Founding year: the first Frankfort Township post office (Blevins & Helbock, CC0).
History grade
What drives Frankfort Township’s History grade
On its age, its old homes and the National Register, Frankfort Township is more historic than 80% of U.S. towns, #179 of 768 in Illinois. All 3 inputs are above most U.S. towns; its age ranks highest and its National Register listings lowest.
A−
HistoryA character grade: shown, never part of Frankfort 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 Frankfort Township’s 1.6 sits above most of its state (65% of Illinois towns have fewer) while its 1 listings outnumber those of 51% 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 (±5.1 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 Frankfort Township’s past
Read from the archive, the National Register and the record. The page puts what stands out first.
Every edition of the U.S. Geological Survey’s map of Frankfort Township. Tap a year, or press play to watch the town change.
1909West Frankfort 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 Frankfort Township.
The story so far
Frankfort Township, in brief
Wikipedia doesn’t have a history of Frankfort Township yet. The photos, dates and memories neighbors add here are how it gets written.
Frankfort Township is one of twelve townships in Franklin County, Illinois, USA. As of the 2020 census, its population was 6,443 and it contained 3,256 housing units.
Its first post office opened in 1821. Between the 2010 and 2020 censuses its population fell from 7,029 to 6,443 (-8%).
Intro from Wikipedia. Population: U.S. Census Bureau.
By decade
No old photos in the archives yet
Weddings on Main Street, storms, parades, school pictures, the old store. If it’s in your family album, it belongs here.
Be the first to add onePhotograph a print flat, in daylight, no flash.
The Frankfort Township post office opened in 1821, the earliest record of the town by name (U.S. post office records).
How does Frankfort Township rank for history?
Frankfort Township is more historic than 80% of U.S. towns, #179 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.
How old are the homes in Frankfort Township?
21% of Frankfort Township’s homes were built before 1940 (Census estimate, ±5.1 points), against a typical 11% for an Illinois town; the median home was built in 1965.
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) 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.
