Founding year: the first Thomson post office (Blevins & Helbock, CC0).The full story ↓
History grade
What drives Thomson’s History grade
On its age, its old homes and the National Register, Thomson is more historic than 31% 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 Thomson’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 Thomson’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 (±7.5 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 Thomson’s past
Read from the archive, the National Register and the record. The page puts what stands out first.
The United States Penitentiary, Thomson (formerly Thomson Correctional Center) was opened in 2001, but as of 2009 has never had a prisoner in its main, 1600-bed maximum-security unit; the only prison population has been in the 200-bed minimum-security unit, which was populated in 2006 and averages about 150 prisoners. The minimum security unit has an annual budget of $7 million. State budget constraints, as well as labor union opposition to closing other state prisons, prevented the maximum-security prison from opening.
Passages that mention Thomson, cut from the printed page as they were published.
The history of Carroll county, Illinois, containing a history of the county-its cities, towns, etc., a biographical directory ... war record ... statistics, portraits of early settlers and prominent men ... history of the Northwest ... Illinois ... miscel1878 · page 365Read the page →
Read the text
The Village of Thomson is an outgrowth of the Western Union Railroad. It is situated on sections 24 and 25, York Townshi]), in the centre of a very beautiful valley, hemmed in by the Mississijipi River on the west, and a higli range of bluffs on the east. At this point, the valley is very nearly four miles in width between the bluffs and the river, and Thomson is about midway between them. North and south the level prairie, dotted all over with well-cullivaled farms, handsome houses and large barns, stretches away as far as the eye can reach.
Text read by machine from the scan; it may contain errors.
The history of Carroll county, Illinois, containing a history of the county-its cities, towns, etc., a biographical directory ... war record ... statistics, portraits of early settlers and prominent men ... history of the Northwest ... Illinois ... miscel1878 · page 366Read the page →
Read the text
Thomson numbers about twenty business houses of various kinds, all of which seem to do a good business. It is a shipping port for a district of country of ten by fifteen miles in extent, that is rich and well improved. To Captain Dunn, a true patriot, an old settler, ex-sheriff of the county, and an enterprising and pushing business man, the readers of this book are indebted for the following statistics as showing the business transacted through the railroad station at this point for the last year, ending December 31, 1877: Stock — Hogs .113 cars.
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
Thomson, 1865 to 2020
Woven from the archive, old maps, post office records, the National Register and the people born here.
The Thomson post office opened in 1865, the earliest record of the town by name (U.S. post office records).
How does Thomson rank for history?
Thomson is more historic than 31% 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 Thomson?
12% of Thomson’s homes were built before 1940 (Census estimate, ±7.5 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 (4), the Library of Congress (3), Wikipedia, 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.
![The Village of Thomson is an outgrowth of the Western Union Railroad. It is situated on sections 24 and 25, York Townshi]), in the centre of a very beautiful valley, hemmed in by the Mississijipi River on the west, and a higli range of bluffs on the east. At this point, the valley is very nearly fo…](https://images.townratings.com/story/4032/bk-f3513167213374d3-l.jpg)
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