The story
Read it all →How Ursa came to be
From Wikipedia’s history of Ursa.
The first settlers came to Ursa in 1823. Ursa was established in 1828 and became an incorporated village in 1964.
Text from Wikipedia, licensed CC BY-SA 4.0.
–Not graded
History · Ursa
Ursa’s post office opened in 1836, and 20% of its homes were built before 1940
Its Register listing is the Ursa Town Hall. Below: old-book passages.
1836first post office
1on the National Register
20%homes built before 1940
Quick answers
How Ursa began
When was Ursa founded?
1836
The Ursa post office opened in 1836, the earliest record of the town by name.
2020 census: 609190 years
Founding year: the first Ursa post office (Blevins & Helbock, CC0).The full story ↓
What stands out about Ursa’s past
Read from the archive, the National Register and the record. The page puts what stands out first.
★ What stands out · Help out
Start Ursa’s collection
The first neighbors to add old photos shape how Ursa’s history is told.
Decades since 1900 with photos
00s10s20s30s40s50s60s70s80s90s
0 of 10 decades. The empty ones are waiting for someone’s album.From the old history books
What they wrote about Ursa, 1879–1919
Passages that mention Ursa, cut from the printed page as they were published.
The history of Adams County Illinois1879 · page 320Read the page →
Read the text
Ursa. — The town of Ursa to be one precinct, and the school house, in Ursa, to be the place of voting. Lima. — The town of Lima to be one precinct, and the place of voting to be at the "Beebe House," in the village of Lima.
Text read by machine from the scan; it may contain errors.
Quincy and Adams County history1919 · page 997Read the page →
Read the text
degree in 1883. With this preparation he began practice at Marcelline, and in 1902 established his home at Ursa. The lour years previous to his establishment at Ursa he spent at Kansas City, Missouri. He has given all his time to his work as a physician, and thei'e is hardly a home in Ursa Township which he has not entered at some time in a professional capacity. He is a member of all the medical societies, including the District and State societies, and the American Medical A.ssociation. He is an Odd Fellow and has sat in the Grand Lodge. Doctor Groves has spent several winters either in Florida or California.
Text read by machine from the scan; it may contain errors.
The history of Adams County, Illinois1879 · page 560Read the page →
Read the text
The vilUtge of Marcelline is situated in the northern extremity of Ursa township, three miles north of Ursa, on section 31, 2 north, S west, and is a place of about one hundred inhabitants. It was laid out by S. M. Jenkins, about 184r'2. Thomas Payne, of Ellington, made two additions to the original plat, the last in 1849. A man named Wade was the first settler on the site of the town; he came there as early as 1830. John W.
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.
By decade
Ursa, decade by decade
2025
2014On the National Register
1 historic place in Ursa
The country’s official list of buildings and places worth saving.
place listed
1
National Historic Landmarks
0
none yet
historic buildings protected
1
each building in a district counts
first listed
2002
Ursa Town Hall
Buildings
Architectural styles listings
Colonial Revival1
National Park Service, National Register of Historic Places. Photos from Wikimedia Commons, credited on each place’s page.
Famous people
See all →Famous people close to Ursa
Nobody well known was born in Ursa itself, so here are the best known from just nearby.
Questions about Ursa’s history
What year was Ursa founded?
The Ursa post office opened in 1836, the earliest record of the town by name (U.S. post office records).
What is on the National Register in Ursa?
One place: the Ursa Town Hall (listed 2002).
Memory lane
What the archives can’t tell you, neighbors can.
Start a conversation
Sources
Where this page comes from
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). How TownRatings grades history →
From Wikimedia Commons (2), Wikidata (1), the National Register of Historic Places (1), 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.