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AHistory
History · Mount Carmel

Mount Carmel dates to 1815, and 31% of its homes were built before 1940

More historic than 91% of U.S. towns · #63 of 768 in Illinois. What drives it

Its Register listing is the Beall-Orr House. Below: 10 old photos and papers, maps from 1886 on, and the census since 1850.

1815founded
1on the National Register
31%homes built before 1940
10old photos & papers
18famous people
Add an old photoShare a memory
From Mount Carmel’s archive · credits on each photo
Quick answers

How Mount Carmel began

When was Mount Carmel founded?

1815

Mount Carmel dates its founding to 1815 (Wikidata). The census first counted it in 1850.

First census: 935 in 18502020 census: 7,015211 years

How historic is Mount Carmel?

A

More historic than 91% of U.S. towns, on its age, its old homes and the National Register.

What drives the grade ↓
Founding year: Wikidata. First post office: 1819.The full story ↓
History grade

What drives Mount Carmel’s History grade

On its age, its old homes and the National Register, Mount Carmel is more historic than 91% of U.S. towns, #63 of 768 in Illinois. All 3 inputs are above most U.S. towns; its share of homes from before 1940 ranks highest and its National Register listings lowest.

A
HistoryA character grade: shown, never part of Mount Carmel’s overall grade.
Founding era1815, from Wikidata: founded 1776–1849, an older era than 75% of U.S. townsA−Homes built before 194031.4% of homes (±6.0) · typical IL town 10.6% · U.S. 8.4%ANational Register1 listing, 4 historic buildings, 5.8 per 10,000 residents · typical IL town 0.5 · U.S. 2.4B+
All U.S. towns we grade (21,289)Ahead of 91%
NewerOlder
Illinois towns of 2,500+ (768)Ahead of 92%

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 Mount Carmel’s 5.8 sits above most of its state (77% of Illinois towns have fewer) while its 4 historic buildings outnumber those of 68% 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 (±6.0 points). Two sources give 1815.

Founding year: Wikidata (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 Mount Carmel’s past

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

Mapped building by building5 fire insurance maps, 1886 to 1910, drew every building in Mount Carmel.Deep rootsEstablished in 1815: 211 years of Mount Carmel.Famous sons and daughtersRobert Ridgway, Mark Medoff and 16 more were born here.Old housesHalf of Mount Carmel’s homes were built before 1956.
★ What stands out · Every building

Mount Carmel, building by building, 1886–1910

Fire insurance maps drew every building, what it was made of and what it was used for, so insurers could price the risk of fire. Pick a year, then a sheet.

Mount Carmel fire insurance map, 1886, sheet 11886Sheet 1 of 4
Edition
BrickWoodStone

Sanborn Map Company, via the Library of Congress. Editions published in 1930 or earlier, which are in the public domain.

Timeline

Mount Carmel, 1815 to 1959

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

  1. 19th century
  2. 1815
    FoundingMount Carmel is established
  3. 1819Post officeThe Mount Carmel post office opens
  4. 1850Born hereRobert Ridgway is born here
  5. 1883Born hereBellenden Hutcheson is born here
  6. 20th century
  7. 1902Born hereBrace Beemer is born here
  8. 1906In the archiveBig 4 shops and yards at Mt. Carmel Il
  9. 1913In the archiveSamuel Williams
  10. 1940Born hereMark Medoff is born here
  11. 1941In the archiveMrs. Marie McPherson, Chairman, Labor-Management Committee, Meissner Manufacturing Company
  12. 1959On the mapFirst mapped by the U.S. Geological Survey
Famous people

18 famous people were born in Mount Carmel

Writers, athletes, leaders and more, ranked by how widely they’re known.

See all →
Robert RidgwayAmerican ornithologist · b. 1850
M
Mark MedoffAmerican actor and writer · b. 1940
Bellenden HutchesonCanadian military officer of the First World War · b. 1883
B
Brace BeemerAmerican actor · b. 1902
J
Jim HarmonAmerican author and popular culture historian · b. 1933
Ollie ShoaffAmerican basketball player · b. 1923
The story

How Mount Carmel came to be

From Wikipedia’s history of Mount Carmel.

Read it all →

On June 4, 1877, a tornado of F4 intensity touched down just west of Mount Carmel and moved east-northeast, devastating the town. The storm's line of destruction wreaked havoc on a large part of the territory between Third and Fifth streets. As described in a local newspaper at the time:"During its prevalence the air was filled with flying roofs, windows, doors, lumber, rails, clothing, etc. Much of the debris was carried more than a mile away. Thirteen persons were killed outright, and many others will undoubtedly die of their injuries. There are also several others reported missing who are probably buried in the ruins. It being a rainy day, many farmers who could not work at home were in town. The county court was also in session, which caused many people to be in the city.

ChaptersTornadoGrand Rapids Hotel and Resort

Text from Wikipedia, licensed CC BY-SA 4.0.

By decade

Mount Carmel, decade by decade

3 decades in the archive, from the 1900s to the 1940s. Scroll each row; tap a photo for its story.

