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History · Richview

Richview’s post office opened in 1848

Most of Richview was built recently: 5% of its homes predate 1940 and the median home dates from 1991. Below: maps from 1943 on and the census since 1860.

1848first post office
0on the National Register
5%homes built before 1940
1famous people
Add an old photoShare a memory
Quick answers

How Richview began

When was Richview founded?

1848

The Richview post office opened in 1848, the earliest record of the town by name.

First census: 645 in 18602020 census: 238178 years
Founding year: the first Richview post office (Blevins & Helbock, CC0).The full story ↓

What stands out about Richview’s past

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

A history waiting to be writtenNo old photos of Richview are in the public archives yet. The rest are in attics and albums.Boom and bustPeaked at 1,080 in 1870; 238 people lived here in 2020.Deep rootsA post office since 1848: 178 years of Richview.
★ What stands out · Help out

Start Richview’s collection

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

Decades since 1900 with photos
00s10s20s30s40s50s60s70s80s90s
0 of 10 decades. The empty ones are waiting for someone’s album.
Share a family photoSign in to add one+10
People over time

Richview, census by census

02004006008001,0001,200190019502000Peak: 1,080

Peaked at 1,080 in 1870; 238 people lived here in 2020.

17 censuses, 1860–2020.

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

Timeline

Richview, 1848 to 1943

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

  1. 19th century
  2. 1848Post officeThe Richview post office opens
  3. 1870CensusPopulation peaks at 1,080
  4. 1878Born hereJames N. Ashmore is born here
  5. 20th century
  6. 1943On the mapFirst mapped by the U.S. Geological Survey
The story

How Richview came to be

From Wikipedia’s history of Richview.

Read it all →

Richview was originally called "Richmond", and under the latter name was platted in 1839. The present name was adopted in 1852 because of the elevated site of the old town, which afforded a fine view of the surrounding area.

Richview was first formed in 1839. It gradually grew into a business center. It had five stores, two blacksmiths, one wagon shop, 3 physicians, and had a population around 600 people. It had also turned into a railroad town. It was one of 4 towns along the Illinois Central Railway. Eventually two towns would form, Old and New Richview, and together they had a population of around 1000. The two towns did congeal into one. Today Richview is a small village with only a population of about 250.

Text from Wikipedia, licensed CC BY-SA 4.0.

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.
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On the map

Richview on the map, 1943 to 1974

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

Richview on the 1943 USGS mapRichview on the 1974 USGS map1943Ashley 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 Richview.

Places that used to be

Places now gone

Richview’s post office has been open since 1848.

Gone or out of use
Old Town Schoolschool

US Post Offices dataset (Blevins & Helbock, CC0). Places and cemeteries from the USGS Geographic Names Information System (2021).

Questions about Richview’s history

What year was Richview founded?

The Richview post office opened in 1848, 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 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) and the USGS Geographic Names Information System. Archive images are copied here with their credits and licenses, shown on each photo’s page. Refreshed monthly.