On its age, its old homes and the National Register, Savanna is more historic than 56% of U.S. towns, #357 of 768 in Illinois. Its share of homes from before 1940 holds the grade up; its National Register listings pull it down.
B
HistoryA character grade: shown, never part of Savanna’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 Savanna’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 B+. The pre-1940 share is a Census survey estimate (±9.2 points).
Founding year: the first census (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 Savanna’s past
Read from the archive, the National Register and the record. The page puts what stands out first.
Peaked at 5,237 in 1920; 2,783 people lived here in 2020.
18 censuses, 1850–2020.
U.S. Census Bureau decennial counts, from the census table on Savanna’s Wikipedia page.
Every building
Savanna, building by building, 1885–1912
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.
The region was once part of the vast hunting grounds of different native American tribes, including the Sauk. Following the Treaty of St. Louis (1804) and a number of additional treaties, land in Illinois along the Eastern bank of the Mississippi River was opened to settlement by farmers. Towns such as Savanna grew their commerce by using the river for efficient transport. Savanna's earliest settlers experienced some repercussions during the Black Hawk War in 1832.
a young surveyor from New York, came with a party of Government Surveyors to Galena and pjassed through here, and noting the natural beauty of Savanna and its potential possibilities, he returned later and purchased a part of the main portion of the City of Savanna, which he as an engineer and surveyor laid out into lots and blocks as the original town of Savanna. Later on David
Text read by machine from the scan; it may contain errors.
The farm of Nathan Lord lay on the east side of the present road to the cemetery, and the old turnpike connected the village of Savanna with that settlement. It was not until 1853 that the bridge across Plum River was built to connect York township and Fulton on the south. Previous to this time the only means of crossing the stream was by a ford in low water, and using a ferry in
Text read by machine from the scan; it may contain errors.
The history of Carroll county, Illinois, containing a history of the county-its cities, towns, etc., a biographical directory ... war record ... statistics, portraits of early settlers and prominent men ... history of the Northwest ... Illinois ... miscel1878 · page 324Read the page →
Read the text
By act of the legislature of the State of Illinois, entitled "An Act to amend an act entitled 'An Act to amend an act to incorporate the Rockton >Sz Freeport Railroad Company, confirming the consolidation of the Savanna Branch Railroad Company with the Racine & Mississippi Railroad Company, and for other purposes," provides that the name and style of the Savanna Branch Railroad Company be, and the same is, hereby changed to that of the " Racine & Mississippi Railroad Company." Approved Feb, NORTHERN ILLINOIS RAILROAD.
Text read by machine from the scan; it may contain errors.
The history of Carroll county, Illinois, containing a history of the county-its cities, towns, etc., a biographical directory ... war record ... statistics, portraits of early settlers and prominent men ... history of the Northwest ... Illinois ... miscel1878 · page 326Read the page →
Read the text
railroad of the Racine & Mississippi Railroad Company extending from the line between the States of Wisconsin and Illinois, in the Town of Rockton, in the County of Winnebago, and the State of Illinois, to the Western termination of said road, in the Town of Savanna, in Carroll County, in said State of Illinois. February 20, 1865, the Circuit Court of the United States for the Northern District of Illinois in Chancery ratified and confirmed the sale made by Henry W.' Bishop, Jr.
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.
Timeline
Savanna, 1835 to 1996
Woven from the archive, old maps, post office records, the National Register and the people born here.
The Savanna post office opened in 1850, the earliest record of the town by name (U.S. post office records).
How does Savanna rank for history?
Savanna is more historic than 56% of U.S. towns, #357 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 Savanna?
46% of Savanna’s homes were built before 1940 (Census estimate, ±9.2 points), against a typical 11% for an Illinois town; the median home was built in 1944.
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 (5), Wikidata (1), 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), the USGS Geographic Names Information System, Sanborn fire insurance maps (Library of Congress) 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.
1963
1996
