Each edition grades its towns against each other only.
More historic than 61% of U.S. towns. What drives it
Below: maps from 1933 on and the census since 1880.
The Venice post office opened in 1843, the earliest record of the town by name.
More historic than 61% of U.S. towns, on its age, its old homes and the National Register.
On its age, its old homes and the National Register, Venice is more historic than 61% of U.S. towns. 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 Venice’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: 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 →
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 Venice’s history is told.
Peaked at 6,226 in 1950; 1,498 people lived here in 2020.
15 censuses, 1880–2020.
U.S. Census Bureau decennial counts, from the census table on Venice’s Wikipedia page.
Woven from the archive, old maps, post office records, the National Register and the people born here.
Wikipedia doesn’t have a history of Venice yet. The photos, dates and memories neighbors add here are how it gets written.
Venice is a city in Madison County, Illinois, United States. The population was 1,498 at the 2020 census, down from 1,890 in 2010.
Its first post office opened in 1843. Between the 2010 and 2020 censuses its population fell from 1,890 to 1,498 (-21%).
Intro from Wikipedia. Population: U.S. Census Bureau.
Passages that mention Venice, cut from the printed page as they were published.
The eastern approach of this great structure rests in the historic city of Venice, like the other Venice of historic note, looks out upon the waters. With the American Venice, how¬ ever, the dimpled Adriatic is replaced by the majestic “Father of Waters,” the mighty Mis¬ sissippi, on whose eastern bank the city is laid out. This bustling, thriving community
Text read by machine from the scan; it may contain errors.
The population of the town of Venice, according to the census of 1880, was 613. Its future is bright with promise. Its railroad facilities are constantly being increased. Its manufactories just commencing to attract attention, will make Venice in time a large suburb of St. Louis.
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.
Weddings 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 Venice. 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 Venice.
Writers, athletes, leaders and more, ranked by how widely they’re known.
Venice’s post office has been open since 1843.
US Post Offices dataset (Blevins & Helbock, CC0). Places and cemeteries from the USGS Geographic Names Information System (2021).
Each neighbor’s History grade, on the same three inputs.
The Venice post office opened in 1843, the earliest record of the town by name (U.S. post office records).
Venice is more historic than 61% 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.
19% of Venice’s homes were built before 1940 (Census estimate, ±6.1 points), against a typical 11% for an Illinois town; the median home was built in 1968.
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 Wikidata and Wikipedia for famous people, 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.
