Each edition grades its towns against each other only.
2 places in town are on the National Register. Below: maps from 1949 on and the census since 1880.
The Peotone Township post office opened in 1857, the earliest record of the town by name.
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 Peotone Township’s history is told.
From Wikipedia’s history of Peotone Township.
Peotone is a name derived from the Potawatomi language meaning 'come here'.
Text from Wikipedia, licensed CC BY-SA 4.0.
Passages that mention Peotone Township, cut from the printed page as they were published.
great that only during the finest weather could they be made available. A year after the organization of the township, however, a movement was made toward putting in operation the means for establishing schools in the midst of the settlements within the bounds of Peotone Township. On the 28th of February, 1859, the voters of the township met at the house of J. F. Johnson and elected Samuel Goodspeed, A. H. Fahs and Tobias Fahs, School Trustees ; and by the Trustees, Ralph Crawford was elected Treasurer, which office he held for the next fourteen years. , At the meeting just mentioned, the Trustees
Text read by machine from the scan; it may contain errors.
Mr. Goodspeed had lived in the county twenty years prior to his removal to Peotone Township, having settled in Plainfield in 1835. He has proved to be one of the most substantial citizens of this portion of the county, and has filled almost every position of honor and trust, and that to his own credit and the satisfaction of the people. He was Moderator of the first township meeting, in 1858, one of the first three School Trustees, in 1859, and has held various other ofiices since.
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.
Every edition of the U.S. Geological Survey’s map of Peotone 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 Peotone Township.
The country’s official list of buildings and places worth saving.
National Park Service, National Register of Historic Places. Photos from Wikimedia Commons, credited on each place’s page.
Grew from 623 people in 1880 to 4,150 in 2020, 6 times over.
15 censuses, 1880–2020.
U.S. Census Bureau decennial counts, from the census table on Peotone Township’s Wikipedia page.
Old hamlets and crossroads still carry their names on the map.
Places and cemeteries from the USGS Geographic Names Information System (2021).
Each neighbor’s History grade, on the same three inputs.
The Peotone Township post office opened in 1857, the earliest record of the town by name (U.S. post office records).
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). How TownRatings grades history →
From Wikimedia Commons (1), Wikipedia, U.S. Geological Survey historical maps, U.S. Census counts (via Wikipedia), 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.
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