Guest, Sign inJoin

Post to Muddy

We’ll email a one-tap link to publish your post. No password, and nothing is public until you click it.
Already a member? Sign in
–Not graded
History · Muddy

Muddy’s post office opened in 1908

Most of Muddy was built recently: 4% of its homes predate 1940 and the median home dates from 1952. Below: maps from 1908 on and the census since 1960.

1908first post office
0on the National Register
4%homes built before 1940
Add an old photoShare a memory
Photo: Brian Stansberry · CC BY 4.0
Quick answers

How Muddy began

When was Muddy founded?

1908

The Muddy post office opened in 1908, the earliest record of the town by name.

First census: 95 in 19602020 census: 61118 years
Founding year: the first Muddy post office (Blevins & Helbock, CC0).The full story ↓

What stands out about Muddy’s past

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

A history waiting to be writtenNo old photos of Muddy are in the public archives yet. The rest are in attics and albums.On the map since 19083 editions of the USGS map, 1908 to 1963. Watch Muddy change.Old housesHalf of Muddy’s homes were built before 1952.
★ What stands out · Help out

Start Muddy’s collection

The first neighbors to add old photos shape how Muddy’s history is told.

Decades since 1900 with photos
00s10s20s30s40s50s60s70s80s90s
0 of 10 decades. The empty ones are waiting for someone’s album.
Share a family photoSign in to add one+10
On the map

Muddy on the map, 1908 to 1963

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

Muddy on the 1908 USGS mapMuddy on the 1938 USGS mapMuddy on the 1963 USGS map1908Galatia 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 Muddy.

The story

How Muddy came to be

From Wikipedia’s history of Muddy.

Read it all →

During the 19th century, the site of Muddy was home to a small settlement known as Robinson's Ford, which was among the communities considered for the seat of Saline County after the county's creation in the 1840s. The modern village of Muddy had its start as a mining settlement established by the Harrisburg Big Muddy Coal Company, for which it was named, in 1903. The mine was sold to the larger O'Gara Coal Company in 1906.

The former St. Ioasaph Orthodox Church in Muddy, built in 1913, is dedicated to Ioasaph of Belgorod. The church was located on South St. at 37°45′56″N 88°31′21″W. This church was attended by eastern European immigrants, including Russians, Slovaks, Poles, and Rusyns. It was dismantled in 2019.

Text from Wikipedia, licensed CC BY-SA 4.0.

By decade

Muddy, decade by decade

Today5 recent
Muddy-post-office-il2018Muddy-post-office-ilMuddy-Village-Hall-il2018Muddy-Village-Hall-ilMuddy-St-Iosaph-of-Belgorod-Church-il2018Muddy-St-Iosaph-of-Belgorod-Church-ilMuddy-Maple-St-sign-il2018Muddy-Maple-St-sign-ilMuddy O'Gara 12 mine 2000s2007Muddy O'Gara 12 mine 2000s
People over time

Muddy, census by census

01001960198020002020Peak: 109

Between 61 and 109 people in every census since 1960.

7 censuses, 1960–2020.

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

Stories next door

History across the town line

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

Harrisburg2 historic placesA−

Questions about Muddy’s history

What year was Muddy founded?

The Muddy post office opened in 1908, the earliest record of the town by name (U.S. post office records).

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). How TownRatings grades history →

From Wikimedia Commons (5), Wikipedia, 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.