Each edition grades its towns against each other only.
More historic than 67% of U.S. towns. What drives it
Below: maps from 1957 on and old-book passages.
More historic than 67% of U.S. towns, on its age, its old homes and the National Register.
On its age, its old homes and the National Register, Martin Township is more historic than 67% of U.S. towns. Its share of homes from before 1940 holds the grade up; its National Register listings pull it down.
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 Martin 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.
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 →
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 Martin Township’s history is told.
Wikipedia doesn’t have a history of Martin Township yet. The photos, dates and memories neighbors add here are how it gets written.
Martin Township is located in McLean County, Illinois. As of the 2010 census, its population was 1,289 and it contained 538 housing units.
Between the 2010 and 2020 censuses its population fell from 1,289 to 1,206 (-6%).
Intro from Wikipedia. Population: U.S. Census Bureau.
Passages that mention Martin Township, cut from the printed page as they were published.
When the rush for prairie land was on from 1865 to 1870, most of the tracts in Martin Township were taken up. Martin long sought to secure a railroad when the new lines were being platted across this part of the state. It failed in the effort to get the extension of the Wabash south from Forrest, for the line was built through Gibson to Decatur. But the Clinton, Bloomington & Southwestern, now known as the Kankakee branch of the Illinois Central, was built from the northeast into the township and for two years had its terminus at the new town of Colfax. This town
Text read by machine from the scan; it may contain errors.Scans and text from the Internet Archive. Books published in 1930 or earlier, which are in the public domain.
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 Martin Township. 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 Martin Township.
Nobody well known was born in Martin Township itself, so here are the best known from just nearby.
Places and cemeteries from the USGS Geographic Names Information System (2021).
Each neighbor’s History grade, on the same three inputs.
Martin Township is more historic than 67% of U.S. towns. 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.
40% of Martin Township’s homes were built before 1940 (Census estimate, ±8.8 points), against a typical 11% for an Illinois town; the median home was built in 1953.
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).
From U.S. Geological Survey historical maps, the USGS Geographic Names Information System and old county and town histories (Internet Archive). Archive images are copied here with their credits and licenses, shown on each photo’s page. Refreshed monthly.
