Patton Township was named Prairie City Township when established as a township in Vermilion County; its name was changed to Patton Township on September 14, 1857.
How historic is Patton Township?
A
More historic than 91% of U.S. towns, on its age, its old homes and the National Register.
On its age, its old homes and the National Register, Patton Township is more historic than 91% of U.S. towns, #65 of 768 in Illinois. All 2 inputs are above most U.S. towns; its share of homes from before 1940 ranks highest and its National Register listings lowest.
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HistoryA character grade: shown, never part of Patton 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 Patton Township’s 7.7 sits above most of its state (80% of Illinois towns have fewer) while its 4 listings outnumber those of 68% of U.S. towns.
How sure. Graded on two of the three inputs, so a change in either one moves the letter more than it would with three. The pre-1940 share is a Census survey estimate (±6.2 points).
Founding year: our sources. 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 Patton Township’s past
Read from the archive, the National Register and the record. The page puts what stands out first.
Lost post offices, old corners, places now gone and burying grounds
Four other post offices opened and closed inside today’s town.
Ten Mile Grove
1854–1857
Henderson Station
1873–1895
Miller
1876–1879
Perdueville
1904–1914
18501940today
Hamlets and corners on the map
Perdueville
Gone or out of use
Anderson SchoolschoolBlanchard SchoolschoolClifford D Foster AirportairportFarmersville SchoolschoolFroyd SchoolschoolHasselbring AirportairportKemp SchoolschoolLily Dell SchoolschoolMiller SchoolschoolPut SchoolschoolWhite Schoolschool
5cemeteries and burying grounds inside Patton Township
FarmersvilleHallMeharryProspectTen Mile Grove
US Post Offices dataset (Blevins & Helbock, CC0). Places and cemeteries from the USGS Geographic Names Information System (2021).
On the map
Patton Township on the map, 1924 to 1984
Every edition of the U.S. Geological Survey’s map of Patton Township. Tap a year, or press play to watch the town change.
1924Paxton 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 Patton Township.
The story so far
Patton Township, in brief
Wikipedia doesn’t have a history of Patton Township yet. The photos, dates and memories neighbors add here are how it gets written.
Patton Township is located in Ford County, Illinois, United States. As of the 2020 census, its population was 5,253 and it contained 2,332 housing units. It was named Prairie City Township when established as a township in Vermilion County; its name was changed to Patton Township on September 14, 1857.
Its population held steady between the last two censuses: 5,358 in 2010, 5,253 in 2020.
Intro from Wikipedia. Population: U.S. Census Bureau.
Timeline
Patton Township, 1854 to 1924
Woven from the archive, old maps, post office records, the National Register and the people born here.
Patton Township is more historic than 91% of U.S. towns, #65 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.
How old are the homes in Patton Township?
28% of Patton Township’s homes were built before 1940 (Census estimate, ±6.2 points), against a typical 11% for an Illinois town; the median home was built in 1959.
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 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.
