More historic than 24% of U.S. towns · #593 of 768 in Illinois. What drives it
Most of St. Joseph Township was built recently: 6% of its homes predate 1940 and the median home dates from 1991. Below: maps from 1906 on and the census since 1880.
The St. Joseph Township post office opened in 1851, the earliest record of the town by name. Wikidata gives 1881. Two smaller post offices, Mayview (1871) and Deers (1887), opened inside today’s town and later closed.
First census: 328 in 18802020 census: 5,597175 years
How historic is St. Joseph Township?
C−
More historic than 24% of U.S. towns, on its age, its old homes and the National Register.
Founding year: the first St. Joseph Township post office (Blevins & Helbock, CC0). Wikidata: 1881.
History grade
What drives St. Joseph Township’s History grade
On its age, its old homes and the National Register, St. Joseph Township is more historic than 24% of U.S. towns, #593 of 768 in Illinois. Its age holds the grade up; its National Register listings pull it down.
C−
HistoryA character grade: shown, never part of St. Joseph 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 St. Joseph 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 (±2.8 points) is firm at this size. The founding year is the first post office, not a stated founding date; Wikidata’s 1881 falls in the same era, so the grade doesn’t depend on which one is used.
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 St. Joseph Township’s past
Read from the archive, the National Register and the record. The page puts what stands out first.
Lost post offices, old corners, places now gone and burying grounds
Two other post offices opened and closed inside today’s town.
Mayview
1871–1955
Deers
1887–1913
18701950today
Hamlets and corners on the map
DeersFullsGloverMayviewTipton
Gone or out of use
Knott Airportairport
5cemeteries and burying grounds inside St. Joseph Township
Bill Huss ChapelMount OliveOld HussPattersonPeters
US Post Offices dataset (Blevins & Helbock, CC0). Places and cemeteries from the USGS Geographic Names Information System (2021).
On the map
St. Joseph Township on the map, 1906 to 1968
Every edition of the U.S. Geological Survey’s map of St. Joseph Township. Tap a year, or press play to watch the town change.
1906Urbana 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 St. Joseph Township.
The story so far
St. Joseph Township, in brief
Wikipedia doesn’t have a history of St. Joseph Township yet. The photos, dates and memories neighbors add here are how it gets written.
The Village of St. Joseph or Saint Joseph was founded on April 28, 1881, and is located in St. Joseph Township, Champaign County, Illinois, United States. The population was 3,810 at the 2020 census, a decline from the figure of 3,967 in 2010.
Its first post office opened in 1851. Between the 2010 and 2020 censuses its population fell from 5,876 to 5,597 (-5%).
Intro from Wikipedia. Population: U.S. Census Bureau.
Timeline
St. Joseph Township, 1871 to 1955
Woven from the archive, old maps, post office records, the National Register and the people born here.
The St. Joseph Township post office opened in 1851, the earliest record of the town by name (U.S. post office records). Wikidata gives 1881.
How does St. Joseph Township rank for history?
St. Joseph Township is more historic than 24% of U.S. towns, #593 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 St. Joseph Township?
6% of St. Joseph Township’s homes were built before 1940 (Census estimate, ±2.8 points), against a typical 11% for an Illinois town; the median home was built in 1991.
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 (2), 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.
2010
2006