On its age, its old homes and the National Register, Richwoods Township is more historic than 72% of U.S. towns, #246 of 768 in Illinois. All 2 inputs are above most U.S. towns; its share of homes from before 1940 ranks highest and its National Register listings lowest.
B+
HistoryA character grade: shown, never part of Richwoods 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 Richwoods Township’s 1.7 sits above most of its state (66% of Illinois towns have fewer) while its 1 listings outnumber those of 51% 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 (±4.9 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 Richwoods Township’s past
Read from the archive, the National Register and the record. The page puts what stands out first.
Part of Richwoods Township was given to City of Peoria Township when it was organized as a township in 1907. Until 1991, the City of Peoria Township grew as the city of Peoria did, and today, most of what was originally Richwoods Township lies within the 1991 city limits of Peoria, and therefore in the Township of the City of Peoria; however, small parts of Richwoods Township's northernwestern sections remained when the boundaries of the Township of the City of Peoria were fixed in place by law in the 1990s, and these, along with the entire village of Peoria Heights, remain as Richwoods Township.
Every edition of the U.S. Geological Survey’s map of Richwoods Township. Tap a year, or press play to watch the town change.
1950Spring Bay sheet · 1:24,000
U.S. Geological Survey historical topographic maps (public domain), via Esri’s collection of the scans. The red ring marks the center of Richwoods Township.
On the National Register
1 historic place in Richwoods Township
The country’s official list of buildings and places worth saving.
place listed
1
National Historic Landmarks
0
none yet
historic buildings protected
1
each building in a district counts
National Park Service, National Register of Historic Places. Photos from Wikimedia Commons, credited on each place’s page.
Famous people
Famous people close to Richwoods Township
Nobody well known was born in Richwoods Township itself, so here are the best known from just nearby.
Richwoods Township is more historic than 72% of U.S. towns, #246 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 Richwoods Township?
19% of Richwoods Township’s homes were built before 1940 (Census estimate, ±4.9 points), against a typical 11% for an Illinois town; the median home was built in 1957.
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 Wikipedia and U.S. Geological Survey historical maps. Archive images are copied here with their credits and licenses, shown on each photo’s page. Refreshed monthly.
