Taylorville dates to 1839, and 28% of its homes were built before 1940
More historic than 94% of U.S. towns · #41 of 768 in Illinois. What drives it
2 places in town are on the National Register, among them a historic district with 67 buildings. Below: 4 old photos and papers, maps from 1886 on, and the census since 1880.
On its age, its old homes and the National Register, Taylorville is more historic than 94% of U.S. towns, #41 of 768 in Illinois. All 3 inputs are above most U.S. towns; its National Register listings ranks highest and its age lowest.
A
HistoryA character grade: shown, never part of Taylorville’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 Taylorville’s 63.9 sits above most of its state (92% of Illinois towns have fewer) while its 68 historic buildings outnumber those of 87% of U.S. towns.
How sure. Graded on any two of the three inputs instead, the letter would still be A. The pre-1940 share is a Census survey estimate (±5.1 points). Two sources give 1839.
Founding year: Wikipedia (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 Taylorville’s past
Read from the archive, the National Register and the record. The page puts what stands out first.
Taylorville was founded on May 24, 1839, and was named after John Taylor, a planning commissioner for the state of Illinois.
Taylorville was known (in the early to mid-1990s) to have had a high rate of neuroblastoma, a cancer affecting the adrenal gland and striking children. The local power company Central Illinois Public Service Company was sued and lost for contaminating the groundwater in 1994.
Some outer homes and a business in Taylorville were damaged by an F1 tornado on April 2, 2006.
Passages that mention Taylorville, cut from the printed page as they were published.
History of Christian County, Illinois1880 · page 116Read the page →
Read the text
John W. Young, President of the Board of Trustees of the town of Taylorville, presented to the County Court, March 11, 1853, the following statement of the poll books of an election held on the 4th day of March, 1853, to vote for and against " Incorporating the town of Taylorville," in these words and figures to wit : " At an election held at the court-house in the town of Taylorville, in the county of Christian and State of Illinois, on the 4th day of March, 1853, to vote for or against incorporating the town of Taylorville,
Text read by machine from the scan; it may contain errors.
Christian county. He first settled in Illinois, in the eastern part of the state, near the Wabash river, in the year 1812. In 1818 ho came to what is now Christian county, and made a settlement near Taylorville. A full account of his coming to this county is found in its appropriate place in the history of the pioneer settlements. His home was in this county from 181^ till his death, which occurred near Sharpsburg, on the 5tli of April, 1879, when he was only a month less than eighty years of age. He was a man i if temper-
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
Taylorville, 1839 to 1962
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.
Every edition of the U.S. Geological Survey’s map of Taylorville. Tap a year, or press play to watch the town change.
1923Taylorville 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 Taylorville.
Every building
Taylorville, building by building, 1886–1922
Fire insurance maps drew every building, what it was made of and what it was used for, so insurers could price the risk of fire. Pick a year, then a sheet.
Taylorville’s post office has been open since 1841.
Hamlets and corners on the map
Big Oak Mobile Home ParkCherry Wood Trailer ParkHannon Mobile Home ParkHillcrest Mobile Home Park
Gone or out of use
Vollentine Schoolschool
2cemeteries and burying grounds inside Taylorville
DonnerOak Hill
US Post Offices dataset (Blevins & Helbock, CC0). Places and cemeteries from the USGS Geographic Names Information System (2021).
Questions about Taylorville’s history
What year was Taylorville founded?
In 1839, according to Wikipedia’s history of the town. Taylorville’s post office opened in 1841, and the census of 1880 counted 2,237 people here.
How does Taylorville rank for history?
Taylorville is more historic than 94% of U.S. towns, #41 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.
What is on the National Register in Taylorville?
Two places: the Taylorville Courthouse Square Historic District (listed 1985) and the Taylorville Chautauqua Auditorium (1988).
How old are the homes in Taylorville?
28% of Taylorville’s homes were built before 1940 (Census estimate, ±5.1 points), against a typical 11% for an Illinois town; the median home was built in 1965.
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 (12), the Library of Congress (1), Wikidata (1), the National Register of Historic Places (2), 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, Sanborn fire insurance maps (Library of Congress) 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.
c. 1930
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