Richmond Township dates to 1844, and 2 of its places are on the National Register
More historic than 73% of U.S. towns · #243 of 768 in Illinois. What drives it
Most of Richmond Township was built recently: 8% of its homes predate 1940 and the median home dates from 1995. Below: 1 old photo or paper, maps from 1926 on, and the census since 1880.
Founding year: Wikidata. First post office: 1840.The full story ↓
History grade
What drives Richmond Township’s History grade
On its age, its old homes and the National Register, Richmond Township is more historic than 73% of U.S. towns, #243 of 768 in Illinois. Its age holds the grade up; its share of homes from before 1940 pulls it down.
B+
HistoryA character grade: shown, never part of Richmond 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 Richmond Township’s 5.9 sits above most of its state (77% of Illinois towns have fewer) while its 4 historic buildings outnumber those of 68% 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 (±2.9 points) is firm at this size. Two sources give 1844.
Founding year: Wikidata (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 Richmond Township’s past
Read from the archive, the National Register and the record. The page puts what stands out first.
Carpenter William A. McConnell was Richmond's first settler, arriving in 1837 and erecting the village's first building, a log structure. Eight other settlers arrived in 1838 and growth progressed rapidly after that point. The first school was built on McConnell's farm in 1841 and in 1844 the village was finally platted. The village was named after Richmond, Vermont, the native home of a first settler. McConnell and Dr. R.R. Stone established a cheese factory in Richmond, and a creamery, other cheese factories, a box factory, a wagon works and a pickle factory followed.
Richmond Township, one in the village of Richmond; and one in each of sections 4, 11, 20 and 26, the last being known as Cedar Vale. Dorr Township, one at "Oakland" and the Catholic Cemetery. "Calvary."
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.
Every edition of the U.S. Geological Survey’s map of Richmond Township. Tap a year, or press play to watch the town change.
1926McHenry 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 Richmond Township.
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 viewMcConnell Farmstead, Threshing Barn, 6102 Broadway Street
Find the spot, match the angle, and add your photo. It becomes the first then-and-now pair on Richmond Township’s page.
In 1844, according to Wikidata. Richmond Township’s post office opened in 1840, and the census of 1880 counted 464 people here.
How does Richmond Township rank for history?
Richmond Township is more historic than 73% of U.S. towns, #243 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.
How old are the homes in Richmond Township?
8% of Richmond Township’s homes were built before 1940 (Census estimate, ±2.9 points), against a typical 11% for an Illinois town; the median home was built in 1995.
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 (6), the Library of Congress (1), Wikipedia, 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 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.
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2025
2021
2013
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2013
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