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C+History
History · Mahomet

Mahomet dates to 1832

More historic than 45% of U.S. towns · #431 of 768 in Illinois. What drives it

Most of Mahomet was built recently: 7% of its homes predate 1940 and the median home dates from 2001. Below: 1 old photo or paper, maps from 1907 on, and the census since 1880.

1832founded
0on the National Register
7%homes built before 1940
1old photo or paper
2famous people
Add an old photoShare a memory
From Mahomet’s archive · credits on each photo
Quick answers

How Mahomet began

When was Mahomet founded?

1832

Mahomet dates its founding to 1832 (Wikidata and Wikipedia’s history agree). The census first counted it in 1880.

First census: 771 in 18802020 census: 9,434194 years

How historic is Mahomet?

C+

More historic than 45% of U.S. towns, on its age, its old homes and the National Register.

What drives the grade ↓
Founding year: Wikidata; Wikipedia’s history section gives the same year. First post office: 1840.The full story ↓
History grade

What drives Mahomet’s History grade

On its age, its old homes and the National Register, Mahomet is more historic than 45% of U.S. towns, #431 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 Mahomet’s overall grade.
Founding era1832, from Wikidata: founded 1776–1849, an older era than 75% of U.S. townsA−Homes built before 19407.3% of homes (±4.6) · typical IL town 10.6% · U.S. 8.4%C+National RegisterNo listings counted · typical IL town 0.5 per 10,000 · U.S. 2.4C
All U.S. towns we grade (21,289)Ahead of 45%
NewerOlder
Illinois towns of 2,500+ (768)Ahead of 44%

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 Mahomet’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 (±4.6 points). Two sources give 1832.

Founding year: Wikidata (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 Mahomet’s past

Read from the archive, the National Register and the record. The page puts what stands out first.

A history waiting to be writtenOnly 1 old photo is in the public archives. The rest are in attics and albums.Shrank, then grewLost a third of its people between 1880 and 1890, then grew more than tenfold.On the map since 19073 editions of the USGS map, 1907 to 1970. Watch Mahomet change.Deep rootsEstablished in 1832: 194 years of Mahomet.
★ What stands out · Help out

Start Mahomet’s collection

The first neighbors to add old photos shape how Mahomet’s history is told.

Decades since 1900 with photos
00s10s20s30s40s50s60s70s80s90s
1 of 10 decades. The empty ones are waiting for someone’s album.
Retake an old viewPeoria and Eastern Roger was riding the…: stand where they stood+15Share a family photoSign in to add one+10
People over time

Mahomet, census by census

02,0004,0006,0008,00010,00018801900192019401960198020002020771 in 1880Low: 473

Lost a third of its people between 1880 and 1890, then grew more than tenfold.

15 censuses, 1880–2020.

U.S. Census Bureau decennial counts, from the census table on Mahomet’s Wikipedia page.

On the map

Mahomet on the map, 1907 to 1970

Every edition of the U.S. Geological Survey’s map of Mahomet. Tap a year, or press play to watch the town change.

Mahomet on the 1907 USGS mapMahomet on the 1957 USGS mapMahomet on the 1970 USGS map1907Mahomet 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 Mahomet.

The story

How Mahomet came to be

From Wikipedia’s history of Mahomet.

Read it all →

The village of Mahomet was first settled in 1832 on the banks of the Sangamon River. It was the first community to be established in modern-day Champaign County. The original village name was Middletown, possibly because it is half-way between the towns of Danville and Bloomington. In 1871, the name of the village was changed to Mahomet because there was already another Middletown in Illinois, which was causing mail problems. Most early settlers came from Ohio, Virginia, Kentucky, and Pennsylvania and chose to reside in Mahomet because there was abundant water from the Sangamon River and abundant trees. Currently, most residents commute around 10 miles (16 km) to the cities of Champaign and Urbana to work, although the village has a thriving small business district.

Text from Wikipedia, licensed CC BY-SA 4.0.

Timeline

Mahomet, 1832 to 2020

Woven from the archive, old maps, post office records, the National Register and the people born here.

  1. 19th century
  2. 1832
    FoundingMahomet is established
  3. 1840Post officeThe Mahomet post office opens
  4. 20th century
  5. 1907On the mapFirst mapped by the U.S. Geological Survey
  6. 1965In the archivePeoria and Eastern Roger was riding the old Peoria and Eastern Railway through Mahomet Ap…
  7. 1980Born hereDan Hornbuckle is born here
  8. 1991Born hereDaniella Bunch is born here
  9. 21st century
  10. 2020CensusPopulation peaks at 9,434
By decade

Mahomet, decade by decade

One decade in the archive so far: the 1960s. Scroll each row; tap a photo for its story.

1960s1 item
Peoria and Eastern Roger was riding the old Peoria and Eastern Railway through Mahomet April 19651965Peoria and Eastern Roger was riding the old Peoria an…
1970s–1990snothing yet
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.
Add from your album
Today5 recent
Mahomet, Illinois2012Mahomet, IllinoisMahomet Motel2011Mahomet MotelSangamon River Lake of the Woods2007Sangamon River Lake of the WoodsEarly American Museum Lake of the Woods2007Early American Museum Lake of the WoodsChampaign County Forest Preserve District HQ2007Champaign County Forest Preserve District HQ
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.

Peoria and Eastern Roger was riding the old Peoria and Eastern Railway through Mahomet April 1965
Retake this viewPeoria and Eastern Roger was riding the old Peoria and Eastern Railway through Mahomet April 1965, 1965

Find the spot, match the angle, and add your photo. It becomes the first then-and-now pair on Mahomet’s page.

Retake this view · +15
Famous people

2 famous people were born in Mahomet

Writers, athletes, leaders and more, ranked by how widely they’re known.

See all →
D
Daniella BunchAmerican athlete · b. 1991
D
Dan HornbuckleAmerican mixed martial arts fighter · b. 1980
Places that used to be

Places now gone and burying grounds

Mahomet’s post office has been open since 1840.

Gone or out of use
Gilbert PitmineMahomet Gravel PitmineWebb Pitmine
1cemetery inside Mahomet
Middletown

US Post Offices dataset (Blevins & Helbock, CC0). Places and cemeteries from the USGS Geographic Names Information System (2021).

Stories next door

History across the town line

Each neighbor’s History grade, on the same three inputs.

Lake of the WoodsIts storyC+Mahomet TownshipIts storyB−Hensley TownshipIts storyC+Newcomb Township1 historic placeB−

Questions about Mahomet’s history

What year was Mahomet founded?

In 1832, according to Wikidata and Wikipedia’s history of the town. Mahomet’s post office opened in 1840, and the census of 1880 counted 771 people here.

How does Mahomet rank for history?

Mahomet is more historic than 45% of U.S. towns, #431 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 Mahomet?

7% of Mahomet’s homes were built before 1940 (Census estimate, ±4.6 points), against a typical 11% for an Illinois town; the median home was built in 2001.

Memory lane

What the archives can’t tell you, neighbors can.

Town Square →
Start a conversation
Sources

Where this page comes from

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 (6), Wikipedia, Wikidata and Wikipedia for famous people, 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.