On its age, its old homes and the National Register, Piasa Township is more historic than 35% of U.S. towns, #509 of 768 in Illinois. Its share of homes from before 1940 holds the grade up; its National Register listings pull it down.
C
HistoryA character grade: shown, never part of Piasa 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 Piasa 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.
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 (±7.2 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 Piasa 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
Two other post offices opened and closed inside today’s town.
Lurton's
1833–1836
Delhi
1836–1839
18301930today
Hamlets and corners on the map
DelhiLake Piasa
Gone or out of use
Budd SchoolschoolCentral SchoolschoolDiamond Hill SchoolschoolEldridge SchoolschoolPembroke SchoolschoolWagenblast Schoolschool
5cemeteries and burying grounds inside Piasa Township
BottsEdwardsEldridgeMarstonSaint Alphonsus
US Post Offices dataset (Blevins & Helbock, CC0). Places and cemeteries from the USGS Geographic Names Information System (2021).
The story so far
Piasa Township, in brief
Wikipedia doesn’t have a history of Piasa Township yet. The photos, dates and memories neighbors add here are how it gets written.
Piasa is an unincorporated community in Macoupin County, Illinois, United States. Piasa is located on Illinois Route 16 4 miles (6.4 km) west of Shipman. Piasa has a post office with ZIP code 62079.
Between the 2010 and 2020 censuses its population fell from 3,376 to 3,152 (-7%).
Intro from Wikipedia. Population: U.S. Census Bureau.
From the old history books
What they wrote about Piasa Township in 1919
Passages that mention Piasa Township, cut from the printed page as they were published.
History of Jersey County, Illinois1919 · page 449Read the page →
Read the text
RAILROADS The main line and the Jackson division of the Chicago & Alton Railroad intersect Piasa Township, the former passing through sections 24, 25, 35 and 36 ; and the latter through sections 18, 19, 30 and 32. The only railroad station is Delhi on the southwest quarter of section 18. Brighton is adjoining this township on the east, and a part of the village is platted in Piasa Township. By reasons of the Big and Little Piasa creeks the land is well watered, and heavily timbered, although a
Text read by machine from the scan; it may contain errors.
History of Jersey County, Illinois1919 · page 584Read the page →
Read the text
farm of forty acres in Elsali Township, that had belonged to his fatherindaw, and conducted it for about six years, when he rented the prop¬ erty, and took charge of a 160-acre farm in Mississippi Township, on which he remained for three years. He then went to Piasa Township, where he rented a farm for three years, and at the expiration of that period, he went to Madison County, Ill., where he rented a farm for six years. Returning to Piasa Township, he rented a farm for a year, but then returned to Madison County, where for the succeeding six years he
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.
Timeline
Piasa Township, 1833 to 1925
Woven from the archive, old maps, post office records, the National Register and the people born here.
Every edition of the U.S. Geological Survey’s map of Piasa Township. Tap a year, or press play to watch the town change.
1925Brighton 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 Piasa Township.
Famous people
Famous people close to Piasa Township
Nobody well known was born in Piasa Township itself, so here are the best known from just nearby.
Piasa Township is more historic than 35% of U.S. towns, #509 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 Piasa Township?
13% of Piasa Township’s homes were built before 1940 (Census estimate, ±7.2 points), against a typical 11% for an Illinois town; the median home was built in 1979.
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, 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.
