Each edition grades its towns against each other only.
Below: old-book passages.
The Witt post office opened in 1869, the earliest record of the town by name.
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 Witt’s history is told.
Wikipedia doesn’t have a history of Witt yet. The photos, dates and memories neighbors add here are how it gets written.
Witt is a city in Montgomery County, Illinois, United States. The population was 785 at the 2020 census, down from 903 in 2010.
Its first post office opened in 1869. Between the 2010 and 2020 censuses its population fell from 903 to 785 (-13%).
Intro from Wikipedia. Population: U.S. Census Bureau.
Passages that mention Witt, cut from the printed page as they were published.
of the important roads traversing th^ county. It enters the county from the west on section 30, Tunbridge township, traverses the county in a north-easterly direction through the townships of Tunbridge, Texas, Clintonia, Harp, De Witt, Rutledge and Santa Anna- The most important stations on this line in this county are Clinton, Farmer City, De Witt and Kenney. It has always been the policy of the Central road to foster and encourage the growth of the country through which it passes.
Text read by machine from the scan; it may contain errors.
The village of De Witt as now situated is long and straggling, extending from the original town of Marion north to the railroad, a distance of about three-fourths of a mile. The addition was made by A. C. Jones, August 2.3d, 1871, and described as follows : Commencing at the N. E. corner of the E. i of the S. E. part of section IS, town 20 N. R. 4 E., south on section line 2,646 feet to section corner; westerly on section line 1,240 feet; north 2,646 feet, easterly 1,240 feet except right of way of the G. C.
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.
The Witt post office opened in 1869, the earliest record of the town by name (U.S. post office records).
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). How TownRatings grades history →
From 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.