On its age, its old homes and the National Register, Greenfield Township is more historic than 52% of U.S. towns. Its share of homes from before 1940 holds the grade up; its National Register listings pull it down.
B−
HistoryA character grade: shown, never part of Greenfield 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 Greenfield 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.
How sure. Graded on two of the three inputs, so a change in either one moves the letter more than it would with three. The pre-1940 share is a Census survey estimate (±7.3 points).
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 →
What stands out about Greenfield Township’s past
Read from the archive, the National Register and the record. The page puts what stands out first.
The Township of Greenfield was organized on 6 November 1849, the Village of East Brooklyn was organized in ____, and the Village of South Wilmington was organized in ____. Villages remain part of the township.
On 10 March 1903, Garfield Township was separated from Greenfield Township. The southeastern portion of the village of Gardner, which is located mainly within Garfield Township, is in Greenfield Township. Garfield was begun centered at an intersection in 18__ prior to the township division.
Passages that mention Greenfield Township, cut from the printed page as they were published.
Historical encyclopedia of Illinois /cedited by Newton Bateman, Paul Selby,1914Read the page →
Read the text
In 1SS6 he rented some land in Garfield Township, remaining until 1S92, when he purchased forty acres in Greenfield Township. Here he remained until 1903, when he bought 110 acres in Maine Township, which he sold in 1013 and purchased li:0 acres in Greenfield Township, upon which general farming is carried on under the management of his sons.
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
Greenfield Township, 1883 to 1948
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 Greenfield Township. Tap a year, or press play to watch the town change.
1948Dwight 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 Greenfield Township.
People over time
Greenfield Township, census by census
Between 935 and 997 people in every census since 2000.
3 censuses, 2000–2020.
U.S. Census Bureau decennial counts, from the census table on Greenfield Township’s Wikipedia page.
Famous people
Famous people close to Greenfield Township
Nobody well known was born in Greenfield Township itself, so here are the best known from just nearby.
Greenfield Township is more historic than 52% 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.
How old are the homes in Greenfield Township?
24% of Greenfield Township’s homes were built before 1940 (Census estimate, ±7.3 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 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.
