The Stockton Township post office opened in 1853, the earliest record of the town by name. Wikidata gives 1886. Three smaller post offices, Yankee Hollow (1862), Pitcherville (1868) and Winters (1874), opened inside today’s town and later closed.
First census: 379 in 18902020 census: 2,282173 years
How historic is Stockton Township?
B+
More historic than 67% of U.S. towns, on its age, its old homes and the National Register.
Founding year: the first Stockton Township post office (Blevins & Helbock, CC0). Wikidata: 1886.The full story ↓
History grade
What drives Stockton Township’s History grade
On its age, its old homes and the National Register, Stockton Township is more historic than 67% of U.S. towns. Its share of homes from before 1940 holds the grade up; its age pulls it down.
B+
HistoryA character grade: shown, never part of Stockton 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 Stockton Township’s 4.4 sits above most of its state (74% of Illinois towns have fewer) while its 1 listings outnumber those of 51% of U.S. towns.
How sure. Graded on any two of the three inputs instead, the letter would range from C+ to A−. The pre-1940 share is a Census survey estimate (±5.3 points). The founding year is the first post office, not a stated founding date; Wikidata’s 1886 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 Stockton 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
Three other post offices opened and closed inside today’s town.
Yankee Hollow
1862–1895
Pitcherville
1868–1888
Winters
1874–1893
18601940today
Hamlets and corners on the map
Pitcherville
Gone or out of use
John L Coppernoll AirportairportMillershone QuarrymineMount Juliet SchoolschoolPierce QuarrymineSpring Valley SchoolschoolStockton Center SchoolschoolWinters Post Officepost officeYankee Hollow Post Officepost officeYankee Hollow Schoolschool
1cemetery inside Stockton Township
Holy Cross
US Post Offices dataset (Blevins & Helbock, CC0). Places and cemeteries from the USGS Geographic Names Information System (2021).
On the map
Stockton Township on the map, 1911 to 1968
Every edition of the U.S. Geological Survey’s map of Stockton Township. Tap a year, or press play to watch the town change.
1911Elizabeth 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 Stockton Township.
The village of Stockton is the youngest village in Jo Daviess County. It was established after the Minnesota Northwestern Railroad decided to build a station in Section 2 of Stockton Township in 1886, which through mergers later became named the Chicago Great Western Railway. The railroad tracks were removed in the early 1970s.
What is now Front Street in Stockton was then a dirt road which served as the main thoroughfare to Lena.
In April 1887, Charles Hermann became Stockton's first business owner.
In 1914, the Kraft Brothers opened a cheese factory in Stockton, and operated it until Kraft sold the facility in 1998. This was the birthplace of the Kraft Corporation and the first cheese plant opened by J.L. Kraft.
The Stockton Township post office opened in 1853, the earliest record of the town by name (U.S. post office records). Wikidata gives 1886.
How does Stockton Township rank for history?
Stockton Township is more historic than 67% 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 Stockton Township?
27% of Stockton Township’s homes were built before 1940 (Census estimate, ±5.3 points), against a typical 11% for an Illinois town; the median home was built in 1959.
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), Wikipedia, 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.
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