More historic than 16% of U.S. towns · #670 of 768 in Illinois. What drives it
Most of Silvis was built recently: 9% of its homes predate 1940 and the median home dates from 1972. Below: 1 old photo or paper, maps from 1892 on, and the census since 1910.
Founding year: the first Silvis post office (Blevins & Helbock, CC0).The full story ↓
History grade
What drives Silvis’ History grade
On its age, its old homes and the National Register, Silvis is more historic than 16% of U.S. towns, #670 of 768 in Illinois. Its share of homes from before 1940 holds the grade up; its age pulls it down.
C−
HistoryA character grade: shown, never part of Silvis’ 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 Silvis’ 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 D to C. The pre-1940 share is a Census survey estimate (±3.2 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 Silvis’ past
Read from the archive, the National Register and the record. The page puts what stands out first.
The City of Silvis (initially named Pleasant Valley) was incorporated in 1906. The city took its name from Richard Shippen Silvis, one of the original settlers whose family operated the Silvis Mining Company. Some older sources give the alternate spelling of "Sylvis" although this spelling is not regularly used today.
In 1902, the Rock Island Line decided to build its largest railroad locomotive repair workshop in Silvis, on a 900-acre site between the railroad's main line and the Chicago, Burlington and Quincy Railroad’s Rock Island branch. Construction began on May 1, 1903; the facilities eventually included a general stores department, repair shop, 45-stall roundhouse with a 90-foot turntable, and two large freight yards east and west.
representing over 300 resident popidation, jjetitioned the coimty court of Rock Island County, Illinois, for the organization of the Village of Silvis. An election was ordered to be held December 1, 1906, for or against village organization.
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
Silvis, 1892 to 1987
Woven from the archive, old maps, post office records, the National Register and the people born here.
Nothing in the archives for these yearsWeddings on Main Street, storms, parades, school pictures, the old store. If it’s in your family album, it belongs here.
The Silvis post office opened in 1906, the earliest record of the town by name (U.S. post office records).
How does Silvis rank for history?
Silvis is more historic than 16% of U.S. towns, #670 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 Silvis?
9% of Silvis’ homes were built before 1940 (Census estimate, ±3.2 points), against a typical 11% for an Illinois town; the median home was built in 1972.
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), 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 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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