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AHistory
History · Murphysboro Township

Murphysboro Township’s post office opened in 1843, and 20% of its homes were built before 1940

More historic than 91% of U.S. towns · #60 of 768 in Illinois. What drives it

10 places in town are on the National Register. Below: 2 old photos and papers, maps from 1924 on, and the census since 1880.

1843first post office
10on the National Register
20%homes built before 1940
2old photos & papers
Add an old photoShare a memory
From Murphysboro Township’s archive · credits on each photo
Quick answers

How Murphysboro Township began

When was Murphysboro Township founded?

1843

The Murphysboro Township post office opened in 1843, the earliest record of the town by name. Another post office, Poplar Ridge (1879), opened inside today’s town and later closed.

First census: 2,196 in 18802020 census: 9,434183 years

How historic is Murphysboro Township?

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: the first Murphysboro Township post office (Blevins & Helbock, CC0).The full story ↓
History grade

What drives Murphysboro Township’s History grade

On its age, its old homes and the National Register, Murphysboro Township is more historic than 91% of U.S. towns, #60 of 768 in Illinois. All 3 inputs are above most U.S. towns; its National Register listings ranks highest and its share of homes from before 1940 lowest.

A
HistoryA character grade: shown, never part of Murphysboro Township’s overall grade.
Founding era1843, from the first post office: founded 1776–1849, an older era than 75% of U.S. townsA−Homes built before 194020.1% of homes (±4.1) · typical IL town 10.6% · U.S. 8.4%B+National Register10 listings, 66 historic buildings, 70.1 per 10,000 residents · typical IL town 0.5 · U.S. 2.4A
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 Murphysboro Township’s 70.1 sits above most of its state (92% of Illinois towns have fewer) while its 66 historic buildings outnumber those of 87% 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 (±4.1 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 Murphysboro Township’s past

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

A history waiting to be writtenOnly 2 old photos are in the public archives. The rest are in attics and albums.Boom and bustPeaked at 10,703 in 1920; 7,093 people lived here in 2020.Landmarks on the Register10 places on the National Register.Deep rootsA post office since 1843: 183 years of Murphysboro Township.
★ What stands out · Help out

Start Murphysboro Township’s collection

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

Decades since 1900 with photos
00s10s20s30s40s50s60s70s80s90s
2 of 10 decades. The empty ones are waiting for someone’s album.
Retake an old viewFor sale. Southeast of Murphysboro, Ill…: stand where they stood+15Share a family photoSign in to add one+10
People over time

Murphysboro Township, census by census

02,0004,0006,0008,00010,00018801900192019401960198020002020Peak: 10,703

Peaked at 10,703 in 1920; 7,093 people lived here in 2020.

15 censuses, 1880–2020.

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

On the National Register

10 listings protect 66 historic buildings

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

places listed
10
National Historic Landmarks
0
none yet
historic buildings protected
66
each building in a district counts

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

The story

How Murphysboro Township came to be

From Wikipedia’s history of Murphysboro Township.

Read it all →

Established in September 1843, Murphysboro is the second county seat of Jackson County. The town's creation is tied to the disastrous fire which destroyed the courthouse in the first county seat, Brownsville. The fire proved to be the catalyst to move the county seat to a more central location. The name was decided for the new town when William C. Murphy's name was drawn from a hat containing the names of the three commissioners who chose the new location, a 20-acre (81,000 m2) tract of land donated by Dr. John Logan and Elizabeth Logan.

ChaptersRevitalization efforts

Text from Wikipedia, licensed CC BY-SA 4.0.

Timeline

Murphysboro Township, 1879 to 1973

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

  1. 19th century
  2. 1879Post officeThe Poplar Ridge post office opens
  3. 1884Post officeThe Poplar Ridge post office closes
  4. 20th century
  5. 1920CensusPopulation peaks at 10,703
  6. 1924On the mapFirst mapped by the U.S. Geological Survey
  7. 1940In the archiveFor sale. Southeast of Murphysboro, Illinois
  8. 1973In the archiveJUST BEFORE RAIN--NEAR
By decade

Murphysboro Township, decade by decade

2 decades in the archive, from the 1940s to the 1970s. Scroll each row; tap a photo for its story.

1940s–1970s2 items
For sale. Southeast of Murphysboro, Illinois1940For sale. Southeast of Murphysboro, IllinoisJUST BEFORE RAIN--NEAR1973JUST BEFORE RAIN--NEAR
1980s–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
Cummare's Italian Ristorante2017Cummare's Italian RistoranteYucca in Musphysboro, Illinois2016Yucca in Musphysboro, IllinoisTree-of-heaven invasive in2016Tree-of-heaven invasive inWilliam H. Hull House in2013William H. Hull House inRobert W. Hamilton House2013Robert W. Hamilton HouseRiverside Park Bandshell2013Riverside Park BandshellMurphysboro former post office2013Murphysboro former post officeMurphysboro Elks Lodge2013Murphysboro Elks LodgeM&O depot in2013M&O depot inLocust and 13th, former ILC depot in2013Locust and 13th, former ILC depot inLiberty Theater in2013Liberty Theater inCornelius Hennessy Building2013Cornelius Hennessy BuildingPolice Harley2010Police HarleyLake2008Lake
On the map

Murphysboro Township on the map, 1924 to 1990

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

Murphysboro Township on the 1924 USGS mapMurphysboro Township on the 1948 USGS mapMurphysboro Township on the 1978 USGS mapMurphysboro Township on the 1990 USGS map1924Alto Pass 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 Murphysboro Township.

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.

For sale. Southeast of Murphysboro, Illinois
Retake this viewFor sale. Southeast of Murphysboro, Illinois, 1940

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

Retake this view · +15
Places that used to be

Lost post offices, old corners, places now gone and burying grounds

Another post office, Poplar Ridge, opened and closed inside today’s town.

Hamlets and corners on the map
Mount CarbonPoplar Ridge
Gone or out of use
Bandy Schoolschool
7cemeteries and burying grounds inside Murphysboro Township
BostickHallHiller Crab OrchardMount CarbonMount PleasantPleasant Grove MemorialPoplar Ridge

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

Stories next door

History across the town line

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

Somerset Township1 historic placeC+Sand Ridge TownshipIts storynot graded: under 1,000 residents or part of its townCarbondale Township5 historic placesnot graded: under 1,000 residents or part of its townPomona TownshipIts storynot graded: under 1,000 residents or part of its townCarbondale5 historic placesB−

Questions about Murphysboro Township’s history

What year was Murphysboro Township founded?

The Murphysboro Township post office opened in 1843, the earliest record of the town by name (U.S. post office records).

How does Murphysboro Township rank for history?

Murphysboro Township is more historic than 91% of U.S. towns, #60 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 Murphysboro Township?

20% of Murphysboro Township’s homes were built before 1940 (Census estimate, ±4.1 points), against a typical 11% for an Illinois town; the median home was built in 1967.

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 (15), the Library of Congress (1), Wikidata (2), 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.