The Empire Township post office opened in 1883, the earliest record of the town by name. Three smaller post offices, Oak Grove (1866), Empire Station (1876) and Empire (1883), opened inside today’s town and later closed.
2020 census: 3,994143 years
How historic is Empire Township?
A−
More historic than 78% of U.S. towns, on its age, its old homes and the National Register.
Founding year: the first Empire Township post office (Blevins & Helbock, CC0).
History grade
What drives Empire Township’s History grade
On its age, its old homes and the National Register, Empire Township is more historic than 78% of U.S. towns, #190 of 768 in Illinois. Its National Register listings hold the grade up; its age pulls it down.
A−
HistoryA character grade: shown, never part of Empire 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 Empire Township’s 62.6 sits above most of its state (91% of Illinois towns have fewer) while its 25 historic buildings outnumber those of 81% 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 (±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 Empire Township’s past
Read from the archive, the National Register and the record. The page puts what stands out first.
National Park Service, National Register of Historic Places. Photos from Wikimedia Commons, credited on each place’s page.
The story so far
Empire Township, in brief
Wikipedia doesn’t have a history of Empire Township yet. The photos, dates and memories neighbors add here are how it gets written.
Empire Township is located in McLean County, Illinois. As of the 2010 census, its population was 4,093 and it contained 1,719 housing units. Empire Township changed its name from Le Roy Township on May 17, 1858.
Its first post office opened in 1883. Between the 2010 and 2020 censuses its population fell from 4,093 to 3,994 (-2%).
Intro from Wikipedia. Population: U.S. Census Bureau.
Timeline
Empire Township, 1866 to 1952
Woven from the archive, old maps, post office records, the National Register and the people born here.
Every edition of the U.S. Geological Survey’s map of Empire Township. Tap a year, or press play to watch the town change.
1952Arrowsmith 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 Empire Township.
Famous people
Famous people close to Empire Township
Nobody well known was born in Empire Township itself, so here are the best known from just nearby.
The Empire Township post office opened in 1883, the earliest record of the town by name (U.S. post office records).
How does Empire Township rank for history?
Empire Township is more historic than 78% of U.S. towns, #190 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.
What is on the National Register in Empire Township?
One place: the LeRoy Commercial Historic District (listed 1996).
How old are the homes in Empire Township?
25% of Empire 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 1973.
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 the National Register of Historic Places (1), 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.
