On its age, its old homes and the National Register, Mission Township is more historic than 86% of U.S. towns, #112 of 768 in Illinois. All 2 inputs are above most U.S. towns; its share of homes from before 1940 ranks highest and its National Register listings lowest.
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HistoryA character grade: shown, never part of Mission 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 Mission Township’s 4.9 sits above most of its state (75% of Illinois towns have fewer) while its 2 listings outnumber those of 60% 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 (±7.5 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 Mission Township’s past
Read from the archive, the National Register and the record. The page puts what stands out first.
Mission Township takes its name from Mission Creek, which flows through it. The creek's name came in turn from a mission to the Potawatomi that the Methodist Episcopal missionary Jesse Walker established in 1826 near the creek's headwaters. The mission was burned by Sauk forces in 1832, at the time of the Black Hawk War. The United Methodist Church in Sheridan, which is the seat of the township, has a memorial to Walker.
Every edition of the U.S. Geological Survey’s map of Mission Township. Tap a year, or press play to watch the town change.
1971Sheridan sheet · 1:24,000
U.S. Geological Survey historical topographic maps (public domain), via Esri’s collection of the scans. The red ring marks the center of Mission Township.
On the National Register
2 historic places in Mission Township
The country’s official list of buildings and places worth saving.
Mission Township is more historic than 86% of U.S. towns, #112 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.
What is on the National Register in Mission Township?
Two places: the Hauge Lutheran Church (listed 2016) and the Norway Temperance Hall (2026).
How old are the homes in Mission Township?
26% of Mission Township’s homes were built before 1940 (Census estimate, ±7.5 points), against a typical 11% for an Illinois town; the median home was built in 1972.
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 Wikimedia Commons (2), Wikidata (1), the National Register of Historic Places (2), Wikipedia, U.S. Geological Survey historical maps, 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.
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