On its age, its old homes and the National Register, Pinckneyville is more historic than 84% of U.S. towns, #145 of 768 in Illinois. All 3 inputs are above most U.S. towns; its share of homes from before 1940 ranks highest and its National Register listings lowest.
A−
HistoryA character grade: shown, never part of Pinckneyville’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 Pinckneyville’s 2.0 sits above most of its state (67% of Illinois towns have fewer) while its 1 listings outnumber those of 51% of U.S. towns.
How sure. Graded on any two of the three inputs instead, the letter would range from B+ to A. The pre-1940 share is a Census survey estimate (±8.3 points). The founding year is the first post office, not a stated founding date.
Founding year: the first post office (other dates in Quick answers). 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 Pinckneyville’s past
Read from the archive, the National Register and the record. The page puts what stands out first.
Fire insurance maps drew every building, what it was made of and what it was used for, so insurers could price the risk of fire. Pick a year, then a sheet.
Perry County was formed on January 29, 1827. It was named for Commodore Oliver H. Perry. When Perry County was established, 80 acres were taken from nearby Jackson and Randolph counties; 20 acres were reserved for the county seat. On May 17, 1857, Pinckneyville (named after Charles Cotesworth Pinckney) was organized and named as the county seat. Before being organized, Pinckneyville consisted as of 1834 of a log courthouse, four stores, a tavern, and a grocery (the first store was opened in 1827); around 20 families lived in the town. 1834 was also the same year that the Perry County jail was constructed; a larger jail, which is now the home of the Perry County jail museum, was built in 1871.
Nothing in the archives for these yearsWeddings 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 Pinckneyville. Tap a year, or press play to watch the town change.
1924Pinckneyville 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 Pinckneyville.
Then & now
Stand where they stood
No then-and-now pairs yet. Take a photo from the same spot as an old one and they appear here side by side.
Retake this viewPinckneyville, IL - July 7, 1906, 1907
Find the spot, match the angle, and add your photo. It becomes the first then-and-now pair on Pinckneyville’s page.
Pinckneyville’s post office has been open since 1827.
Gone or out of use
First Presbyterian Churchchurch
US Post Offices dataset (Blevins & Helbock, CC0). Places and cemeteries from the USGS Geographic Names Information System (2021).
Questions about Pinckneyville’s history
What year was Pinckneyville founded?
The Pinckneyville post office opened in 1827, the earliest record of the town by name (U.S. post office records).
How does Pinckneyville rank for history?
Pinckneyville is more historic than 84% of U.S. towns, #145 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.
What is on the National Register in Pinckneyville?
One place: the Perry County Jail (listed 2000).
How old are the homes in Pinckneyville?
27% of Pinckneyville’s homes were built before 1940 (Census estimate, ±8.3 points), against a typical 11% for an Illinois town; the median home was built in 1970.
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 Wikimedia Commons (4), the National Register of Historic Places (1), Wikipedia, Wikidata and Wikipedia for famous people, 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 Sanborn fire insurance maps (Library of Congress). Archive images are copied here with their credits and licenses, shown on each photo’s page. Refreshed monthly.
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