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AHistory
History · Morris Township

Morris Township’s post office opened in 1842, and 26% of its homes were built before 1940

More historic than 94% of U.S. towns · #40 of 768 in Illinois. What drives it

3 places in town are on the National Register. Below: 18 old photos and papers, maps from 1892 on, and the census since 1860.

1842first post office
3on the National Register
26%homes built before 1940
18old photos & papers
Add an old photoShare a memory
From Morris Township’s archive · credits on each photo
Quick answers

How Morris Township began

When was Morris Township founded?

1842

The Morris Township post office opened in 1842, the earliest record of the town by name.

First census: 2,105 in 18602020 census: 7,139184 years

How historic is Morris Township?

A

More historic than 94% of U.S. towns, on its age, its old homes and the National Register.

What drives the grade ↓
Founding year: the first Morris Township post office (Blevins & Helbock, CC0).
History grade

What drives Morris Township’s History grade

On its age, its old homes and the National Register, Morris Township is more historic than 94% of U.S. towns, #40 of 768 in Illinois. All 3 inputs are above most U.S. towns; its National Register listings ranks highest and its age lowest.

A
HistoryA character grade: shown, never part of Morris Township’s overall grade.
Founding era1842, from the first post office: founded 1776–1849, an older era than 75% of U.S. townsA−Homes built before 194026.4% of homes (±5.3) · typical IL town 10.6% · U.S. 8.4%A−National Register3 listings, 87 historic buildings, 120 per 10,000 residents · typical IL town 0.5 · U.S. 2.4A
All U.S. towns we grade (21,289)Ahead of 94%
NewerOlder
Illinois towns of 2,500+ (768)Ahead of 95%

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 Morris Township’s 120 sits above most of its state (94% of Illinois towns have fewer) while its 87 historic buildings outnumber those of 89% of U.S. towns.

How sure. Graded on any two of the three inputs instead, the letter would still be A. The pre-1940 share is a Census survey estimate (±5.3 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 Morris Township’s past

Read from the archive, the National Register and the record. The page puts what stands out first.

On the map since 18926 editions of the USGS map, 1892 to 1993. Watch Morris Township change.A town in old photos18 old photos, postcards and papers, 1874–1968.Deep rootsA post office since 1842: 184 years of Morris Township.Old housesHalf of Morris Township’s homes were built before 1962.
★ What stands out · On the map

Morris Township on the map, 1892 to 1993

Every edition of the U.S. Geological Survey’s map of Morris Township. Tap a year, or press play to watch the town change.

Morris Township on the 1892 USGS mapMorris Township on the 1918 USGS mapMorris Township on the 1953 USGS mapMorris Township on the 1973 USGS mapMorris Township on the 1980 USGS mapMorris Township on the 1993 USGS map1892Morris 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 Morris Township.

By decade

Morris Township, decade by decade

6 decades in the archive, from the 1870s to the 1960s. Scroll each row; tap a photo for its story.

1870s–1880s5 items
Atlas of Grundy Co. and the State of Illinois1874Atlas of Grundy Co. and the State of IllinoisMapAtlas of Grundy Co. and the State of Illinois1874Atlas of Grundy Co. and the State of IllinoisMap1940 Census Enumeration District Maps - Illinois - Grundy County - Morris - ED 32-27, ED 32-28, ED 32-29, ED 32-30, ED …18801940 Census Enumeration District Maps - Illinois - Gr…1940 Census Enumeration District Maps - Illinois - Grundy County - Morris - ED 32-27, ED 32-28, ED 32-29, ED 32-30, ED …18801940 Census Enumeration District Maps - Illinois - Gr…1950 Census Enumeration District Maps - Illinois (IL) - Grundy County - Morris - ED 32-28 to 3718801950 Census Enumeration District Maps - Illinois (IL)…
1900s–1960s13 items
Morris Fibre Board Co, Morris, ILLc. 1900Morris Fibre Board Co, Morris, ILLEvergreen Mausoleum1914Evergreen MausoleumEvergreen Mausoleum1914Evergreen MausoleumUSS Kleinsmith (APD-134) under tow on the Illinois River, 23 May 19451945USS Kleinsmith (APD-134) under tow on the Illinois Ri…CRIP 1015 (Whitcomb-Canadian Locomotive Co. 75DE12C (75 Ton) ex-Canadian National 7819) at Morris, IL January 28, 19671967CRIP 1015 (Whitcomb-Canadian Locomotive Co. 75DE12C (…EAST AND SOUTH FACADE OF THE BREWING HOUSE LOOKING NORTHWEST - Gebhard Brewery, 613 West Washington Street1968EAST AND SOUTH FACADE OF THE BREWING HOUSE LOOKING NO…EAST AND SOUTH FACADE OF THE BREWING HOUSE LOOKING NORTHWEST - Gebhard Brewery, 613 West Washington Street1968EAST AND SOUTH FACADE OF THE BREWING HOUSE LOOKING NO…NORTH FACADE OF DEPOT LOOKING SOUTHWEST. - Rock Island Railroad, Morris Passenger Depot, East of Liberty Avenue1968NORTH FACADE OF DEPOT LOOKING SOUTHWEST. - Rock Islan…NORTHERN AND WESTERN VIEW OF GRAIN ELEVATOR LOOKING SOUTHEAST. - Morris Grain Company Elevator, Adjacent to Rock Island…1968NORTHERN AND WESTERN VIEW OF GRAIN ELEVATOR LOOKING S…VIEW OF GRAIN ELEVATOR WITH OFFICE IN FOREGROUND AND WAREHOUSE AND GRAIN ELEVATOR BEHIND, LOOKING EAST. - Morris Grain …1968VIEW OF GRAIN ELEVATOR WITH OFFICE IN FOREGROUND AND …VIEW OF WEST SIDE OF THE ELEVATOR LOOKING EAST. - Farmer's Square Deal Cooperative Grain Elevator, Liberty and Division…1968VIEW OF WEST SIDE OF THE ELEVATOR LOOKING EAST. - Far…WEST AND NORTH FACADES OF STATION LOOKING SOUTHWEST. - Illinois Traction System, Morris Passenger Station, Benton and L…1968WEST AND NORTH FACADES OF STATION LOOKING SOUTHWEST. …WEST AND NORTH SIDES OF BRIDGE LOOKING SOUTHEAST. - Rock Island Railroad, Illinois and Michigan (IandM) Canal Bridge, S…1968WEST AND NORTH SIDES OF BRIDGE LOOKING SOUTHEAST. - R…
1970s–1990snothing yet
Nothing in the archives for these yearsWeddings on Main Street, storms, parades, school pictures, the old store. If it’s in your family album, it belongs here.
Add from your album
Timeline

