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History · Ramsey

Ramsey’s post office opened in 1855, and 27% of its homes were built before 1940

Below: 1 old photo or paper, maps from 1895 on, and the census since 1880.

1855first post office
0on the National Register
27%homes built before 1940
1old photo or paper
2famous people
Add an old photoShare a memory
Photo: Skvader · CC BY-SA 4.0
Quick answers

How Ramsey began

When was Ramsey founded?

1855

The Ramsey post office opened in 1855, the earliest record of the town by name.

First census: 376 in 18802020 census: 911171 years
Founding year: the first Ramsey post office (Blevins & Helbock, CC0).

What stands out about Ramsey’s past

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

A history waiting to be writtenOnly 1 old photo is in the public archives. The rest are in attics and albums.Mapped building by building3 fire insurance maps, 1895 to 1907, drew every building in Ramsey.Old housesHalf of Ramsey’s homes were built before 1964.
★ What stands out · Help out

Start Ramsey’s collection

The first neighbors to add old photos shape how Ramsey’s history is told.

Decades since 1900 with photos
00s10s20s30s40s50s60s70s80s90s
0 of 10 decades. The empty ones are waiting for someone’s album.
Date a photo1 archive item has no date. Guess the decade.+2Share a family photoSign in to add one+10
Every building

Ramsey, building by building, 1895–1907

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.

Ramsey fire insurance map, 1895, sheet 11895Sheet 1 of 1
Edition
Sheets
BrickWoodStone

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

The story so far

Ramsey, in brief

Wikipedia doesn’t have a history of Ramsey yet. The photos, dates and memories neighbors add here are how it gets written.

Ramsey is a village in Fayette County, Illinois, United States. The population was 911 as of the 2020 census. The village was named after Alexander Ramsey (1815–1903), an American politician, second governor of Minnesota.

Its first post office opened in 1855. Between the 2010 and 2020 censuses its population fell from 1,037 to 911 (-12%).

Intro from Wikipedia. Population: U.S. Census Bureau.

Timeline

Ramsey, 1855 to 1944

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

  1. 19th century
  2. 1855Post officeThe Ramsey post office opens
  3. 1889Born hereH. L. Hunt is born here
  4. 20th century
  5. 1923Born hereJohn Staff is born here
  6. 1944On the mapFirst mapped by the U.S. Geological Survey
By decade

Ramsey, decade by decade

Date unknown1 to date
Ramsey 1944 1-62,500 - PCL Map Collection - txu-pclmaps-topo-il-ramsey-1944Date?Ramsey 1944 1-62,500 - PCL Map Collection - txu-pclma…Map
Today2 recent
Ramsey, Illinois village hall2023Ramsey, Illinois village hallRamsey, Illinois post office2023Ramsey, Illinois post office
On the map

Ramsey on the map, 1944 to 1998

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

Ramsey on the 1944 USGS mapRamsey on the 1974 USGS mapRamsey on the 1982 USGS mapRamsey on the 1998 USGS map1944Ramsey 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 Ramsey.

People over time

Ramsey, census by census

02004006008001,00018801900192019401960198020002020Peak: 1,058

Between 376 and 1,058 people in every census since 1880.

15 censuses, 1880–2020.

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

Famous people

2 famous people were born in Ramsey

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

See all →
H. L. HuntAmerican businessman · b. 1889
John StaffAmerican soldier killed in East Germany · b. 1923

Questions about Ramsey’s history

What year was Ramsey founded?

The Ramsey post office opened in 1855, the earliest record of the town by name (U.S. post office records).

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). How TownRatings grades history →

From Wikimedia Commons (3), 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.