The story
Read it all →How Quarry Township came to be
From Wikipedia’s history of Quarry Township.
The name of Quarry Township was changed from Grafton Township on April 1, 1880.
Text from Wikipedia, licensed CC BY-SA 4.0.
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History · Quarry Township
28% of Quarry Township’s homes were built before 1940
More historic than 97% of U.S. towns. What drives it
10 places in town are on the National Register. Below: old-book passages.
10on the National Register
28%homes built before 1940
Quick answers
About Quarry Township’s history
How historic is Quarry Township?
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What drives the grade ↓More historic than 97% of U.S. towns, on its age, its old homes and the National Register.
History grade
What drives Quarry Township’s History grade
On its age, its old homes and the National Register, Quarry Township is more historic than 97% of U.S. towns. All 2 inputs are above most U.S. towns; its National Register listings ranks highest and its share of homes from before 1940 lowest.
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HistoryA character grade: shown, never part of Quarry Township’s overall grade.
Founding eraNo founding year we can rely on, so the grade uses the other two–Homes built before 194027.9% of homes (±10.3) · typical IL town 10.6% · U.S. 8.4%A−National Register10 listings, 37 historic buildings, 348 per 10,000 residents · typical IL town 0.5 · U.S. 2.4A
All U.S. towns we grade (21,289)Ahead of 97%
NewerOlder
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 Quarry Township’s 348 sits above most of its state (98% of Illinois towns have fewer) while its 37 historic buildings outnumber those of 83% 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 (±10.3 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 Quarry Township’s past
Read from the archive, the National Register and the record. The page puts what stands out first.
★ What stands out · Help out
Start Quarry Township’s collection
The first neighbors to add old photos shape how Quarry Township’s history is told.
Decades since 1900 with photos
00s10s20s30s40s50s60s70s80s90s
0 of 10 decades. The empty ones are waiting for someone’s album.On the National Register
10 listings protect 37 historic buildings
The country’s official list of buildings and places worth saving.
places listed
10
National Historic Landmarks
0
none yet
historic buildings protected
37
each building in a district counts
first listed
1985
Pere Marquette State Park Lodge and Cabins
Buildings
Architectural styles listings
Central Hall, double pile1
Raised Three-Bay Barn1
Pere Marquette State Park Lodge and CabinsBuilding
Smith-Duncan, House and Eastman BarnCentral Hall, double pile
National Park Service, National Register of Historic Places. Photos from Wikimedia Commons, credited on each place’s page.
From the old history books
What they wrote about Quarry Township in 1919
Passages that mention Quarry Township, cut from the printed page as they were published.
History of Jersey County, Illinois1919 · page 459Read the page →
Read the text
The first settlements in what is now Quarry Township, were made in 1819 by George Finney, Sanford Hughes, David Gilbert, John Staf¬ ford, and a man named Copeland, who were soldiers in the regular army of the United States, and they, together with Col. Josiah T. Askew, were discharged from the regular service at St. Louis, and came up the river. Those first named settled in Quarry Township, and Col. Josiah T. Askew in Elsah Township, adjoining Lofton’s settlement. Camden, at the mouth of the Illinois River was platted by George Finney in
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.
By decade
No old photos in the archives yet
Weddings on Main Street, storms, parades, school pictures, the old store. If it’s in your family album, it belongs here.
Be the first to add onePhotograph a print flat, in daylight, no flash.
Add from your albumFamous people
See all →Famous people close to Quarry Township
Nobody well known was born in Quarry Township itself, so here are the best known from just nearby.
Places that used to be
Lost post offices, old corners, places now gone and burying grounds
Another post office, Chautauqua, opened and closed inside today’s town.
Hamlets and corners on the map
CamdenChautauqua
Gone or out of use
Hartford ChurchlocaleHartford SchoolschoolWilliams Hollow Schoolschool
2cemeteries and burying grounds inside Quarry Township
HartfordScenic Hill
US Post Offices dataset (Blevins & Helbock, CC0). Places and cemeteries from the USGS Geographic Names Information System (2021).
Stories next door
History across the town line
Each neighbor’s History grade, on the same three inputs.
Questions about Quarry Township’s history
How does Quarry Township rank for history?
Quarry Township is more historic than 97% 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.
What is on the National Register in Quarry Township?
10 listings: 2 buildings, among them the Pere Marquette State Park Lodge and Cabins (listed 1985, the first). 37 historic buildings in all.
How old are the homes in Quarry Township?
28% of Quarry Township’s homes were built before 1940 (Census estimate, ±10.3 points), against a typical 11% for an Illinois town; the median home was built in 1980.
Memory lane
What the archives can’t tell you, neighbors can.
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 the National Register of Historic Places (2), Wikipedia, 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.