Founding year: the first Odin Township post office (Blevins & Helbock, CC0). Wikidata: 1865.The full story ↓
History grade
What drives Odin Township’s History grade
On its age, its old homes and the National Register, Odin Township is more historic than 30% of U.S. towns. Its share of homes from before 1940 holds the grade up; its National Register listings pull it down.
C
HistoryA character grade: shown, never part of Odin 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 Odin Township’s 0.0 sits below most of its state (28% of Illinois towns have fewer) while its 0 listings outnumber those of 23% of U.S. towns.
How sure. Graded on any two of the three inputs instead, the letter would range from C− to C+. The pre-1940 share is a Census survey estimate (±4.5 points). The founding year is the first post office, not a stated founding date; Wikidata’s 1865 falls in the same era, so the grade doesn’t depend on which one is used.
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 Odin Township’s past
Read from the archive, the National Register and the record. The page puts what stands out first.
Peaked at 1,849 in 1940; 935 people lived here in 2020.
15 censuses, 1880–2020.
U.S. Census Bureau decennial counts, from the census table on Odin Township’s Wikipedia page.
On the map
Odin Township on the map, 1914 to 1970
Every edition of the U.S. Geological Survey’s map of Odin Township. Tap a year, or press play to watch the town change.
1914Centralia 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 Odin Township.
Odin originally was settled chiefly by Scandinavians. The village was named after Odin, a god in ancient Germanic tradition.
The Territory of Illinois was separated from that of Indiana in 1809. The newly appointed governor for this territory was Ninian Edwards, and the seat of government established at Kaskaskia. By an act of Congress in April 1818, Illinois was admitted to the Union as the twenty-second state, with Shadrach Bond the first governor.
Marion County was organized on January 24, 1823, and named for General Francis Marion, a hero of the Revolutionary War.
Odin Township originally had the villages of Odin and Sandoval within its boundaries. However, in 1896 it was divided into Odin and Sandoval townships.
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.
The Odin Township post office opened in 1858, the earliest record of the town by name (U.S. post office records). Wikidata gives 1865.
How does Odin Township rank for history?
Odin Township is more historic than 30% 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.
How old are the homes in Odin Township?
11% of Odin Township’s homes were built before 1940 (Census estimate, ±4.5 points), against a typical 11% for an Illinois town; the median home was built in 1975.
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 Library of Congress (1), Wikipedia, U.S. Geological Survey historical maps, U.S. Census counts (via Wikipedia) 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.
