TownTapestry
Sign inJoin
NobleGood night
History · Noble

Noble’s history is
mostly unwritten

The public archives hold no old photos of Noble. The rest are in attics, shoeboxes and the historical society. Help start the collection.

1862established
0old images & papers
0recent photos

The story so far

from Wikipedia & the U.S. Census

Noble is a village in Richland County, Illinois, United States. As of the 2020 census, Noble had a population of 633.

Noble was established in 1862. Between the 2010 and 2020 censuses its population fell from 677 to 633 (-6%). Half of its homes were built before 1973.

Wikipedia doesn’t have a history of Noble yet — the old photos, dates and memories neighbors add here are how it gets written.

Intro from Wikipedia, licensed CC BY-SA 4.0. Population and housing: U.S. Census Bureau.

Be one of the first

Start Noble’s collection

The first neighbors to add old photos shape how Noble’s history is told.

0 of 10 decades since 1900 have photos 📦Share a family photoSign in to add one+10

Famous people close to Noble

See all 15 →
Elaine ShepardElaine ShepardOlney · 7 miTerry L. BruceTerry L. BruceOlney · 7 miEdmund SebreeEdmund SebreeOlney · 7 miGeorge E. ShipleyGeorge E. ShipleyOlney · 7 miGilbert L. LawsGilbert L. LawsOlney · 7 miNKNoretta KoertgeOlney · 7 mi
By decade

Noble, decade by decade

Before
2000
No old photos in the archives yetWeddings on Main Street, storms, parades, school pictures, the old store. If it’s in your family album, it belongs here.
📷 Add from your album
National Register of Historic Places

Nothing in Noble is on the National Register yet

That’s true of most small towns. It doesn’t mean Noble has no history, only that no one has written up a nomination. The closest listed place is Ambrose Hopkinson House in Olney, 7.5 miles away.

Noble and the nearest listed places

Dashed line = Noble. Tap a dot.
Ambrose Hopkinson HouseLarchmoundOlney Carnegie LibraryElliott Street Historic DistrictPearl and Bess Meyer HouseShriver House

Closest to Noble

Ambrose Hopkinson HouseOlney · Italianate7.5miLarchmoundOlney · Gothic Revival7.6miOlney Carnegie LibraryOlney · Classical Revival · Built 19047.7miElliott Street Historic DistrictOlney · Queen Anne7.8miPearl and Bess Meyer HouseFlora · Queen Anne14.4mi

How a place gets listed

1Talk to the stateEvery nomination goes through the State Historic Preservation Office. Owners, towns and historical societies can start one.
2Try a local or state list firstMany states keep their own register with a shorter form, a common first step for old barns, halls and schoolhouses.
3Write it upA nomination covers the history, photos and a map. Ambrose Hopkinson House’s page links to a real one.
Know an old place in Noble?A mill, a schoolhouse, a cellar hole, a church: add a photo of it to Noble’s story, or a memory of it.
📷 Add a photo of an old place
National Park Service, National Register of Historic Places · photos from Wikimedia Commons

Then & now

When neighbors add old photos, retakes from the same spot appear here side by side.

Stories next door

nearby towns’ history
📜 Noble📜 Decker📜 Clay City📜 Clay City
We left the porch light on

Where to, neighbor?

You’re in Noble, ILView boundary

Nearby

All towns & citiesExplore the map

Local begins with a boundary.

See what belongs to your selected town.

Loading boundary…

Noble is your selected town. The feed includes posts assigned to this town, not a distance radius or ZIP code.

Neighborhoods narrow the feed further, while townwide announcements, events, and issues remain visible.

Boundary source: https://tigerweb.geo.census.gov/arcgis/rest/services/TIGERweb/Places_CouSub_ConCity_SubMCD/MapServer/18 · 2025-01-01
Open detailed map