Morris Township, 1874 to 1967

Woven from the archive, old maps, post office records, the National Register and the people born here.

  1. 19th century
  2. 1874In the archiveAtlas of Grundy Co. and the State of Illinois
  3. 1880In the archive1940 Census Enumeration District Maps - Illinois - Grundy County - Morris - ED 32-27, ED …
  4. 1892On the mapFirst mapped by the U.S. Geological Survey
  5. 20th century
  6. 1900In the archiveMorris Fibre Board Co, Morris, ILL
  7. 1914In the archiveEvergreen Mausoleum
  8. 1945In the archiveUSS Kleinsmith (APD-134) under tow on the Illinois River, 23 May 1945
  9. 1967In the archiveCRIP 1015 (Whitcomb-Canadian Locomotive Co. 75DE12C (75 Ton) ex-Canadian National 7819) a…
The story so far

Morris Township, in brief

Wikipedia doesn’t have a history of Morris Township yet. The photos, dates and memories neighbors add here are how it gets written.

Morris is a city in and the county seat of Grundy County, Illinois, United States and part of the southwest Chicago metropolitan area. The population was 14,163 as of the 2020 census. A team of ten anthropologists and sociologists from the nearby University of Chicago studied the city in depth and reported its findings in W. Lloyd Warner, editor, Democracy in Jonesville: A Study of Quality and Inequality (1949).

Its first post office opened in 1842. Its population held steady between the last two censuses: 7,110 in 2010, 7,139 in 2020.

Intro from Wikipedia. Population: U.S. Census Bureau.

Then & now

Stand where they stood

No then-and-now pairs yet. Take a photo from the same spot as an old one and they appear here side by side.

1940 Census Enumeration District Maps - Illinois - Grundy County - Morris - ED 32-27, ED 32-28, ED 32-29, ED 32-30, ED …
Retake this view1940 Census Enumeration District Maps - Illinois - Grundy County - Morris - ED 32-27, ED 32-28, ED 32-29, ED 32-30, ED …, 1880

Find the spot, match the angle, and add your photo. It becomes the first then-and-now pair on Morris Township’s page.

Retake this view · +15
On the National Register

3 listings protect 87 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
87
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

Morris Township, census by census

02,0004,0006,0008,00010,00012,00014,00019001950200014,163

Grew from 2,105 people in 1860 to 14,163 in 2020, 6 times over.

17 censuses, 1860–2020.

U.S. Census Bureau decennial counts, from the census table on Morris Township’s Wikipedia page.

Help out

Finish Morris Township’s story

Most archives stop around 1920. The photos from after that are in family albums, not libraries.

Decades since 1900 with photos
00s10s20s30s40s50s60s70s80s90s
4 of 10 decades. The empty ones are waiting for someone’s album.
Retake an old view1940 Census Enumeration District Maps -…: stand where they stood+15Share a family photoSign in to add one+10
Stories next door

History across the town line

Each neighbor’s History grade, on the same three inputs.

Morris3 historic placesAWauponsee Township1 historic placeBGoose Lake Township3 historic placesBErienna TownshipIts storyDSaratoga TownshipIts storyC−

Questions about Morris Township’s history

What year was Morris Township founded?

The Morris Township post office opened in 1842, the earliest record of the town by name (U.S. post office records).

How does Morris Township rank for history?

Morris Township is more historic than 94% of U.S. towns, #40 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 Morris Township?

26% of Morris Township’s homes were built before 1940 (Census estimate, ±5.3 points), against a typical 11% for an Illinois town; the median home was built in 1962.

Memory lane

What the archives can’t tell you, neighbors can.

Town Square →
Start a conversation
Sources

Where this page comes from

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 (17), the Library of Congress (1), U.S. Geological Survey historical maps, U.S. Census counts (via Wikipedia) 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.