1900s–1940s10 items
Big 4 shops and yards at Mt. Carmel Il1906Big 4 shops and yards at Mt. Carmel IlPostcardSamuel Williams1913Samuel WilliamsAmong friends at recess time1917Among friends at recess timeMt. Carmel, Ill. River dweller visited by Nurse1919Mt. Carmel, Ill. River dweller visited by NurseMrs. Marie McPherson, Chairman, Labor-Management Committee, Meissner Manufacturing Company1941Mrs. Marie McPherson, Chairman, Labor-Management Comm…Mrs. Marie McPherson, Chairman, Labor-Management Committee, Meissner Manufacturing Company1941Mrs. Marie McPherson, Chairman, Labor-Management Comm…Mrs. Marie McPherson, Chairman, Labor-Management Committee, Meisnner Manufacturing Company1941Mrs. Marie McPherson, Chairman, Labor-Management Comm…Left to right: Michael W. Straus, Chief, War Production Drive Headquarters, and Mrs. Marie McPherson, Chairman, Labor M…1941Left to right: Michael W. Straus, Chief, War Producti…Left to right: Michael W. Straus, Chief of War Production Drive Headquarters; Mrs. Marie McPherson, Chairman, Labor-Man…1941Left to right: Michael W. Straus, Chief of War Produc…Left to right: Michael W. Straus, Chief, War Production Drive Headquarters, and Mrs. Marie McPherson, Chairman, Labor-M…1941Left to right: Michael W. Straus, Chief, War Producti…
1950s–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
Today14 recent
Mount Carmel municipal building2016Mount Carmel municipal buildingPostcard of2013Postcard ofPostcardHarry Hinde 19152012Harry Hinde 1915Grand Rapids Dam 19062012Grand Rapids Dam 1906Frederick Hinde Zimmerman2012Frederick Hinde ZimmermanWabash County Courthouse in2011Wabash County Courthouse inGAR memorial in2011GAR memorial inBeall-Orr House2011Beall-Orr HouseGrand Rapids Hotel, Mount Carmel (Illinois), 19222010Grand Rapids Hotel, Mount Carmel (Illinois), 1922News Channel 152007News Channel 15Mount Carmel bridge 20072007Mount Carmel bridge 2007Mount Carmel Welcome2007Mount Carmel WelcomeMount Carmel Cherry St2007Mount Carmel Cherry StLegends Field at Riverview Stadium, Snakepit - offcenter2007Legends Field at Riverview Stadium, Snakepit - offcen…
On the map

Mount Carmel on the map, 1959 to 1980

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

Mount Carmel on the 1959 USGS mapMount Carmel on the 1980 USGS map1959Mount Carmel 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 Mount Carmel.

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.

Big 4 shops and yards at Mt. Carmel Il
Retake this viewBig 4 shops and yards at Mt. Carmel Il, 1906

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

Retake this view · +15
On the National Register

1 historic place in Mount Carmel

The country’s official list of buildings and places worth saving.

place listed
1
National Historic Landmarks
0
none yet
historic buildings protected
4
each building in a district counts
first listed
1994
Beall-Orr House
Beall-Orr House
Buildings

Architectural styles listings

Italianate1
Classical Revival1
Beall-Orr HouseItalianate

National Park Service, National Register of Historic Places. Photos from Wikimedia Commons, credited on each place’s page.

People over time

Mount Carmel, census by census

02,0004,0006,0008,0001850190019502000Peak: 8,908

Between 935 and 8,908 people in every census since 1850.

18 censuses, 1850–2020.

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

Places that used to be

Old corners and burying grounds

Mount Carmel’s post office has been open since 1819.

Hamlets and corners on the map
Cherry Hill Estates
5cemeteries and burying grounds inside Mount Carmel
Beauchamp and HarperHighland MemorialRose HillSaint MarysSand Hill

US Post Offices dataset (Blevins & Helbock, CC0). Places and cemeteries from the USGS Geographic Names Information System (2021).

Help out

Finish Mount Carmel’s story

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

Decades since 1900 with photos
00s10s20s30s40s50s60s70s80s90s
3 of 10 decades. The empty ones are waiting for someone’s album.
Retake an old viewBig 4 shops and yards at Mt. Carmel Il: stand where they stood+15Share a family photoSign in to add one+10

Questions about Mount Carmel’s history

What year was Mount Carmel founded?

In 1815, according to Wikidata. Mount Carmel’s post office opened in 1819, and the census of 1850 counted 935 people here.

How does Mount Carmel rank for history?

Mount Carmel is more historic than 91% of U.S. towns, #63 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 Mount Carmel?

One place: the Beall-Orr House (listed 1994).

How old are the homes in Mount Carmel?

31% of Mount Carmel’s homes were built before 1940 (Census estimate, ±6.0 points), against a typical 11% for an Illinois town; the median home was built in 1956.

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 (16), the Library of Congress (8), Wikidata (1), the National Register of Historic Places (1), Wikipedia, Wikidata and Wikipedia for famous people, 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 Sanborn fire insurance maps (Library of Congress). Archive images are copied here with their credits and licenses, shown on each photo’s page. Refreshed monthly.