Each edition grades its towns against each other only.
Below: maps from 1949 on and the census since 1860.
The Noble post office opened in 1854, the earliest record of the town by name. Wikidata gives 1862.
Read from the archive, the National Register and the record. The page puts what stands out first.
The first neighbors to add old photos shape how Noble’s history is told.
Peaked at 855 in 1940; 633 people lived here in 2020.
16 censuses, 1860–2020.
U.S. Census Bureau decennial counts, from the census table on Noble’s Wikipedia page.
Wikipedia doesn’t have a history of Noble yet. The photos, dates and memories neighbors add here are how it gets written.
Noble is a village in Richland County, Illinois, United States. As of the 2020 census, Noble had a population of 633.
Its first post office opened in 1854. Between the 2010 and 2020 censuses its population fell from 677 to 633 (-6%).
Intro from Wikipedia. Population: U.S. Census Bureau.
Woven from the archive, old maps, post office records, the National Register and the people born here.
On the mapFirst mapped by the U.S. Geological SurveyWeddings on Main Street, storms, parades, school pictures, the old store. If it’s in your family album, it belongs here.
Every edition of the U.S. Geological Survey’s map of Noble. Tap a year, or press play to watch the town change.
U.S. Geological Survey historical topographic maps (public domain), via Esri’s collection of the scans. The red ring marks the center of Noble.
Nobody well known was born in Noble itself, so here are the best known from just nearby.
The Noble post office opened in 1854, the earliest record of the town by name (U.S. post office records). Wikidata gives 1862.
What the archives can’t tell you, neighbors can.
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 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.
