Founding year: Wikidata. First post office: 1855.The full story ↓
History grade
What drives Pana’s History grade
On its age, its old homes and the National Register, Pana is more historic than 92% of U.S. towns, #56 of 768 in Illinois. All 3 inputs are above most U.S. towns; its share of homes from before 1940 ranks highest and its National Register listings lowest.
A
HistoryA character grade: shown, never part of Pana’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 Pana’s 5.8 sits above most of its state (77% of Illinois towns have fewer) while its 3 historic buildings outnumber those of 65% 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 (±5.1 points). Two sources give 1845.
Founding year: Wikidata (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 Pana’s past
Read from the archive, the National Register and the record. The page puts what stands out first.
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.
The area around Pana was first organized as Stone Coal Precinct in 1845. The county's precincts became townships in 1856, and Stone Coal Precinct became Pana Township, Christian County, Illinois. In 1857 the village of Pana was incorporated. The name "Pana" is believed to have been derived from the indigenous tribe, the Pawnee. It developed at the intersection of east–west and north–south railroads, and had supplies of fuel and water for the steam engines of the railroad.
Passages that mention Pana, cut from the printed page as they were published.
History of Christian County, Illinois1880 · page 48Read the page →
Read the text
beds, No. 20 of section 4 7 Sandy sliale, with iron-stone concretions 1-5 There is here a regular southerly dip at the rate of thirty feet to the mile, extending from Pana for four miles South. It is probable that near or north of Pana, the rocks are horizontal and soon dip north-westwardly, which they evidently do ten miles north-west of Pana, although the dip is slight.
Text read by machine from the scan; it may contain errors.
History of Christian County, Illinois1880 · page 93Read the page →
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The house was not completed as soon as at first contemplated, but it is noted, under that date, that " the first church edifice of Pana is enclosed, and the floor laid." But, in time, the church was finished, and before it was dedicated a terrible tornado passed over Pana, on the 13th of June, 1857, wrecking badly twenty-five or thirty houses, carrying with it a portion of the roof of the church, thus giving free access to the torrents of rain which fell and seriously damaged the plastering, rendering it unfit for occupation.
Text read by machine from the scan; it may contain errors.
Scans and text from the Internet Archive. Books published in 1930 or earlier, which are in the public domain.
In 1845, according to Wikidata. Pana’s post office opened in 1855, and the census of 1870 counted 2,207 people here.
How does Pana rank for history?
Pana is more historic than 92% of U.S. towns, #56 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.
What is on the National Register in Pana?
Two places: the Kitchell Park (listed 1992) and the Louis Jehle House (1995).
How old are the homes in Pana?
36% of Pana’s homes were built before 1940 (Census estimate, ±5.1 points), against a typical 11% for an Illinois town; the median home was built in 1955.
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 (3), Wikidata (1), the National Register of Historic Places (2), Wikipedia, Wikidata and Wikipedia for famous people, 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, Sanborn fire insurance maps (Library of Congress) and old county and town histories (Internet Archive). Archive images are copied here with their credits and licenses, shown on each photo’s page. Refreshed monthly.
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