2 of Jarvis Township’s places are on the National Register
More historic than 50% of U.S. towns · #406 of 768 in Illinois. What drives it
Most of Jarvis Township was built recently: 7% of its homes predate 1940 and the median home dates from 1992. Below: 1 old photo or paper and maps from 1907 on.
On its age, its old homes and the National Register, Jarvis Township is more historic than 50% of U.S. towns, #406 of 768 in Illinois. Its National Register listings hold the grade up; its share of homes from before 1940 pulls it down.
B−
HistoryA character grade: shown, never part of Jarvis 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 Jarvis Township’s 1.3 sits near the middle of its state (64% of Illinois towns have fewer) while its 2 listings outnumber those of 60% 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 (±2.6 points) is firm at this size.
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 Jarvis 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 Jarvis Township. Tap a year, or press play to watch the town change.
1907Belleville 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 Jarvis Township.
Places that used to be
Lost post offices, old corners and burying grounds
Another post office, Harris, opened and closed inside today’s town.
Hamlets and corners on the map
Formosa JunctionTroy Junction
21cemeteries and burying grounds inside Jarvis Township
Bohnenstiehl FamilyEdwards FamilyFehmel FamilyGileadHallHarrisHoenigLangenwalterLoyet FamilyMetzOld Saint John EvangelicalSaint JeromeSaint John the BaptistSaint Johns EvangelicalSaint Paul LutheranSchmidtSmart FamilyWattWidicusWittmanWood
See all 21
Bohnenstiehl Family Cemetery · Edwards Family Cemetery · Fehmel Family Cemetery · Gilead Cemetery · Hall Cemetery · Harris Cemetery · Hoenig Cemetery · Langenwalter Cemetery · Loyet Family Cemetery · Metz Cemetery · Old Saint John Evangelical Cemetery · Saint Jerome Cemetery · Saint John the Baptist Cemetery · Saint Johns Evangelical Cemetery · Saint Paul Lutheran Cemetery · Schmidt Cemetery · Smart Family Burial Ground · Watt Cemetery · Widicus Cemetery · Wittman Cemetery · Wood Cemetery
US Post Offices dataset (Blevins & Helbock, CC0). Places and cemeteries from the USGS Geographic Names Information System (2021).
The story so far
Jarvis Township, in brief
Wikipedia doesn’t have a history of Jarvis Township yet. The photos, dates and memories neighbors add here are how it gets written.
Jarvis Township is located in Madison County, Illinois, in the United States. As of the 2010 census, its population was 14,232 and it contained 5,540 housing units. Jarvis Township was named in honor of John Jarvis, who made the first entry of land from the United States government on September 10, 1814 and died here on October 29, 1823. The township was first surveyed in 1806. The primary town when first started was known as Columbia and for some time its principal industry was the Jarvis grist mill, which supplied the milling needs for area farmers. In 1819, Columbia was expanded, platted, and its name was changed to Troy. The first settlement within its present boundaries was made by Mes…
Between the 2010 and 2020 censuses its population grew from 14,232 to 15,779 (+11%).
Intro from Wikipedia. Population: U.S. Census Bureau.
Timeline
Jarvis Township, 1858 to 1907
Woven from the archive, old maps, post office records, the National Register and the people born here.
Nothing in the archives for these yearsWeddings on Main Street, storms, parades, school pictures, the old store. If it’s in your family album, it belongs here.
Jarvis Township is more historic than 50% of U.S. towns, #406 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 Jarvis Township?
7% of Jarvis Township’s homes were built before 1940 (Census estimate, ±2.6 points), against a typical 11% for an Illinois town; the median home was built in 1992.
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 (2), 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.
2026
