20,000-30,000, more than any city in the present-day United States until after 1800. It includes Monks Mound, the largest prehistoric earthwork in the Americas, and more than 70 surviving smaller mounds. Monks Mound is larger at its base than the Great Pyramid of Giza.
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.
The Collinsville Township post office opened in 1825, the earliest record of the town by name (U.S. post office records).
How does Collinsville Township rank for history?
Collinsville Township is more historic than 77% of U.S. towns, #203 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 Collinsville Township?
13% of Collinsville Township’s homes were built before 1940 (Census estimate, ±2.6 points), against a typical 11% for an Illinois town; the median home was built in 1976.
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 (6), 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.
1933
1933
1933
1933
1938