Each edition grades its towns against each other only.
Below: maps from 1956 on and the census since 1880.
The Metcalf post office opened in 1874, the earliest record of the town by name.
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 Metcalf’s history is told.
Wikipedia doesn’t have a history of Metcalf yet. The photos, dates and memories neighbors add here are how it gets written.
Metcalf is a village in Young America Township, Edgar County, Illinois, United States. As of the 2020 census, Metcalf had a population of 139.
Its first post office opened in 1874. Between the 2010 and 2020 censuses its population fell from 189 to 139 (-26%).
Intro from Wikipedia. Population: U.S. Census Bureau.
Peaked at 509 in 1920; 139 people lived here in 2020.
15 censuses, 1880–2020.
U.S. Census Bureau decennial counts, from the census table on Metcalf’s Wikipedia page.
Passages that mention Metcalf, cut from the printed page as they were published.
When the survey for the railroad was made, in 1850, a station, to be named New Harmony, was designated, in the southwest part of the township. The road not being built, no town was platted. When the railroad was completed, in 1872, the growth of Hume and Metcalf put an end to any prospects for a village at New Harmony, and the project was abandoned. However, a stopping-place was made a little west of the old site, and, in honor of one of the principal residents near it, was named McGowan. There is nothing here but a platform.
Text read by machine from the scan; it may contain errors.
After the Indianapolis, Decatur & Springfield Railroad was opened, in 1872, and people saw that by proper drainage this land could be made profit¬ able, they settled it as if by magic. The building of Hume and Metcalf opened an outlet through the railroad for the disposal of their crops, and not an acre of land was left unclaimed.
Text read by machine from the scan; it may contain errors.
After the Indianapolis, Decatur & Springfield Railroad was opened, in 1872, and people saw that by proper drainage this land could be made profit¬ able, they settled it as if by magic. The building of Hume and Metcalf opened an outlet through the railroad for the disposal of their crops, and not an acre of land was left unclaimed.
Text read by machine from the scan; it may contain errors.
After the Indianapolis, Decatur & Springfield Railroad was opened, in 1872, and people saw that by proper drainage this land could be made profitable, they settled it as if by magic. The building of Hume and Metcalf opened an outlet through the railroad for the disposal of their crops, and not an acre of land was left unclaimed.
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.
Woven from the archive, old maps, post office records, the National Register and the people born here.
On the mapFirst mapped by the U.S. Geological SurveyWeddings 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 Metcalf. 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 Metcalf.
The Metcalf post office opened in 1874, the earliest record of the town by name (U.S. post office records).
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). How TownRatings grades history →
From 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 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.
