Each edition grades its towns against each other only.
More historic than 50% of U.S. towns · #404 of 768 in Illinois. What drives it
Below: maps from 1953 on and the census since 1900.
Teutopolis Township dates its founding to 1839 (Wikidata). The census first counted it in 1900.
More historic than 50% of U.S. towns, on its age, its old homes and the National Register.
On its age, its old homes and the National Register, Teutopolis Township is more historic than 50% of U.S. towns, #404 of 768 in Illinois. Its age holds the grade up; its National Register listings pull it down.
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 Teutopolis 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.
Founding year: Wikidata (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 →
Read from the archive, the National Register and the record. The page puts what stands out first.
The first neighbors to add old photos shape how Teutopolis Township’s history is told.
From Wikipedia’s history of Teutopolis Township.
Teutopolis, "City of the Teutons", or Germans, was established in 1839 along the National Road, now U.S. Route 40. It is the only town in the United States with this name.
Text from Wikipedia, licensed CC BY-SA 4.0.
Every edition of the U.S. Geological Survey’s map of Teutopolis Township. Tap a year, or press play to watch the town change.
U.S. Geological Survey historical topographic maps (public domain), via Esri’s collection of the scans. The red ring marks the center of Teutopolis Township.
Grew from 498 people in 1900 to 1,618 in 2020, 3 times over.
13 censuses, 1900–2020.
U.S. Census Bureau decennial counts, from the census table on Teutopolis Township’s Wikipedia page.
Each neighbor’s History grade, on the same three inputs.
In 1839, according to Wikidata. Teutopolis Township’s post office opened in 1842, and the census of 1900 counted 498 people here.
Teutopolis Township is more historic than 50% of U.S. towns, #404 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.
10% of Teutopolis Township’s homes were built before 1940 (Census estimate, ±3.8 points), against a typical 11% for an Illinois town; the median home was built in 1982.
What the archives can’t tell you, neighbors can.
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), Wikipedia, U.S. Geological Survey historical maps, U.S. Census counts (via Wikipedia) 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.
2018
2016