The Barrington post office opened in 1845, the earliest record of the town by name. Wikidata gives 1865. Another post office, Barrington Station (1856), opened inside today’s town and later closed.
First census: 410 in 18802020 census: 10,722181 years
How historic is Barrington?
A
More historic than 88% of U.S. towns, on its age, its old homes and the National Register.
Founding year: the first Barrington post office (Blevins & Helbock, CC0). Wikidata: 1865.The full story ↓
History grade
What drives Barrington’s History grade
On its age, its old homes and the National Register, Barrington is more historic than 88% of U.S. towns, #96 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 Barrington’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 Barrington’s 351 sits above most of its state (98% of Illinois towns have fewer) while its 389 historic buildings outnumber those of 96% 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 (±3.5 points). The founding year is the first post office, not a stated founding date; Wikidata gives 1865.
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 Barrington’s past
Read from the archive, the National Register and the record. The page puts what stands out first.
The original settlers of the Barrington area were the indigenous peoples of the Prairie Potawatomi or Mascouten tribes, which later divided into the Potawatomi, Ojibwe, and Odawa tribes. Many local roads still in use, including Algonquin Road, Rand Road, Higgins Road, and St. Charles Road, were originally Native American trails. For many years, Barrington was considered part of the Northwest Territory, then the Illinois Territory.
Passages that mention Barrington, cut from the printed page as they were published.
History of Cook County, Illinois. From the earliest period to the present time1884 · page 840Read the page →
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the original number. K. N. Miller is the only one of the original six that is still a member. Since 1801 this Church has been connected with and supplied from the Church at Barrington Station. The building up of Barrington Village drew many of the people thither from the central part of the township, which at tho same time reduced the membership of the Church at the Center and increased that of the Church
Text read by machine from the scan; it may contain errors.
History of Cook County, Illinois1909 · page 277Read the page →
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Deer Grove. At first services were held in private residences, but in 1854 a small church was erected there and continued to be occupied by the society for many years. Zion's society of the Evangelical association was established at Barrington in 1866. A small frame structure was erected and continued to be used until 1880, when a large church was erected at a cost of $8,000. The Unity Evangelical Lutheran church was organized in 1864 with membership of 20. They first met in a schoolhouse, but after a few years a
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.
Timeline
Barrington, 1845 to 1998
Woven from the archive, old maps, post office records, the National Register and the people born here.
The Barrington post office opened in 1845, the earliest record of the town by name (U.S. post office records). Wikidata gives 1865.
How does Barrington rank for history?
Barrington is more historic than 88% of U.S. towns, #96 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 Barrington?
4 listings: 3 buildings, among them the Octagon House (listed 1979, the first), and 1 historic district, the Barrington Historic District, with 386 contributing buildings. 389 historic buildings in all.
How old are the homes in Barrington?
13% of Barrington’s homes were built before 1940 (Census estimate, ±3.5 points), against a typical 11% for an Illinois town; the median home was built in 1971.
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 (10), Wikidata (1), the National Register of Historic Places (4), 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 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.
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