3 places in town are on the National Register, among them a historic district with 135 buildings. Below: 2 old photos and papers from 1895 on and old-book passages.
From Elsah Township’s archive · credits on each photo
Quick answers
How Elsah Township began
When was Elsah Township founded?
1859
The Elsah Township post office opened in 1859, the earliest record of the town by name. Two smaller post offices, Randolph (1837) and Beltrees (1898), opened inside today’s town and later closed.
2020 census: 2,194167 years
How historic is Elsah Township?
A−
More historic than 79% of U.S. towns, on its age, its old homes and the National Register.
Founding year: the first Elsah Township post office (Blevins & Helbock, CC0).The full story ↓
History grade
What drives Elsah Township’s History grade
On its age, its old homes and the National Register, Elsah Township is more historic than 79% of U.S. towns. Its National Register listings hold the grade up; its age pulls it down.
A−
HistoryA character grade: shown, never part of Elsah 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 Elsah Township’s 740 sits above most of its state (99% of Illinois towns have fewer) while its 207 historic buildings outnumber those of 93% 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 is a Census survey estimate (±9.6 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 Elsah Township’s past
Read from the archive, the National Register and the record. The page puts what stands out first.
James Semple, a local lawyer, prominent politician and United States Senator from Illinois, founded Elsah in 1853 and offered free lots to anyone who built houses with stone from his quarry. It is believed that he named the village of Elsah after Ailsa Craig, the last outcropping his family saw as they departed Scotland for the United States. By 1861, the village had grown to its current size, as geographic and economic limitations prevented further expansion.
Passages that mention Elsah Township, cut from the printed page as they were published.
History of Jersey County, Illinois1919 · page 366Read the page →
Read the text
which was on the Mississippi River, half a mile above the mouth of Piasa Creek, and was laid out by a man named Bostwick about the same time as Eminence, in either 1836 or 1837. This was the site of the location of one of the earliest settlers of Elsah Township, William Bates. A sawTmill had been established there, and also a store, while there were about a half a dozen dwellings. The prosperity of Randolph declined, and two houses now occupy the site of the former town, the remaining lots having been converted into a farm.
Text read by machine from the scan; it may contain errors.
History of Jersey County, Illinois1919 · page 459Read the page →
Read the text
of the United States, and they, together with Col. Josiah T. Askew, were discharged from the regular service at St. Louis, and came up the river. Those first named settled in Quarry Township, and Col. Josiah T. Askew in Elsah Township, adjoining Lofton’s settlement. Camden, at the mouth of the Illinois River was platted by George Finney in 1826 with the expectation that it would be a place of great importance in later years.
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
Elsah Township, 1837 to 1910
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.
The Elsah Township post office opened in 1859, the earliest record of the town by name (U.S. post office records).
How does Elsah Township rank for history?
Elsah Township is more historic than 79% 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.
What is on the National Register in Elsah Township?
3 listings: 1 historic district, the New Piasa Chautauqua Historic District, with 135 contributing buildings. 207 historic buildings in all.
How old are the homes in Elsah Township?
20% of Elsah Township’s homes were built before 1940 (Census estimate, ±9.6 points), against a typical 11% for an Illinois town; the median home was built in 1972.
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), Wikidata (1), the National Register of Historic Places (1), Wikipedia, the US Post Offices dataset (Blevins & Helbock), 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.
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