Guest, Sign inJoin

Post to Princeton

We’ll email a one-tap link to publish your post. No password, and nothing is public until you click it.
Already a member? Sign in
AHistory
History · Princeton

Princeton’s post office opened in 1833, and 22% of its homes were built before 1940

More historic than 93% of U.S. towns · #48 of 768 in Illinois. What drives it

8 places in town are on the National Register, among them the Owen Lovejoy Homestead, a National Historic Landmark, and three historic districts with 90 buildings between them. Below: 10 old photos and papers, maps from 1885 on, and the census since 1860.

1833first post office
8on the National Register
22%homes built before 1940
10old photos & papers
19famous people
Add an old photoShare a memory
From Princeton’s archive · credits on each photo
Quick answers

How Princeton began

When was Princeton founded?

1833

The Princeton post office opened in 1833, the earliest record of the town by name.

First census: 2,473 in 18602020 census: 7,832193 years

How historic is Princeton?

A

More historic than 93% of U.S. towns, on its age, its old homes and the National Register.

What drives the grade ↓
Founding year: the first Princeton post office (Blevins & Helbock, CC0).The full story ↓
History grade

What drives Princeton’s History grade

On its age, its old homes and the National Register, Princeton is more historic than 93% of U.S. towns, #48 of 768 in Illinois. All 3 inputs are above most U.S. towns; its National Register listings ranks highest and its share of homes from before 1940 lowest.

A
HistoryA character grade: shown, never part of Princeton’s overall grade.
Founding era1833, from the first post office: founded 1776–1849, an older era than 75% of U.S. townsA−Homes built before 194022.2% of homes (±4.0) · typical IL town 10.6% · U.S. 8.4%B+National Register8 listings, 96 historic buildings, 120 per 10,000 residents · typical IL town 0.5 · U.S. 2.4A
All U.S. towns we grade (21,289)Ahead of 93%
NewerOlder
Illinois towns of 2,500+ (768)Ahead of 94%

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 Princeton’s 120 sits above most of its state (94% of Illinois towns have fewer) while its 96 historic buildings outnumber those of 89% of U.S. towns.

How sure. Graded on any two of the three inputs instead, the letter would range from A− to A. The pre-1940 share is a Census survey estimate (±4.0 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 Princeton’s past

Read from the archive, the National Register and the record. The page puts what stands out first.

On the map since 18935 editions of the USGS map, 1893 to 1979. Watch Princeton change.A National Historic Landmark8 places on the National Register, including Owen Lovejoy Homestead, a National Historic Landmark.A historic districtThe Princeton South Main Street-Courthouse Square Historic District takes in 56 historic buildings.Mapped building by building6 fire insurance maps, 1885 to 1918, drew every building in Princeton.
★ What stands out · On the map

Princeton on the map, 1893 to 1979

Every edition of the U.S. Geological Survey’s map of Princeton. Tap a year, or press play to watch the town change.

Princeton on the 1893 USGS mapPrinceton on the 1909 USGS mapPrinceton on the 1911 USGS mapPrinceton on the 1966 USGS mapPrinceton on the 1979 USGS map1893Hennepin 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 Princeton.

On the National Register

8 listings protect 96 historic buildings

The country’s official list of buildings and places worth saving. One is a National Historic Landmark, the highest tier.

places listed
8
National Historic Landmark
1
Owen Lovejoy Homestead
historic buildings protected
96
each building in a district counts
first listed
1973
Owen Lovejoy Homestead
Princeton Chapter HouseRichard M. Skinner House, built 1878Princeton North Main Street Historic DistrictPrinceton South Main Street-Courthouse Square Historic DistrictHampshire Colony Congregational ChurchOakland Cemetery Historic DistrictColonel George H. Paddock House, built 1903Owen Lovejoy Homestead★
BuildingsDistricts★ landmark

Architectural styles listings

Second Empire1
★ Landmark
Owen Lovejoy HomesteadBuilding
Princeton Chapter HouseBuilding
Richard M. Skinner HouseSecond Empire · Built 1878
Princeton North Main Street Historic DistrictDistrict
Princeton South Main Street-Courthouse Square Historic DistrictDistrict
Hampshire Colony Congregational ChurchBuilding
Oakland Cemetery Historic DistrictDistrict
Colonel George H. Paddock HouseBuilt 1903

National Park Service, National Register of Historic Places. Photos from Wikimedia Commons, credited on each place’s page.

The story

How Princeton came to be

From Wikipedia’s history of Princeton.

Read it all →

Bureau County was a New England settlement. The founders of Princeton consisted entirely of settlers from New England. These people were "Yankees," descended from the English Puritans who settled New England in the 1600s. They were part of a wave of New England farmers who headed west into what was then the wilds of the Northwest Territory during the early 1800s. Most of them arrived as a result of the completion of the Erie Canal. When they arrived in what is now Bureau County there was nothing but a virgin forest and wild prairie; the New Englanders laid out farms, constructed roads, erected government buildings and established post routes. They brought with them many of their Yankee New England values, such as a passion for education, fueling the establishment of many schools, as well as staunch support for abolitionism. They were mostly members of the Congregationalist Church, thoug…

Text from Wikipedia, licensed CC BY-SA 4.0.

From the old history books

What they wrote about Princeton, 1877–1885

Passages that mention Princeton, cut from the printed page as they were published.

laboring men of Princeton, in the hearts of those who feel the aches of toil and the stern realities of an existence sustained by daily labor. The working men of Princeton have long been the unswerving friends of Justus Stevens, and a prouder epitaph a rich man cannot have.
History of Bureau County, Illinois1885 · page 709Read the page →
Read the text

laboring men of Princeton, in the hearts of those who feel the aches of toil and the stern realities of an existence sustained by daily labor. The working men of Princeton have long been the unswerving friends of Justus Stevens, and a prouder epitaph a rich man cannot have.

