Each edition grades its towns against each other only.
More historic than 28% of U.S. towns. What drives it
Most of Pendleton Township was built recently: 10% of its homes predate 1940 and the median home dates from 1986. Below: maps from 1958 on and the census since 2000.
More historic than 28% of U.S. towns, on its age, its old homes and the National Register.
On its age, its old homes and the National Register, Pendleton Township is more historic than 28% of U.S. towns. Its share of homes from before 1940 holds the grade up; its National Register listings pull it down.
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 Pendleton 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.
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 →
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 Pendleton Township’s history is told.
Three other post offices opened and closed inside today’s town.
US Post Offices dataset (Blevins & Helbock, CC0). Places and cemeteries from the USGS Geographic Names Information System (2021).
Wikipedia doesn’t have a history of Pendleton Township yet. The photos, dates and memories neighbors add here are how it gets written.
Pendleton Township is one of sixteen townships in Jefferson County, Illinois, USA. As of the 2020 census, its population was 1,191 and it contained 461 housing units.
Its population held steady between the last two censuses: 1,206 in 2010, 1,191 in 2020.
Intro from Wikipedia. Population: U.S. Census Bureau.
Passages that mention Pendleton Township, cut from the printed page as they were published.
Opdkye was laid out April 14, 1871, and like Belle Rive, its neighbor, was the result of building the railroad. It is located in Section 17 of Pendleton Township, and had almost as many proprietox's as blocks in its plat. Among them were George D. Edgar, James K., Jonathan, Jefferson H. and Alonzo Jones and D. T. Philips. It covered origi-
Text read by machine from the scan; it may contain errors.
Belle Rive was laid out April 1, 1871, on Section 27 of Pendleton Township. It was surveyed by Mr Williams for Moses Waters, William Caniield and Jesse Laird, the owners of the laud upon which it is located.
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.
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 Pendleton Township. 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 Pendleton Township.
Between 1,084 and 1,206 people in every census since 2000.
3 censuses, 2000–2020.
U.S. Census Bureau decennial counts, from the census table on Pendleton Township’s Wikipedia page.
Each neighbor’s History grade, on the same three inputs.
Pendleton Township is more historic than 28% 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.
10% of Pendleton 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 1986.
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).
From 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 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.
