Each edition grades its towns against each other only.
The Martinsville post office opened in 1834, the earliest record of the town by name.
More historic than 76% of U.S. towns, on its age, its old homes and the National Register.
On its age, its old homes and the National Register, Martinsville is more historic than 76% 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 Martinsville’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: 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 →
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 Martinsville’s history is told.
Peaked at 1,500 in 1910; 1,118 people lived here in 2020.
15 censuses, 1880–2020.
U.S. Census Bureau decennial counts, from the census table on Martinsville’s Wikipedia page.
Woven from the archive, old maps, post office records, the National Register and the people born here.
Wikipedia doesn’t have a history of Martinsville yet. The photos, dates and memories neighbors add here are how it gets written.
Martinsville is a city in Clark County, Illinois, United States. The population was 1,118 at the 2020 census.
Its first post office opened in 1834. Between the 2010 and 2020 censuses its population fell from 1,167 to 1,118 (-4%).
Intro from Wikipedia. Population: U.S. Census Bureau.
Every edition of the U.S. Geological Survey’s map of Martinsville. 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 Martinsville.
Fire insurance maps drew every building, what it was made of and what it was used for, so insurers could price the risk of fire. Pick a year, then a sheet.
1893Sheet 1 of 2Sanborn Map Company, via the Library of Congress. Editions published in 1930 or earlier, which are in the public domain.
Writers, athletes, leaders and more, ranked by how widely they’re known.
The Martinsville post office opened in 1834, the earliest record of the town by name (U.S. post office records).
Martinsville is more historic than 76% 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.
41% of Martinsville’s homes were built before 1940 (Census estimate, ±7.8 points), against a typical 11% for an Illinois town; the median home was built in 1956.
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 Wikimedia Commons (1), 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), the USGS Geographic Names Information System and Sanborn fire insurance maps (Library of Congress). Archive images are copied here with their credits and licenses, shown on each photo’s page. Refreshed monthly.
2015
