The Looking Glass Township post office opened in 1846, the earliest record of the town by name. Three smaller post offices, Looking Glass (1846), Wittenberg (1859) and New Memphis Station (1886), opened inside today’s town and later closed.
2020 census: 6,447180 years
How historic is Looking Glass Township?
B−
More historic than 46% of U.S. towns, on its age, its old homes and the National Register.
Founding year: the first Looking Glass Township post office (Blevins & Helbock, CC0).
History grade
What drives Looking Glass Township’s History grade
On its age, its old homes and the National Register, Looking Glass Township is more historic than 46% of U.S. towns, #428 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 Looking Glass 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 Looking Glass 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 B. The pre-1940 share is a Census survey estimate (±3.4 points). 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 Looking Glass 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.
Looking Glass
1846–1867
Wittenberg
1859–1860
New Memphis
1868–today
New Memphis Station
1886–1886
18401930today
Hamlets and corners on the map
New MemphisNew Memphis StationWertenberg
Gone or out of use
Kalmer SchoolschoolMcKee SchoolschoolQueens Lake StationlocaleVolmer Schoolschool
1cemetery inside Looking Glass Township
Harpstrite
US Post Offices dataset (Blevins & Helbock, CC0). Places and cemeteries from the USGS Geographic Names Information System (2021).
On the map
Looking Glass Township on the map, 1906 to 1981
Every edition of the U.S. Geological Survey’s map of Looking Glass Township. Tap a year, or press play to watch the town change.
1906Breese 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 Looking Glass Township.
The story so far
Looking Glass Township, in brief
Wikipedia doesn’t have a history of Looking Glass Township yet. The photos, dates and memories neighbors add here are how it gets written.
Looking Glass Township is one of fifteen townships in Clinton County, Illinois, USA. As of the 2020 census, its population was 6,447 and it contained 2,498 housing units.
Its first post office opened in 1846. Its population held steady between the last two censuses: 6,354 in 2010, 6,447 in 2020.
Intro from Wikipedia. Population: U.S. Census Bureau.
Timeline
Looking Glass Township, 1846 to 1906
Woven from the archive, old maps, post office records, the National Register and the people born here.
The Looking Glass Township post office opened in 1846, the earliest record of the town by name (U.S. post office records).
How does Looking Glass Township rank for history?
Looking Glass Township is more historic than 46% of U.S. towns, #428 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 Looking Glass Township?
8% of Looking Glass 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 1978.
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.
