From Tremont Township’s archive · credits on each photo
Quick answers
How Tremont Township began
When was Tremont Township founded?
1835
The Tremont Township post office opened in 1835, the earliest record of the town by name. Another post office, Allentown (1879), opened inside today’s town and later closed.
First census: 461 in 18502020 census: 2,691191 years
How historic is Tremont Township?
A
More historic than 86% of U.S. towns, on its age, its old homes and the National Register.
Founding year: the first Tremont Township post office (Blevins & Helbock, CC0).The full story ↓
History grade
What drives Tremont Township’s History grade
On its age, its old homes and the National Register, Tremont Township is more historic than 86% of U.S. towns, #118 of 768 in Illinois. All 3 inputs are above most U.S. towns; its age ranks highest and its share of homes from before 1940 lowest.
A
HistoryA character grade: shown, never part of Tremont 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 Tremont Township’s 11.3 sits above most of its state (84% of Illinois towns have fewer) while its 3 historic buildings outnumber those of 65% 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 (±8.7 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 Tremont Township’s past
Read from the archive, the National Register and the record. The page puts what stands out first.
James Chapman settled in the Tremont area in 1820, followed by William Sterling, William and James Broyhill, Michael Trout, and David Lackland. Margaret E. Lackland was the first to be born in the new settlement. A post office was established in 1835 and the first postmaster was Wiliam Sampson. Josiah James and J. H. Harris laid out the village, built a school house, and built a church. Tremont was governed under district control until March 11, 1835, when it was organized as a town.
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 Tremont Township. Tap a year, or press play to watch the town change.
1928Mackinaw 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 Tremont Township.
Then & now
Stand where they stood
No then-and-now pairs yet. Take a photo from the same spot as an old one and they appear here side by side.
Retake this viewPlat book of Tazewell County, Illinois, 1891
Find the spot, match the angle, and add your photo. It becomes the first then-and-now pair on Tremont Township’s page.
The Tremont Township post office opened in 1835, the earliest record of the town by name (U.S. post office records).
How does Tremont Township rank for history?
Tremont Township is more historic than 86% of U.S. towns, #118 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 Tremont Township?
One place: the Allentown Union Hall (listed 1988).
How old are the homes in Tremont Township?
20% of Tremont Township’s homes were built before 1940 (Census estimate, ±8.7 points), against a typical 11% for an Illinois town; the median home was built in 1967.
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 (3), the Library of Congress (1), the National Register of Historic Places (1), 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.
1891
Date?
