On its age, its old homes and the National Register, Wesley Township is more historic than 36% of U.S. towns. Its share of homes from before 1940 holds the grade up; its National Register listings pull it down.
C+
HistoryA character grade: shown, never part of Wesley 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 Wesley Township’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 two of the three inputs, so a change in either one moves the letter more than it would with three. The pre-1940 share is a Census survey estimate (±5.9 points).
Founding year: our sources. 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 Wesley Township’s past
Read from the archive, the National Register and the record. The page puts what stands out first.
Lost post offices, old corners, places now gone and burying grounds
Another post office, Ritchey, opened and closed inside today’s town.
Hamlets and corners on the map
BallouLakewood ShoresResthavenRitchie
Gone or out of use
Morgan SchoolschoolMoulton SchoolschoolWesley Schoolschool
1cemetery inside Wesley Township
Wesley
US Post Offices dataset (Blevins & Helbock, CC0). Places and cemeteries from the USGS Geographic Names Information System (2021).
On the map
Wesley Township on the map, 1918 to 1993
Every edition of the U.S. Geological Survey’s map of Wesley Township. Tap a year, or press play to watch the town change.
1918Wilmington 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 Wesley Township.
The story so far
Wesley Township, in brief
Wikipedia doesn’t have a history of Wesley Township yet. The photos, dates and memories neighbors add here are how it gets written.
Wesley Township is located in Will County, Illinois. As of the 2010 census, its population was 2,241 and it contained 891 housing units. Wesley Township was formed from the south-eastern part of Wilmington Township in 1846. It contains the census-designated places of Ballou, Rest Haven, and Ritchie. Wesley, Illinois was the setting for a murder in the 1966 mystery fiction book "Deadline" by Thomas B. Dewey.
Between the 2010 and 2020 censuses its population fell from 2,241 to 2,124 (-5%).
Intro from Wikipedia. Population: U.S. Census Bureau.
Timeline
Wesley Township, 1881 to 1936
Woven from the archive, old maps, post office records, the National Register and the people born here.
Wesley Township is more historic than 36% 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 Wesley Township?
14% of Wesley Township’s homes were built before 1940 (Census estimate, ±5.9 points), against a typical 11% for an Illinois town; the median home was built in 1972.
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 U.S. Geological Survey historical maps, 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.
