On its age, its old homes and the National Register, Mount Pulaski is more historic than 94% of U.S. towns. 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 Pulaski’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 Mount Pulaski’s 13.3 sits above most of its state (85% of Illinois towns have fewer) while its 2 listings outnumber those of 60% 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 (±11.2 points). Two sources give 1836.
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 Pulaski’s past
Read from the archive, the National Register and the record. The page puts what stands out first.
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.
Sanborn Map Company, via the Library of Congress. Editions published in 1930 or earlier, which are in the public domain.
The story so far
Mount Pulaski, in brief
Wikipedia doesn’t have a history of Mount Pulaski yet. The photos, dates and memories neighbors add here are how it gets written.
Mount Pulaski is a city in Logan County, Illinois, United States. As of the 2020 census, Mount Pulaski had a population of 1,537. It is the home of the Mount Pulaski Courthouse State Historic Site. The city is named in honor of Polish Revolutionary War hero Casimir Pulaski. Mount Pulaski has one high school: Mount Pulaski High School, home of the Hilltoppers. The school colors are purple and gold. Mount Pulaski held the county seat of Logan County from 1848 to 1855.
Mount Pulaski was established in 1836. Its population held steady between the last two censuses: 1,566 in 2010, 1,537 in 2020.
Intro from Wikipedia. Population: U.S. Census Bureau.
From the old history books
What they wrote about Mount Pulaski in 1886
Passages that mention Mount Pulaski, cut from the printed page as they were published.
History of Logan County, Illinois, together with sketches of its cities, villages, and towns, educational, religious, civil, military, and political history, portraits of prominent person, and biographies of representative citizens1886Read the page →
Read the text
Jersey. He was a son of John Beam, two of whose sons, William and John Beam, now reside in Springfield, Illinois. S. C. Beam came to Mount Pulaski about 1845, and worked as a carpenter. In 1851 he built a saw-mill, and about 1857 the flouring mill in connection. Previously he and Mr. Johnson had operated, a corn-mill in the saw-mill. About 1872 he demolished the saw-mill and built the elevator in connection with the flouring mill, and it may be noted that the engine he brought from St. Louis in 1851 still
Text read by machine from the scan; it may contain errors.
History of Logan County, Illinois1886 · page 768Read the page →
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Jersey. He was a son of John Beam, two of whose sons, William and John Beam, now reside in Springfield, Illinois. S. 0. Beam eame to Mount Pulaski about 1845, and worked as a carpenter. In 1851 he built a saw-mill, and about 1857 the flouring mill in con¬ nection. Previously he and Mr. Johnson had operated a corn-mill in the saw-mill. About 1872 he demolished the saw-mill and built the elevator in connection with the flouring mill, and it may be noted that the engine he brought from St. Louis in 1851 still
Text read by machine from the scan; it may contain errors.
History of Logan County, Illinois1886 · page 797Read the page →
Read the text
foundry, and later in Ridgley’s bank as porter. At one time the brothers, George, John and Michael Mayer, each owned and ran a dray in Springfield. In 1846 John G. Mayer removed his family to a new farm in Mount Pulaski Township, where he lived until 1850. He then went into mercantile business with his brother, George Mayer, continuing with him until 1859, when on account of failiug health, he withdrew from the business and returned to his farm, where he died April 1, 1866, after nine years of almost
Text read by machine from the scan; it may contain errors.
Scans and text from the Internet Archive. Books published in 1930 or earlier, which are in the public domain.
Timeline
Mount Pulaski, 1836 to 1911
Woven from the archive, old maps, post office records, the National Register and the people born here.
Every edition of the U.S. Geological Survey’s map of Mount Pulaski. Tap a year, or press play to watch the town change.
1911Lincoln 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 Mount Pulaski.
On the National Register
2 historic places in Mount Pulaski
The country’s official list of buildings and places worth saving.
In 1836, according to Wikidata. Mount Pulaski’s post office opened in 1838, and the census of 1850 counted 360 people here.
How does Mount Pulaski rank for history?
Mount Pulaski is more historic than 94% 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.
What is on the National Register in Mount Pulaski?
Two places: the Mount Pulaski Courthouse (listed 1978) and the Theodore H. O. Mattfeldt House (1996).
How old are the homes in Mount Pulaski?
47% of Mount Pulaski’s homes were built before 1940 (Census estimate, ±11.2 points), against a typical 11% for an Illinois town; the median home was built in 1947.
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), the National Register of Historic Places (2), 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, Sanborn fire insurance maps (Library of Congress) and old county and town histories (Internet Archive). Archive images are copied here with their credits and licenses, shown on each photo’s page. Refreshed monthly.
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