Founding year: the first Waverly post office (Blevins & Helbock, CC0).
History grade
What drives Waverly’s History grade
On its age, its old homes and the National Register, Waverly is more historic than 77% of U.S. towns. Its share of homes from before 1940 holds the grade up; its National Register listings pull it down.
A−
HistoryA character grade: shown, never part of Waverly’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 Waverly’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 B− to A+. The pre-1940 share is a Census survey estimate (±12.7 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 Waverly’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 Waverly yet. The photos, dates and memories neighbors add here are how it gets written.
Waverly, founded in 1836, is the second largest city in Morgan County, Illinois, United States. The population was 1,194 at the 2020 census. It is part of the Jacksonville Micropolitan Statistical Area. The town was named after the Waverley novels of Sir Walter Scott.
Its first post office opened in 1847. Between the 2010 and 2020 censuses its population fell from 1,307 to 1,194 (-9%).
Intro from Wikipedia. Population: U.S. Census Bureau.
Timeline
Waverly, 1847 to 1957
Woven from the archive, old maps, post office records, the National Register and the people born here.
Passages that mention Waverly, cut from the printed page as they were published.
History of Morgan county, Illinois1878 · page 421Read the page →
Read the text
The families enumerated were the principal ones who were residents of Waverly until 1847. During the first decade of the town's existence, its growth was slow, being chiefly dependent on the prosperity of the school. This was a well-known institution, and had in its day a State reputation. Among its pupils were some of the most prominent men of Illinois, who remember with pride the days spent at the Waverly Seminary. The chief desire of the founders of the village, to build up a large school, was destined to fail. Other towns had more and better advantages for
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
Waverly, decade by decade
One decade in the archive so far: the 1950s. Scroll each row; tap a photo for its story.
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.
The Waverly post office opened in 1847, the earliest record of the town by name (U.S. post office records).
How does Waverly rank for history?
Waverly is more historic than 77% 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 Waverly?
49% of Waverly’s homes were built before 1940 (Census estimate, ±12.7 points), against a typical 11% for an Illinois town; the median home was built in 1944.
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 (1), Wikidata and Wikipedia for famous people, 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.
