The Middleport Township post office opened in 1839, the earliest record of the town by name. Two smaller post offices, Middleport (1839) and Pittwood (1873), opened inside today’s town and later closed.
First census: 4,787 in 20002020 census: 3,767187 years
How historic is Middleport Township?
A
More historic than 89% of U.S. towns, on its age, its old homes and the National Register.
Founding year: the first Middleport Township post office (Blevins & Helbock, CC0).
History grade
What drives Middleport Township’s History grade
On its age, its old homes and the National Register, Middleport Township is more historic than 89% of U.S. towns, #91 of 768 in Illinois. All 3 inputs are above most U.S. towns; its National Register listings ranks highest and its share of homes from before 1940 lowest.
A
HistoryA character grade: shown, never part of Middleport 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 Middleport Township’s 98.8 sits above most of its state (93% of Illinois towns have fewer) while its 36 historic buildings outnumber those of 83% of U.S. towns.
How sure. Graded on any two of the three inputs instead, the letter would range from A− to A. The pre-1940 share is a Census survey estimate (±6.6 points). The founding year is the first post office, not a stated founding date.
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 Middleport Township’s past
Read from the archive, the National Register and the record. The page puts what stands out first.
Wikipedia doesn’t have a history of Middleport Township yet. The photos, dates and memories neighbors add here are how it gets written.
Middleport Township is one of twenty-six townships in Iroquois County, Illinois, USA. As of the 2020 census, its population was 3,767 and it contained 1,995 housing units. Middleport Township changed its name to Watseka Township in September 1863, but then changed back to Middleport Township on an unknown date.
Its first post office opened in 1839. Between the 2010 and 2020 censuses its population fell from 4,375 to 3,767 (-14%).
Intro from Wikipedia. Population: U.S. Census Bureau.
By decade
No old photos in the archives yet
Weddings on Main Street, storms, parades, school pictures, the old store. If it’s in your family album, it belongs here.
Be the first to add onePhotograph a print flat, in daylight, no flash.
Every edition of the U.S. Geological Survey’s map of Middleport Township. Tap a year, or press play to watch the town change.
1939Watseka sheet · 1:62,500
U.S. Geological Survey historical topographic maps (public domain), via Esri’s collection of the scans. The red ring marks the center of Middleport Township.
On the National Register
3 listings protect 36 historic buildings
The country’s official list of buildings and places worth saving.
places listed
3
National Historic Landmarks
0
none yet
historic buildings protected
36
each building in a district counts
National Park Service, National Register of Historic Places. Photos from Wikimedia Commons, credited on each place’s page.
People over time
Middleport Township, census by census
Between 3,767 and 4,787 people in every census since 2000.
3 censuses, 2000–2020.
U.S. Census Bureau decennial counts, from the census table on Middleport Township’s Wikipedia page.
Famous people
Famous people close to Middleport Township
Nobody well known was born in Middleport Township itself, so here are the best known from just nearby.
The Middleport Township post office opened in 1839, the earliest record of the town by name (U.S. post office records).
How does Middleport Township rank for history?
Middleport Township is more historic than 89% of U.S. towns, #91 of 768 in Illinois. 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 Middleport Township?
17% of Middleport Township’s homes were built before 1940 (Census estimate, ±6.6 points), against a typical 11% for an Illinois town; the median home was built in 1970.
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 U.S. Geological Survey historical maps, U.S. Census counts (via 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.
