Each edition grades its towns against each other only.
More historic than 66% of U.S. towns · #285 of 768 in Illinois. What drives it
2 places in town are on the National Register. Below: maps from 1950 on and the census since 1870.
More historic than 66% of U.S. towns, on its age, its old homes and the National Register.
On its age, its old homes and the National Register, Douglas Township is more historic than 66% of U.S. towns, #285 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.
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 Douglas Township’s 1.6 sits above most of its state (65% of Illinois towns have fewer) while its 2 listings outnumber those of 60% of U.S. towns.
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 →
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 Douglas Township’s history is told.
Wikipedia doesn’t have a history of Douglas Township yet. The photos, dates and memories neighbors add here are how it gets written.
Douglas Township is one of fifteen townships in Effingham County, Illinois, USA. As of the 2020 census, its population was 12,556 and it contained 5,947 housing units.
Its population held steady between the last two censuses: 12,604 in 2010, 12,556 in 2020.
Intro from Wikipedia. Population: U.S. Census Bureau.
Passages that mention Douglas Township, cut from the printed page as they were published.
The history of Douglas Township centers in the city of Effingham, the capital of the county, which is located in the south end of the township. Usually, the township containing the county seat affords few facts of interest to the historian beyond that of its settlement. It is specially so in Douglas, being principally an agricultural region,
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.
Weddings on Main Street, storms, parades, school pictures, the old store. If it’s in your family album, it belongs here.
Every edition of the U.S. Geological Survey’s map of Douglas Township. Tap a year, or press play to watch the town change.
U.S. Geological Survey historical topographic maps (public domain), via Esri’s collection of the scans. The red ring marks the center of Douglas Township.
The country’s official list of buildings and places worth saving.
National Park Service, National Register of Historic Places. Photos from Wikimedia Commons, credited on each place’s page.
Between 3,222 and 12,698 people in every census since 1870.
16 censuses, 1870–2020.
U.S. Census Bureau decennial counts, from the census table on Douglas Township’s Wikipedia page.
Nobody well known was born in Douglas Township itself, so here are the best known from just nearby.
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.
Douglas Township is more historic than 66% of U.S. towns, #285 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.
14% of Douglas Township’s homes were built before 1940 (Census estimate, ±3.6 points), against a typical 11% for an Illinois town; the median home was built in 1973.
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).
From U.S. Geological Survey historical maps, U.S. Census counts (via 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.
