More historic than 46% of U.S. towns · #426 of 768 in Illinois. What drives it
Most of Hamel Township was built recently: 8% of its homes predate 1940 and the median home dates from 1986. Below: 1 old photo or paper, maps from 1927 on, and the census since 1960.
Founding year: Wikipedia. First post office: 1871.The full story ↓
History grade
What drives Hamel Township’s History grade
On its age, its old homes and the National Register, Hamel Township is more historic than 46% of U.S. towns, #426 of 768 in Illinois. Its age holds the grade up; its National Register listings pull it down.
B−
HistoryA character grade: shown, never part of Hamel 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 Hamel 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.
NoteThe founding year comes from Wikipedia alone; no second source gives 1818.
How sure. Graded on any two of the three inputs instead, the letter would range from C to B. The pre-1940 share is a Census survey estimate (±4.9 points).
Founding year: Wikipedia (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 Hamel Township’s past
Read from the archive, the National Register and the record. The page puts what stands out first.
Hamel was founded in 1818 and developed as a farming community at a rural crossroads; it was named for A. J. "Jack" Hamel, a local farmer. German immigrants settled the area in the 1830s and established St. Paul Lutheran Church, which built its first church by 1861. Hamel was incorporated as a village on February 24, 1955.
U.S. Route 66 ran through Hamel from 1926 until 1965. The village retains landmarks from that era, including the blue neon cross at St. Paul Lutheran Church, placed in memory of a local son killed in World War II, and a 1930s roadhouse on the old highway now known as Weezy's Route 66.
Every edition of the U.S. Geological Survey’s map of Hamel Township. Tap a year, or press play to watch the town change.
1927Edwardsville 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 Hamel Township.
Then & now
Stand where they stood
No then-and-now pairs yet. Take a photo from the same spot as an old one and they appear here side by side.
Retake this viewHamelILwatertower
Find the spot, match the angle, and add your photo. It becomes the first then-and-now pair on Hamel Township’s page.
In 1818, according to Wikipedia’s history of the town. Hamel Township’s post office opened in 1871, and the census of 1960 counted 362 people here.
How does Hamel Township rank for history?
Hamel Township is more historic than 46% of U.S. towns, #426 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 Hamel Township?
8% of Hamel Township’s homes were built before 1940 (Census estimate, ±4.9 points), against a typical 11% for an Illinois town; the median home was built in 1986.
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 Wikimedia Commons (3), the Library of Congress (1), Wikipedia, U.S. Geological Survey historical maps, U.S. Census counts (via Wikipedia), 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.
Date?
2026
2009
2009
