More historic than 23% of U.S. towns · #604 of 768 in Illinois. What drives it
Most of Long Creek Township was built recently: 6% of its homes predate 1940 and the median home dates from 1971. Below: maps from 1929 on and the census since 1990.
The Long Creek Township post office opened in 1875, the earliest record of the town by name. Two smaller post offices, Casner Station (1877) and Casner (1883), opened inside today’s town and later closed.
First census: 1,250 in 19902020 census: 10,552151 years
How historic is Long Creek Township?
C−
More historic than 23% of U.S. towns, on its age, its old homes and the National Register.
Founding year: the first Long Creek Township post office (Blevins & Helbock, CC0).The full story ↓
History grade
What drives Long Creek Township’s History grade
On its age, its old homes and the National Register, Long Creek Township is more historic than 23% of U.S. towns, #604 of 768 in Illinois. Its age holds the grade up; its National Register listings pull it down.
C−
HistoryA character grade: shown, never part of Long Creek 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 Long Creek 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 any two of the three inputs instead, the letter would range from C− to C. The pre-1940 share (±2.0 points) is firm at this size. The founding year is the first post office, not a stated founding date.
Founding year: the first post office (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 Long Creek Township’s past
Read from the archive, the National Register and the record. The page puts what stands out first.
Long Creek is named for the creek that runs through the area.
The first settlers arrived in 1828 from North Carolina and subsequently built log cabins and made improvements on the surrounding land. In the fall of 1828, a band of Native Americans from the Kickapoo Tribe of Oklahoma arrived and set up camp along Long Creek and began trapping, hunting, and fishing. When they were relatively unsuccessful at catching game, the Kickapoo began killing hogs and stealing poultry from the early settlers. Eventually a group of settlers drove them from the county.
Every edition of the U.S. Geological Survey’s map of Long Creek Township. Tap a year, or press play to watch the town change.
1929Decatur 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 Long Creek Township.
People over time
Long Creek Township, census by census
Between 1,250 and 1,364 people in every census since 1990.
4 censuses, 1990–2020.
U.S. Census Bureau decennial counts, from the census table on Long Creek Township’s Wikipedia page.
Famous people
Famous people close to Long Creek Township
Nobody well known was born in Long Creek Township itself, so here are the best known from just nearby.
The Long Creek Township post office opened in 1875, the earliest record of the town by name (U.S. post office records).
How does Long Creek Township rank for history?
Long Creek Township is more historic than 23% of U.S. towns, #604 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 Long Creek Township?
6% of Long Creek Township’s homes were built before 1940 (Census estimate, ±2.0 points), against a typical 11% for an Illinois town; the median home was built in 1971.
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) 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.
