Aurora dates to 1835, and 14% of its homes were built before 1940
More historic than 86% of U.S. towns · #115 of 768 in Illinois. What drives it
29 places in town are on the National Register, among them the Sam and Ruth Van Sickle Ford House, a National Historic Landmark, and four historic districts with 182 buildings between them. Below: 6 old photos and papers, maps from 1888 on, and the census since 1850.
Founding year: Wikidata. First post office: 1837.The full story ↓
History grade
What drives Aurora’s History grade
On its age, its old homes and the National Register, Aurora is more historic than 86% of U.S. towns, #115 of 768 in Illinois. All 3 inputs are above most U.S. towns; its National Register listings ranks highest and its share of homes from before 1940 lowest.
A
HistoryA character grade: shown, never part of Aurora’s overall grade.
Among the 400 U.S. cities of 100,000 or more, Aurora ranks #97 on History.
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 Aurora’s 11.8 sits above most of its state (84% of Illinois towns have fewer) while its 213 historic buildings outnumber those of 94% 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 (±1.0 points) is firm at this size. Two sources give 1835.
Founding year: Wikidata (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 Aurora’s past
Read from the archive, the National Register and the record. The page puts what stands out first.
The country’s official list of buildings and places worth saving. One is a National Historic Landmark, the highest tier. Boundary changes and added documentation are counted with their listing.
Before European settlers arrived, there was a Native American village in what is today downtown Aurora, on the banks of the Fox River. In 1834, following the Black Hawk War, the McCarty brothers settled on both sides of the river, but subsequently sold their land on the west side to the Lake brothers, who opened a mill. The McCartys lived on and operated a mill on the east side. Aurora was established with the building of a post office in 1837.
Aurora began as two villages: East Aurora, incorporated in 1845 on the east side of the river, and West Aurora, formally organized on the west side of the river in 1854.
Between 1850 and 1870 a wave of Luxembourgish immigrants settled in Aurora.
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.
Every edition of the U.S. Geological Survey’s map of Aurora. Tap a year, or press play to watch the town change.
1932Geneva 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 Aurora.
Every building
Aurora, building by building, 1888–1907
Fire insurance maps drew every building, what it was made of and what it was used for, so insurers could price the risk of fire. Pick a year, then a sheet.
Between 1,200 and 197,899 people in every census since 1850.
18 censuses, 1850–2020.
U.S. Census Bureau decennial counts, from the census table on Aurora’s Wikipedia page.
Places that used to be
Old corners, places now gone and burying grounds
Aurora’s post office has been open since 1837.
Hamlets and corners on the map
FrontenacHeatherstoneHunters Ridge
Gone or out of use
Big Woods SchoolschoolCopley HospitalhospitalCramer SchoolschoolGranger SchoolschoolMadonna High SchoolschoolRandall SchoolschoolRoncalli High SchoolschoolWaubansee SchoolschoolWaubonsie SchoolschoolWheatland Fieldairport
In 1835, according to Wikidata. Aurora’s post office opened in 1837, and the census of 1850 counted 1,200 people here.
How does Aurora rank for history?
Aurora is more historic than 86% of U.S. towns, #115 of 768 in Illinois. 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.
What is on the National Register in Aurora?
29 listings: 25 buildings, among them the Sam and Ruth Van Sickle Ford House (a National Historic Landmark since 2023) and the Fox River House (listed 1976, the first), and 4 historic districts with 182 contributing buildings. 213 historic buildings in all.
How old are the homes in Aurora?
14% of Aurora’s homes were built before 1940 (Census estimate, ±1.0 points), against a typical 11% for an Illinois town; the median home was built in 1987.
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 (6), the National Register of Historic Places (29), Wikipedia, 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 Sanborn fire insurance maps (Library of Congress). Archive images are copied here with their credits and licenses, shown on each photo’s page. Refreshed monthly.
★ Landmark
c. 1865
c. 1865
1867
1883
