Each edition grades its towns against each other only.
More historic than 23% of U.S. towns · #597 of 768 in Illinois. What drives it
Most of Felix Township was built recently: 7% of its homes predate 1940 and the median home dates from 1976. Below: maps from 1892 on and the census since 2000.
More historic than 23% of U.S. towns, on its age, its old homes and the National Register.
On its age, its old homes and the National Register, Felix Township is more historic than 23% of U.S. towns, #597 of 768 in Illinois. Its share of homes from before 1940 holds the grade up; its National Register listings pull it down.
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 Felix 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.
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 Felix Township’s history is told.
Every edition of the U.S. Geological Survey’s map of Felix 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 Felix Township.
From Wikipedia’s history of Felix Township.
Felix Township, Grundy County, is named for Felix Grundy, Senator from Tennessee. The township was formed from portions of Wauponsee and Aux Sable townships in November, 1854. Most of old Felix township was partitioned to form Goose Lake Township on September 15, 1897. These early boundary changes occurred mainly due to coal mining activity.
Text from Wikipedia, licensed CC BY-SA 4.0.
Passages that mention Felix Township, cut from the printed page as they were published.
(By George P. Miller) Felix Township was given the Christian name of Felix Grundy, for whom the county was named. This township lies south of the Illinois River, with Will County on the east, Braceville Township on the south, and the Mazon River and Wauponsec Township on the west. The surface of Felix Township is generally low.
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.
Between 3,919 and 4,438 people in every census since 2000.
3 censuses, 2000–2020.
U.S. Census Bureau decennial counts, from the census table on Felix Township’s Wikipedia page.
Nobody well known was born in Felix Township itself, so here are the best known from just nearby.
Places and cemeteries from the USGS Geographic Names Information System (2021).
Each neighbor’s History grade, on the same three inputs.
Felix Township is more historic than 23% of U.S. towns, #597 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.
7% of Felix Township’s homes were built before 1940 (Census estimate, ±3.9 points), against a typical 11% for an Illinois town; the median home was built in 1976.
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 Wikipedia, 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.
