The Rome Township post office opened in 1852, the earliest record of the town by name. Another post office, Boyd (1887), opened inside today’s town and later closed.
2020 census: 1,710174 years
How historic is Rome Township?
C
More historic than 26% of U.S. towns, on its age, its old homes and the National Register.
Founding year: the first Rome Township post office (Blevins & Helbock, CC0).
History grade
What drives Rome Township’s History grade
On its age, its old homes and the National Register, Rome Township is more historic than 26% of U.S. towns. Its share of homes from before 1940 holds the grade up; its National Register listings pull it down.
C
HistoryA character grade: shown, never part of Rome 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 Rome Township’s 0.0 sits below most of its state (28% of Illinois towns have fewer) while its 0 listings outnumber those of 23% of U.S. towns.
How sure. Graded on any two of the three inputs instead, the letter would range from C− to C. The pre-1940 share is a Census survey estimate (±3.4 points). The founding year is the first post office, not a stated founding date.
Founding year: the first post office (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 Rome Township’s past
Read from the archive, the National Register and the record. The page puts what stands out first.
Wikipedia doesn’t have a history of Rome Township yet. The photos, dates and memories neighbors add here are how it gets written.
Rome Township is one of sixteen townships in Jefferson County, Illinois, USA. As of the 2020 census, its population was 1,710 and it contained 767 housing units.
Its first post office opened in 1852. Between the 2010 and 2020 censuses its population grew from 1,669 to 1,710 (+2%).
Intro from Wikipedia. Population: U.S. Census Bureau.
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.
The Rome Township post office opened in 1852, the earliest record of the town by name (U.S. post office records).
How does Rome Township rank for history?
Rome Township is more historic than 26% 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.
How old are the homes in Rome Township?
8% of Rome Township’s homes were built before 1940 (Census estimate, ±3.4 points), against a typical 11% for an Illinois town; the median home was built in 1982.
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 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.
