The Steeleville post office opened in 1882, the earliest record of the town by name. Two smaller post offices, Steele's Mills (1837) and Saint Marks (1868), opened inside today’s town and later closed.
2020 census: 1,930144 years
How historic is Steeleville?
C+
More historic than 36% of U.S. towns, on its age, its old homes and the National Register.
Founding year: the first Steeleville post office (Blevins & Helbock, CC0).The full story ↓
History grade
What drives Steeleville’s History grade
On its age, its old homes and the National Register, Steeleville is more historic than 36% 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 Steeleville’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 Steeleville’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 (±6.0 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 Steeleville’s past
Read from the archive, the National Register and the record. The page puts what stands out first.
Steeleville had the names Alma, Georgetown and Steele's Mill before obtaining its present name. The area near Steeleville was first settled by John Steele in 1807. In 1810 George Steele (John's son) settled in what came to be known as Georgetown. In 1812 a fort was built for protection against the Indians. In 1825 Steele's Mill was erected. Col. Gabriel Jones had a store. In 1827 the Post Office opened under the name Steele's Mill. It was not until 1832 that lots were sold in the town by Capt. Rogers, Col. Jones, Dr. Jones, Robert Jones and Tanner Briggs. The Baptist church was organized in 1838 by Rev J B Alcott.
The Steeleville post office opened in 1882, the earliest record of the town by name (U.S. post office records).
How does Steeleville rank for history?
Steeleville is more historic than 36% 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 Steeleville?
16% of Steeleville’s homes were built before 1940 (Census estimate, ±6.0 points), against a typical 11% for an Illinois town; the median home was built in 1968.
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 (1), Wikipedia, Wikidata and Wikipedia for famous people, 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