Each edition grades its towns against each other only.
Below: maps from 1933 on and the census since 1930.
Kell dates its founding to 1836 (Wikidata). The census first counted it in 1930.
Read from the archive, the National Register and the record. The page puts what stands out first.
The first neighbors to add old photos shape how Kell’s history is told.
Peaked at 283 in 1980; 173 people lived here in 2020.
10 censuses, 1930–2020.
U.S. Census Bureau decennial counts, from the census table on Kell’s Wikipedia page.
Woven from the archive, old maps, post office records, the National Register and the people born here.
On the mapFirst mapped by the U.S. Geological SurveyWikipedia doesn’t have a history of Kell yet. The photos, dates and memories neighbors add here are how it gets written.
Kell is a village in Marion County, Illinois, United States. The population was 173 at the 2020 census, down from 219 in 2010.
Kell was established in 1836. Between the 2010 and 2020 censuses its population fell from 219 to 173 (-21%).
Intro from Wikipedia. Population: U.S. Census Bureau.
Weddings on Main Street, storms, parades, school pictures, the old store. If it’s in your family album, it belongs here.
Every edition of the U.S. Geological Survey’s map of Kell. Tap a year, or press play to watch the town change.
U.S. Geological Survey historical topographic maps (public domain), via Esri’s collection of the scans. The red ring marks the center of Kell.
Nobody well known was born in Kell itself, so here are the best known from just nearby.
In 1836, according to Wikidata. Kell’s post office opened in 1895, and the census of 1930 counted 187 people here.
What the archives can’t tell you, neighbors can.
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). How TownRatings grades history →
From 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.
