Its Register listings are the Original Springs Hotel and Bathhouse and the Schlosser, Frank, Complex. Below: maps from 1899 on and the census since 1880.
The Okawville post office opened in 1872, the earliest record of the town by name. Another post office, Okaw (1836), opened inside today’s town and later closed.
First census: 482 in 18802020 census: 1,369154 years
How historic is Okawville?
A−
More historic than 76% of U.S. towns, on its age, its old homes and the National Register.
Founding year: the first Okawville post office (Blevins & Helbock, CC0).The full story ↓
History grade
What drives Okawville’s History grade
On its age, its old homes and the National Register, Okawville is more historic than 76% of U.S. towns. Its National Register listings hold the grade up; its age pulls it down.
A−
HistoryA character grade: shown, never part of Okawville’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 Okawville’s 69.3 sits above most of its state (92% of Illinois towns have fewer) while its 9 historic buildings outnumber those of 75% of U.S. towns.
How sure. Graded on any two of the three inputs instead, the letter would range from B to A. The pre-1940 share is a Census survey estimate (±5.8 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 Okawville’s past
Read from the archive, the National Register and the record. The page puts what stands out first.
Okawville was originally known simply as "Okaw," from an early name of the Kaskaskia River that derived from the Mississippi Valley French au Kaskaskies ("to the Kaskaskias"). The post office was known as Okaw from its establishment in 1836 until 1872, when the name was changed to Okawville.
In the late 19th and early 20th century Okawville was a prominent spa community. The first Okawville Springs Hotel was established in 1867.
Fire insurance maps drew every building, what it was made of and what it was used for, so insurers could price the risk of fire. Pick a year, then a sheet.
National Park Service, National Register of Historic Places. Photos from Wikimedia Commons, credited on each place’s page.
People over time
Okawville, census by census
Between 472 and 1,434 people in every census since 1880.
15 censuses, 1880–2020.
U.S. Census Bureau decennial counts, from the census table on Okawville’s Wikipedia page.
Places that used to be
Lost post offices
Okawville’s post office has been open since 1872. Another post office, Okaw, opened and closed inside today’s town.
Okaw
1836–1872
Okawville
1872–today
18301930today
US Post Offices dataset (Blevins & Helbock, CC0). Places and cemeteries from the USGS Geographic Names Information System (2021).
Questions about Okawville’s history
What year was Okawville founded?
The Okawville post office opened in 1872, the earliest record of the town by name (U.S. post office records).
How does Okawville rank for history?
Okawville is more historic than 76% 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 Okawville?
Two places: the Original Springs Hotel and Bathhouse (listed 1978) and the Schlosser, Frank, Complex (1983).
How old are the homes in Okawville?
23% of Okawville’s homes were built before 1940 (Census estimate, ±5.8 points), against a typical 11% for an Illinois town; the median home was built in 1967.
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 (4), Wikidata (2), the National Register of Historic Places (2), Wikipedia, U.S. Geological Survey historical maps, U.S. Census counts (via Wikipedia), the US Post Offices dataset (Blevins & Helbock), the USGS Geographic Names Information System and Sanborn fire insurance maps (Library of Congress). Archive images are copied here with their credits and licenses, shown on each photo’s page. Refreshed monthly.
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