The story
Read it all →How Cunningham Township came to be
From Wikipedia’s history of Cunningham Township.
Cunningham Township formed from Champaign Township in late 1928.
Text from Wikipedia, licensed CC BY-SA 4.0.
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History · Cunningham Township
13% of Cunningham Township’s homes were built before 1940
More historic than 84% of U.S. towns · #153 of 768 in Illinois. What drives it
28 places in town are on the National Register. Below: maps from 1906 on.
28on the National Register
13%homes built before 1940
Quick answers
About Cunningham Township’s history
How historic is Cunningham Township?
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What drives the grade ↓More historic than 84% of U.S. towns, on its age, its old homes and the National Register.
History grade
What drives Cunningham Township’s History grade
On its age, its old homes and the National Register, Cunningham Township is more historic than 84% of U.S. towns, #153 of 768 in Illinois. All 2 inputs are above most U.S. towns; its National Register listings ranks highest and its share of homes from before 1940 lowest.
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HistoryA character grade: shown, never part of Cunningham Township’s overall grade.
Founding eraNo founding year we can rely on, so the grade uses the other two–Homes built before 194013.2% of homes (±1.7) · typical IL town 10.6% · U.S. 8.4%BNational Register28 listings, 77 historic buildings, 19.6 per 10,000 residents · typical IL town 0.5 · U.S. 2.4A
All U.S. towns we grade (21,289)Ahead of 84%
NewerOlder
Illinois towns of 2,500+ (768)Ahead of 80%
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 Cunningham Township’s 19.6 sits above most of its state (87% of Illinois towns have fewer) while its 77 historic buildings outnumber those of 88% of U.S. towns.
How sure. Graded on two of the three inputs, so a change in either one moves the letter more than it would with three. The pre-1940 share (±1.7 points) is firm at this size.
Founding year: our sources. 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 Cunningham Township’s past
Read from the archive, the National Register and the record. The page puts what stands out first.
★ What stands out · On the National Register
28 historic places in Cunningham Township
The country’s official list of buildings and places worth saving. 2 are National Historic Landmarks, the highest tier.
places listed
28
National Historic Landmarks
2
none yet
historic buildings protected
77
each building in a district counts
National Park Service, National Register of Historic Places. Photos from Wikimedia Commons, credited on each place’s page.
Help out
Start Cunningham Township’s collection
The first neighbors to add old photos shape how Cunningham Township’s history is told.
Decades since 1900 with photos
00s10s20s30s40s50s60s70s80s90s
0 of 10 decades. The empty ones are waiting for someone’s album.On the map
Cunningham Township on the map, 1906 to 1998
Every edition of the U.S. Geological Survey’s map of Cunningham Township. Tap a year, or press play to watch the town change.
1906Urbana 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 Cunningham Township.
By decade
No old photos in the archives yet
Weddings on Main Street, storms, parades, school pictures, the old store. If it’s in your family album, it belongs here.
Be the first to add onePhotograph a print flat, in daylight, no flash.
Add from your albumFamous people
See all →Famous people close to Cunningham Township
Nobody well known was born in Cunningham 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.
Questions about Cunningham Township’s history
How does Cunningham Township rank for history?
Cunningham Township is more historic than 84% of U.S. towns, #153 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 Cunningham Township?
13% of Cunningham Township’s homes were built before 1940 (Census estimate, ±1.7 points), against a typical 11% for an Illinois town; the median home was built in 1980.
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 Wikipedia and U.S. Geological Survey historical maps. Archive images are copied here with their credits and licenses, shown on each photo’s page. Refreshed monthly.