Most of Newcomb Township was built recently: 8% of its homes predate 1940 and the median home dates from 1990. Its Register listing is the Hazen Bridge. Below: maps from 1928 on and the census since 1870.
The Newcomb Township post office opened in 1859, the earliest record of the town by name. Three smaller post offices, Newcomb (1859), Shilo Centre (1874) and Newcomb (1894), opened inside today’s town and later closed.
First census: 897 in 18702020 census: 1,377167 years
How historic is Newcomb Township?
B−
More historic than 46% of U.S. towns, on its age, its old homes and the National Register.
Founding year: the first Newcomb Township post office (Blevins & Helbock, CC0).The full story ↓
History grade
What drives Newcomb Township’s History grade
On its age, its old homes and the National Register, Newcomb Township is more historic than 46% of U.S. towns. Its National Register listings hold the grade up; its age pulls it down.
B−
HistoryA character grade: shown, never part of Newcomb Township’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 Newcomb Township’s 6.8 sits above most of its state (79% of Illinois towns have fewer) while its 1 listings outnumber those of 51% of U.S. towns.
How sure. Graded on any two of the three inputs instead, the letter would range from C to B. The pre-1940 share is a Census survey estimate (±7.9 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 Newcomb Township’s past
Read from the archive, the National Register and the record. The page puts what stands out first.
Newcomb Township was created as a civil township in 1860, after Champaign County adopted the township form of government, and originally comprised two survey townships. It is said to have been named after Joseph Newcomb, an early settler. The eastern half of Newcomb Township was set off in 1867 to create Condit Township. An early post office (1857 to 1876) in northwest Condit Township, near Fisher, was called Newcomb.
Every edition of the U.S. Geological Survey’s map of Newcomb Township. Tap a year, or press play to watch the town change.
1928Gibson City 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 Newcomb Township.
On the National Register
1 historic place in Newcomb Township
The country’s official list of buildings and places worth saving.
The Newcomb Township post office opened in 1859, the earliest record of the town by name (U.S. post office records).
How does Newcomb Township rank for history?
Newcomb Township is more historic than 46% 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 Newcomb Township?
One place: the Hazen Bridge (listed 1994).
How old are the homes in Newcomb Township?
8% of Newcomb Township’s homes were built before 1940 (Census estimate, ±7.9 points), against a typical 11% for an Illinois town; the median home was built in 1990.
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 the National Register of Historic Places (1), 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.