Text read by machine from the scan; it may contain errors.
Greenfield was the name proposed for the new town, as that was the name of the post-office for the settlement, but some thought Princeton more appropriate, as the town site was much like Old Princeton in New Jersey, being high and sightly.
The voters and tax-payers of Bureau county, Illinois1877 · page 120Read the page →
Read the text

Greenfield was the name proposed for the new town, as that was the name of the post-office for the settlement, but some thought Princeton more appropriate, as the town site was much like Old Princeton in New Jersey, being high and sightly.

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

Princeton, 1833 to 1997

Woven from the archive, old maps, post office records, the National Register and the people born here.

  1. 19th century
  2. 1833Post officeThe Princeton post office opens
  3. 1870In the archiveBird's eye view of the city of Princeton, Bureau County, Illinois 1870
  4. 1878BuiltRichard M. Skinner House is built
  5. 1893On the mapFirst mapped by the U.S. Geological Survey
  6. 20th century
  7. 1903BuiltColonel George H. Paddock House is built
  8. 1905In the archiveOwen Lovejoy Homestead. 1905
  9. 1912In the archiveFirst Baptist Church
  10. 1912Born hereVirgil Fox is born here
  11. 1933Born hereBilly Garrett is born here
  12. 1933Born hereKathryn Hays is born here
  13. 1943Born hereJosh Taylor is born here
  14. 1997LandmarkOwen Lovejoy Homestead named a National Historic Landmark
By decade

Princeton, decade by decade

3 decades in the archive, from the 1870s to the 1910s. Scroll each row; tap a photo for its story.

1870s–1910s10 items
Bird's eye view of the city of Princeton, Bureau County, Illinois 18701870Bird's eye view of the city of Princeton, Bureau Coun…Owen Lovejoy Homestead. 1905c. 1905Owen Lovejoy Homestead. 1905Princeton, Ill. Eng. Luth. [English Lutheran] Church1908Princeton, Ill. Eng. Luth. [English Lutheran] ChurchHigh school1909High schoolFirst Baptist Church1912First Baptist ChurchFirst Baptist Church1912First Baptist ChurchFirst Baptist Church1912First Baptist ChurchThe Matson Public Library1913The Matson Public LibraryThe Matson Public Library1913The Matson Public LibraryThe Matson Public Library1913The Matson Public Library
1920s–1990snothing yet
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.
Add from your album
Every building

Princeton, building by building, 1885–1918

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.

Princeton fire insurance map, 1885, sheet 11885Sheet 1 of 4
Edition
BrickWoodStone

Sanborn Map Company, via the Library of Congress. Editions published in 1930 or earlier, which are in the public domain.

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.

Bird's eye view of the city of Princeton, Bureau County, Illinois 1870
Retake this viewBird's eye view of the city of Princeton, Bureau County, Illinois 1870, 1870

Find the spot, match the angle, and add your photo. It becomes the first then-and-now pair on Princeton’s page.

Retake this view · +15
People over time

Princeton, census by census

02,0004,0006,0008,0001900195020007,832

Grew from 2,473 people in 1860 to 7,832 in 2020, 3 times over.

17 censuses, 1860–2020.

U.S. Census Bureau decennial counts, from the census table on Princeton’s Wikipedia page.

Famous people

19 famous people were born in Princeton

Writers, athletes, leaders and more, ranked by how widely they’re known.

See all →
B
Billy GarrettRacecar driver · b. 1933
V
Virgil FoxAmerican musician · b. 1912
Kathryn HaysAmerican actress · b. 1933
J
Josh TaylorAmerican actor · b. 1943
W
William BascomAmerican folklorist · b. 1912
M
Milo WinterAmerican illustrator · b. 1888
Help out

Finish Princeton’s story

Most archives stop around 1920. The photos from after that are in family albums, not libraries.

Decades since 1900 with photos
00s10s20s30s40s50s60s70s80s90s
2 of 10 decades. The empty ones are waiting for someone’s album.
Retake an old viewBird's eye view of the city of Princeto…: stand where they stood+15Share a family photoSign in to add one+10
Stories next door

History across the town line

Each neighbor’s History grade, on the same three inputs.

Princeton Township9 historic placesnot graded: under 1,000 residents or part of its townDover Township1 historic placenot graded: under 1,000 residents or part of its town

Questions about Princeton’s history

What year was Princeton founded?

The Princeton post office opened in 1833, the earliest record of the town by name (U.S. post office records).

How does Princeton rank for history?

Princeton is more historic than 93% of U.S. towns, #48 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 Princeton?

8 listings: 5 buildings, among them the Owen Lovejoy Homestead (a National Historic Landmark since 1997), and 3 historic districts, the Princeton North Main Street Historic District, the Princeton South Main Street-Courthouse Square Historic District and the Oakland Cemetery Historic District, with 90 contributing buildings. 96 historic buildings in all.

How old are the homes in Princeton?

22% of Princeton’s homes were built before 1940 (Census estimate, ±4.0 points), against a typical 11% for an Illinois town; the median home was built in 1964.

Memory lane

What the archives can’t tell you, neighbors can.

Town Square →
Start a conversation
Sources

Where this page comes from

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 (2), the Library of Congress (8), Wikidata (3), the National Register of Historic Places (8), 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, Sanborn fire insurance maps (Library of Congress) 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.