On its age, its old homes and the National Register, Pilot Township is more historic than 62% of U.S. towns. Its share of homes from before 1940 holds the grade up; its National Register listings pull it down.
B
HistoryA character grade: shown, never part of Pilot 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 Pilot 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 (±9.6 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 Pilot 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 and burying grounds
Three other post offices opened and closed inside today’s town.
Pilot Centre
1870–1879
Goodrich
1882–1905
Grand Prairie
1885–1866
18701950today
Hamlets and corners on the map
DickeysGoodrichPilot Center
7cemeteries and burying grounds inside Pilot Township
Grand PrairieGrand PrairieMount HopePilot CenterSaint Peter and PaulTrinity LutheranZion Lutheran
US Post Offices dataset (Blevins & Helbock, CC0). Places and cemeteries from the USGS Geographic Names Information System (2021).
The story so far
Pilot Township, in brief
Wikipedia doesn’t have a history of Pilot Township yet. The photos, dates and memories neighbors add here are how it gets written.
Pilot Township is one of seventeen townships in Kankakee County, Illinois, USA. As of the 2020 census, its population was 1,979 and it contained 842 housing units. It was formed from a portion of Salina Township on March 11, 1857.
Between the 2010 and 2020 censuses its population fell from 2,086 to 1,979 (-5%).
Intro from Wikipedia. Population: U.S. Census Bureau.
Timeline
Pilot Township, 1866 to 1923
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 Pilot Township. Tap a year, or press play to watch the town change.
1923Herscher 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 Pilot Township.
People over time
Pilot Township, census by census
Between 1,979 and 2,086 people in every census since 2000.
3 censuses, 2000–2020.
U.S. Census Bureau decennial counts, from the census table on Pilot Township’s Wikipedia page.
Famous people
Famous people close to Pilot Township
Nobody well known was born in Pilot Township itself, so here are the best known from just nearby.
Pilot Township is more historic than 62% 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.
How old are the homes in Pilot Township?
32% of Pilot Township’s homes were built before 1940 (Census estimate, ±9.6 points), against a typical 11% for an Illinois town; the median home was built in 1968.
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.
