On its age, its old homes and the National Register, Hall Township is more historic than 53% of U.S. towns, #374 of 768 in Illinois. 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 Hall 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 Hall 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 (±3.4 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 Hall Township’s past
Read from the archive, the National Register and the record. The page puts what stands out first.
Lost post offices, old corners, places now gone and burying grounds
Three other post offices opened and closed inside today’s town.
Ottville
1865–1873
Luceyville
1883–1894
Marquette
1894–1914
18601940today
Hamlets and corners on the map
ChurchillHegelerMarquetteOttville
Gone or out of use
Kline SchoolschoolValley Airfieldairport
8cemeteries and burying grounds inside Hall Township
LithuanianMillerMount Olivet CatholicSaint AnnesSaint George SyrianSaint ValentinesSaints Peter and PaulValley Memorial Park
US Post Offices dataset (Blevins & Helbock, CC0). Places and cemeteries from the USGS Geographic Names Information System (2021).
On the map
Hall Township on the map, 1893 to 1979
Every edition of the U.S. Geological Survey’s map of Hall Township. Tap a year, or press play to watch the town change.
1893La Salle 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 Hall Township.
The story so far
Hall Township, in brief
Wikipedia doesn’t have a history of Hall Township yet. The photos, dates and memories neighbors add here are how it gets written.
Hall Township is one of twenty-five townships in Bureau County, Illinois, United States. As of the 2020 census, its population was 8,258 and it contained 3,777 housing units. Hall Township changed its name from Bloom Township in June 1850.
Its population held steady between the last two censuses: 8,300 in 2010, 8,258 in 2020.
Intro from Wikipedia. Population: U.S. Census Bureau.
Timeline
Hall Township, 1865 to 1914
Woven from the archive, old maps, post office records, the National Register and the people born here.
Hall Township is more historic than 53% of U.S. towns, #374 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 Hall Township?
24% of Hall Township’s homes were built before 1940 (Census estimate, ±3.4 points), against a typical 11% for an Illinois town; the median home was built in 1959.
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, 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.
