The Toledo post office opened in 1881, the earliest record of the town by name. Another post office, Majority Point (1856), opened inside today’s town and later closed.
2020 census: 1,161145 years
How historic is Toledo?
B+
More historic than 69% of U.S. towns, on its age, its old homes and the National Register.
Founding year: the first Toledo post office (Blevins & Helbock, CC0).
History grade
What drives Toledo’s History grade
On its age, its old homes and the National Register, Toledo is more historic than 69% 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 Toledo’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 Toledo’s 8.4 sits above most of its state (81% 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 B− to A−. The pre-1940 share is a Census survey estimate (±8.9 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 Toledo’s past
Read from the archive, the National Register and the record. The page puts what stands out first.
Wikipedia doesn’t have a history of Toledo yet. The photos, dates and memories neighbors add here are how it gets written.
Toledo is a small city and the county seat of Cumberland County, Illinois, United States. The population was 1,161 at the 2020 census. Toledo is part of the Charleston–Mattoon Micropolitan Statistical Area.
Its first post office opened in 1881. Between the 2010 and 2020 censuses its population fell from 1,238 to 1,161 (-6%).
Intro from Wikipedia. Population: U.S. Census Bureau.
Timeline
Toledo, 1856 to 1938
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.
National Park Service, National Register of Historic Places. Photos from Wikimedia Commons, credited on each place’s page.
Places that used to be
Lost post offices
Toledo’s post office has been open since 1881. Another post office, Majority Point, opened and closed inside today’s town.
Majority Point
1856–1881
Toledo
1881–today
18501940today
US Post Offices dataset (Blevins & Helbock, CC0). Places and cemeteries from the USGS Geographic Names Information System (2021).
Questions about Toledo’s history
What year was Toledo founded?
The Toledo post office opened in 1881, the earliest record of the town by name (U.S. post office records).
How does Toledo rank for history?
Toledo is more historic than 69% 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.
What is on the National Register in Toledo?
One place: the Cumberland County Courthouse (listed 1981).
How old are the homes in Toledo?
26% of Toledo’s homes were built before 1940 (Census estimate, ±8.9 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 (4), the National Register of Historic Places (1), 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.
Date?
2010