Each edition grades its towns against each other only.
More historic than 35% of U.S. towns. What drives it
Below: old-book passages.
More historic than 35% of U.S. towns, on its age, its old homes and the National Register.
On its age, its old homes and the National Register, McClellan Township is more historic than 35% 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 McClellan 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 McClellan Township’s history is told.
Wikipedia doesn’t have a history of McClellan Township yet. The photos, dates and memories neighbors add here are how it gets written.
McClellan Township is one of sixteen townships in Jefferson County, Illinois, USA. As of the 2020 census, its population was 1,269 and it contained 546 housing units.
Its population held steady between the last two censuses: 1,255 in 2010, 1,269 in 2020.
Intro from Wikipedia. Population: U.S. Census Bureau.
Passages that mention McClellan Township, cut from the printed page as they were published.
![McClellan Township is without villages, towns, manufactories or railroads. Its ship- ]>ing point is Mount Vernon, which is but a mile or two from the northeast corner of the township, and by hauling to that city railroad facilities can be obtained for all the best markets of the country. To sum it …](https://images.townratings.com/story/19632/bk-cbf4d6c4502b4bdc-l.jpg)
McClellan Township is without villages, towns, manufactories or railroads. Its ship- ]>ing point is Mount Vernon, which is but a mile or two from the northeast corner of the township, and by hauling to that city railroad facilities can be obtained for all the best markets of the country. To sum it up, the farmers of McClellan Township have a
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.
Nobody well known was born in McClellan Township itself, so here are the best known from just nearby.
Old hamlets and crossroads still carry their names on the map.
Places and cemeteries from the USGS Geographic Names Information System (2021).
Each neighbor’s History grade, on the same three inputs.
McClellan Township is more historic than 35% 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.
13% of McClellan Township’s homes were built before 1940 (Census estimate, ±7.7 points), against a typical 11% for an Illinois town; the median home was built in 1979.
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 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.
