On its age, its old homes and the National Register, Middlefork Township is more historic than 57% of U.S. towns. Its share of homes from before 1940 holds the grade up; its National Register listings pull it down.
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HistoryA character grade: shown, never part of Middlefork 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 Middlefork 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 two of the three inputs, so a change in either one moves the letter more than it would with three. The pre-1940 share is a Census survey estimate (±8.1 points).
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 →
What stands out about Middlefork Township’s past
Read from the archive, the National Register and the record. The page puts what stands out first.
Lost post offices, old corners, places now gone and burying grounds
Three other post offices opened and closed inside today’s town.
Blue Grass
1854–1901
Circle
1870–1876
Armstrong
1876–today
Ellis
1908–1931
18501940today
Hamlets and corners on the map
ArmstrongBlue GrassEllis
Gone or out of use
Bean Creek SchoolschoolBiddle SchoolschoolBluegrass SchoolschoolCircle Post Officepost officeFoster SchoolschoolGreen Valley SchoolschoolHawbuck SchoolschoolWalters SchoolschoolWilliams SchoolschoolWise Schoolschool
6cemeteries and burying grounds inside Middlefork Township
Middlefork Township was one of the eight townships created in 1851 and included all the land that later became Butler and Ford townships.
The first settlers in the township were Samuel Partlow and his wife and four sons, who arrived from Kentucky in 1829. A harsh winter caused the loss of all their cattle, and there was little game available for food; Samuel died that year and the family returned to Kentucky. However, the next year, they came back again.
Middlefork Township is more historic than 57% 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 Middlefork Township?
27% of Middlefork Township’s homes were built before 1940 (Census estimate, ±8.1 points), against a typical 11% for an Illinois town; the median home was built in 1965.
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 Wikipedia, the US Post Offices dataset (Blevins & Helbock) and the USGS Geographic Names Information System. Archive images are copied here with their credits and licenses, shown on each photo’s page. Refreshed monthly.
