Each edition grades its towns against each other only.
Below: maps from 1925 on and the census since 1880.
The Fidelity post office opened in 1851, the earliest record of the town by name. Wikidata gives 1854.
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 Fidelity’s history is told.
From Wikipedia’s history of Fidelity.
In 1829, people from Tennessee reportedly traveled across this site. According to local legend, a horse belonging to settler Joseph Russell went lame, stranding Russell, who was offered a replacement horse by another settler, Samuel Simmons.
The legend continues that Russell replied, "That's true fidelity."
Text from Wikipedia, licensed CC BY-SA 4.0.
Passages that mention Fidelity, cut from the printed page as they were published.
The village of Fidelity, which is a station on the Chicago, Peoria and St. Louis Railroad, has a present population of 100. Its business inter¬ ests are as follows : Bank of Fidelity, John Ewin, president, Ray Brad¬ shaw, cashier; deposits, $100,000.00; Merchants, Thomas Watson and Charles Masters; Elevator, Farmers Elevator Co.; James Bringhurst, blacksmith ; Henry Lutz, wagonmaker ; Dr. A. D. Erwin, physician.
Text read by machine from the scan; it may contain errors.
was wounded, in a house near Macoupin Creek. He was taken into custody by the Rhoades Point posse, but was later turned over to the constable and posse from Fidelity, who were returning with him to Fidelity, when he was shot and instantly killed by some person. The corpse was taken back to Fidelity, put in a coffin, and later taken to near what is now the cemetery at Medora, and there buried. TheVe was no mark put on the grave, and no trace can now be found of its location.
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 Fidelity. 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 Fidelity.
Between 66 and 236 people in every census since 1880.
14 censuses, 1880–2020.
U.S. Census Bureau decennial counts, from the census table on Fidelity’s Wikipedia page.
Nobody well known was born in Fidelity itself, so here are the best known from just nearby.
The Fidelity post office opened in 1851, the earliest record of the town by name (U.S. post office records). Wikidata gives 1854.
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). How TownRatings grades history →
From Wikipedia, U.S. Geological Survey historical maps, U.S. Census counts (via 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.
