More historic than 24% of U.S. towns · #593 of 768 in Illinois. What drives it
Most of St. Joseph was built recently: 6% of its homes predate 1940 and the median home dates from 1996. Below: maps from 1906 on and the census since 1880.
Founding year: the first St. Joseph post office (Blevins & Helbock, CC0). Wikidata: 1881.
History grade
What drives St. Joseph’s History grade
On its age, its old homes and the National Register, St. Joseph 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’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’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 (±3.9 points). 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’s past
Read from the archive, the National Register and the record. The page puts what stands out first.
Every edition of the U.S. Geological Survey’s map of St. Joseph. 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.
The story so far
St. Joseph, in brief
Wikipedia doesn’t have a history of St. Joseph 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 3,967 to 3,810 (-4%).
Intro from Wikipedia. Population: U.S. Census Bureau.
From the old history books
What they wrote about St. Joseph, 1891–1918
Passages that mention St. Joseph, cut from the printed page as they were published.
Early history and pioneers of Champaign County1891 · page 117Read the page →
Read the text
The first village in the township was the Old Town of St. Joseph, situated on the State Road at the Salt Fork crossing. At the height of its glor\-, this village could boast only of three stores, a post office, a tavern, a blacksmith shop and several dwellings. The naming of St Joseph is described by the following circumstance.
Text read by machine from the scan; it may contain errors.
A Standard history of Champaign County Illinois1918 · page 1010Read the page →
Read the text
riage Mr. and Mrs. Woodin located in St. Joseph and Mr. Woodin continued his business as a stock buyer. They prospered, and one after another there came into their home three young sons, named Walter L., Earl B. and Ernest C. Realizing the advantages of an education, Mr. and Mrs. Woodin sent them to the local schools, the St. Joseph High School, and all of them completed the studies and came home proud possessors of diplomas. Earl continued his education in a business college at Marion, Indiana, two years, and took a scientific course at Dixon, Illinois. From
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.
Between 328 and 3,967 people in every census since 1880.
15 censuses, 1880–2020.
U.S. Census Bureau decennial counts, from the census table on St. Joseph’s Wikipedia page.
Places that used to be
Old corners
Old hamlets and crossroads still carry their names on the map.
Hamlets and corners on the map
Saint Joseph
US Post Offices dataset (Blevins & Helbock, CC0). Places and cemeteries from the USGS Geographic Names Information System (2021).
Questions about St. Joseph’s history
What year was St. Joseph founded?
The St. Joseph 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 rank for history?
St. Joseph 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?
6% of St. Joseph’s homes were built before 1940 (Census estimate, ±3.9 points), against a typical 11% for an Illinois town; the median home was built in 1996.
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), 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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