The story
Read it all →How Compromise Township came to be
From Wikipedia’s history of Compromise Township.
Compromise Township formed from parts of Kerr Township and Rantoul Township on an unknown date.
Text from Wikipedia, licensed CC BY-SA 4.0.
B−History
History · Compromise Township
Compromise Township’s post office opened in 1871, and 33% of its homes were built before 1940
More historic than 51% of U.S. towns. What drives it
Below: maps from 1957 on.
1871first post office
0on the National Register
33%homes built before 1940
Quick answers
How Compromise Township began
When was Compromise Township founded?
1871
The Compromise Township post office opened in 1871, the earliest record of the town by name. Two smaller post offices, Compromise (1871) and Flatville (1886), opened inside today’s town and later closed.
2020 census: 1,323155 years
How historic is Compromise Township?
B−
What drives the grade ↓More historic than 51% of U.S. towns, on its age, its old homes and the National Register.
Founding year: the first Compromise Township post office (Blevins & Helbock, CC0).The full story ↓
History grade
What drives Compromise Township’s History grade
On its age, its old homes and the National Register, Compromise Township is more historic than 51% of U.S. towns. 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 Compromise Township’s overall grade.
Founding era1871, from the first post office: founded 1850–1899, an older era than 37% of U.S. townsC+Homes built before 194032.6% of homes (±7.5) · typical IL town 10.6% · U.S. 8.4%ANational RegisterNo listings counted · typical IL town 0.5 per 10,000 · U.S. 2.4C
All U.S. towns we grade (21,289)Ahead of 51%
NewerOlder
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 Compromise 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 (±7.5 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 Compromise Township’s past
Read from the archive, the National Register and the record. The page puts what stands out first.
★ What stands out · Help out
Start Compromise Township’s collection
The first neighbors to add old photos shape how Compromise Township’s history is told.
Decades since 1900 with photos
00s10s20s30s40s50s60s70s80s90s
0 of 10 decades. The empty ones are waiting for someone’s album.Places that used to be
Lost post offices, old corners, places now gone and burying grounds
Two other post offices opened and closed inside today’s town.
Compromise
Penfield
Flatville
18701950today
Hamlets and corners on the map
DaileyFlatvilleGeraldPenfield
Gone or out of use
Busboom AirportairportCompromise Post Officepost officeCook SchoolschoolFranzen SchoolschoolMcMaster SchoolschoolObenchain SchoolschoolSchool Number 8school
4cemeteries and burying grounds inside Compromise Township
HulsKopmannSaint LawrenceWelles
US Post Offices dataset (Blevins & Helbock, CC0). Places and cemeteries from the USGS Geographic Names Information System (2021).
Timeline
Compromise Township, 1871 to 1957
Woven from the archive, old maps, post office records, the National Register and the people born here.
- 19th century
- 1871Post officeThe Compromise post office opens
- 1876Post officeThe Penfield post office opens
- 1886Post officeThe Flatville post office opens
- 1891Post officeThe Compromise post office closes
- 20th century
- 1903Post officeThe Flatville post office closes
- 1957
On the mapFirst mapped by the U.S. Geological Survey
By decade
Compromise Township, decade by decade
2008
2008On the map
Compromise Township on the map, 1957 to 1984
Every edition of the U.S. Geological Survey’s map of Compromise Township. Tap a year, or press play to watch the town change.
1957Paxton sheet · 1:62,500U.S. Geological Survey historical topographic maps (public domain), via Esri’s collection of the scans. The red ring marks the center of Compromise Township.
Famous people
See all →Famous people close to Compromise Township
Nobody well known was born in Compromise Township itself, so here are the best known from just nearby.
Stories next door
History across the town line
Each neighbor’s History grade, on the same three inputs.
Ogden TownshipIts storyC+Rantoul Township1 historic placenot graded: under 1,000 residents or part of its townKerr TownshipIts storynot graded: under 1,000 residents or part of its townStanton TownshipIts storynot graded: under 1,000 residents or part of its townPilot TownshipIts storynot graded: under 1,000 residents or part of its townMiddlefork TownshipIts storyB
Questions about Compromise Township’s history
What year was Compromise Township founded?
The Compromise Township post office opened in 1871, the earliest record of the town by name (U.S. post office records).
How does Compromise Township rank for history?
Compromise Township is more historic than 51% 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 Compromise Township?
33% of Compromise Township’s homes were built before 1940 (Census estimate, ±7.5 points), against a typical 11% for an Illinois town; the median home was built in 1966.
Memory lane
What the archives can’t tell you, neighbors can.
Start a conversation
Sources
Where this page comes from
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 (2), Wikipedia, U.S. Geological Survey historical maps, 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.