How Mason Township began, and where its name came from
When was Mason Township founded?
1857
The Mason Township post office opened in 1857, the earliest record of the town by name. Wikidata gives 1865. Two smaller post offices, Brocketts (1841) and Brockett (1888), opened inside today’s town and later closed.
2020 census: 1,275169 years
How did Mason Township get its name?
Mason Township was named after Roswell Mason, an official of the Illinois Central Railroad.
How historic is Mason Township?
B−
More historic than 46% of U.S. towns, on its age, its old homes and the National Register.
Founding year: the first Mason Township post office (Blevins & Helbock, CC0). Wikidata: 1865. Name: Wikipedia, licensed CC BY-SA 4.0.
History grade
What drives Mason Township’s History grade
On its age, its old homes and the National Register, Mason Township is more historic than 46% of U.S. towns. Its share of homes from before 1940 holds the grade up; its National Register listings pull it down.
B−
HistoryA character grade: shown, never part of Mason 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 Mason 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 (±8.6 points). The founding year is the first post office, not a stated founding date; Wikidata’s 1865 falls in the same era, so the grade doesn’t depend on which one is used.
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 Mason Township’s past
Read from the archive, the National Register and the record. The page puts what stands out first.
US Post Offices dataset (Blevins & Helbock, CC0). Places and cemeteries from the USGS Geographic Names Information System (2021).
The story so far
Mason Township, in brief
Wikipedia doesn’t have a history of Mason Township yet. The photos, dates and memories neighbors add here are how it gets written.
Mason is an incorporated town in Effingham County, Illinois, United States. The population was 323 at the 2020 census. It was named after Roswell Mason, an official of the Illinois Central Railroad. Mason is part of the Effingham, IL Micropolitan Statistical Area.
Its first post office opened in 1857. Between the 2010 and 2020 censuses its population fell from 1,364 to 1,275 (-7%).
Intro from Wikipedia. Population: U.S. Census Bureau.
From the old history books
What they wrote about Mason Township in 1883
Passages that mention Mason Township, cut from the printed page as they were published.
History of Effingham county, Illinois1883 · page 8Read the page →
Read the text
death about 1876. Our subject grew upon the farm and lived with his uncle, going to school three miles distant, across the creek in Mason Township, near the side of the Wabash Church. He woi-ked on a farm b}' the month until they began the construction of the Illinois Central Railroad, on which he worked three years. He then bought new land and opened
Text read by machine from the scan; it may contain errors.
History of Effingham county, Illinois1883 · page 194Read the page →
Read the text
the northwest quarter, a part of the northeast quarter of the southwest quarter, and a part of the southwest quarter of the northeast quarter of Section 22, of Mason Township. It was surveyed and platted February 26, 1853, by George Wright, surveyor, for Aaron W. Henry, Josiah W. Eobinson and Robert M. Eankin, proprietors of the land.
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.
Timeline
Mason Township, 1841 to 1888
Woven from the archive, old maps, post office records, the National Register and the people born here.
The Mason Township post office opened in 1857, the earliest record of the town by name (U.S. post office records). Wikidata gives 1865.
How does Mason Township rank for history?
Mason Township is more historic than 46% 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.
How old are the homes in Mason Township?
25% of Mason Township’s homes were built before 1940 (Census estimate, ±8.6 points), against a typical 11% for an Illinois town; the median home was built in 1976.
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 the US Post Offices dataset (Blevins & Helbock), 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.
