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History · Berwyn Township

Berwyn Township’s post office opened in 1891, and 61% of its homes were built before 1940

7 places in town are on the National Register. Below: 4 old photos and papers, maps from 1891 on, and the census since 1910.

1891first post office
7on the National Register
61%homes built before 1940
4old photos & papers
Add an old photoShare a memory
From Berwyn Township’s archive · credits on each photo
Quick answers

How Berwyn Township began

When was Berwyn Township founded?

1891

The Berwyn Township post office opened in 1891, the earliest record of the town by name. Wikidata gives 1908.

First census: 5,841 in 19102020 census: 57,250135 years
Founding year: the first Berwyn Township post office (Blevins & Helbock, CC0). Wikidata: 1908.The full story ↓

What stands out about Berwyn Township’s past

Read from the archive, the National Register and the record. The page puts what stands out first.

A history waiting to be writtenOnly 4 old photos are in the public archives. The rest are in attics and albums.On the map since 18918 editions of the USGS map, 1891 to 1993. Watch Berwyn Township change.Old housesHalf of Berwyn Township’s homes were built before 1938.Landmarks on the Register7 places on the National Register.
★ What stands out · Help out

Start Berwyn Township’s collection

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

Decades since 1900 with photos
00s10s20s30s40s50s60s70s80s90s
2 of 10 decades. The empty ones are waiting for someone’s album.
Retake an old viewAerial View of Suburban Chicago, Berwyn…: stand where they stood+15Share a family photoSign in to add one+10
On the map

Berwyn Township on the map, 1891 to 1993

Every edition of the U.S. Geological Survey’s map of Berwyn Township. Tap a year, or press play to watch the town change.

Berwyn Township on the 1891 USGS mapBerwyn Township on the 1900 USGS mapBerwyn Township on the 1928 USGS mapBerwyn Township on the 1953 USGS mapBerwyn Township on the 1963 USGS mapBerwyn Township on the 1972 USGS mapBerwyn Township on the 1980 USGS mapBerwyn Township on the 1993 USGS map1891Riverside 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 Berwyn Township.

The story

How Berwyn Township came to be

From Wikipedia’s history of Berwyn Township.

Read it all →

Before being settled, the land that is now Berwyn was traversed by Native American trails. The most important trails converged near the Chicago portage, and two notable routes crossed what is today Berwyn. A branch of the Trail to Green Bay crossed Berwyn at what is now Riverside Drive, and the Ottawa Trail spanned the southern end of the city.

Text from Wikipedia, licensed CC BY-SA 4.0.

Timeline

Berwyn Township, 1891 to 1999

Woven from the archive, old maps, post office records, the National Register and the people born here.

  1. 19th century
  2. 1891On the mapFirst mapped by the U.S. Geological Survey
  3. 1895In the archiveBerwyn, Illinois 1895 Sanborn Map Composite
  4. 20th century
  5. 1925In the archiveAerial View of Suburban Chicago, Berwyn, 1925 (NBY 5308)
  6. 1999In the archive19990905 22 BNSF Amtrak
By decade

Berwyn Township, decade by decade

3 decades in the archive, from the 1890s to the 1990s. Scroll each row; tap a photo for its story.

1890s–1920s2 items
Berwyn, Illinois 1895 Sanborn Map Composite1895Berwyn, Illinois 1895 Sanborn Map CompositeMapAerial View of Suburban Chicago, Berwyn, 1925 (NBY 5308)1925Aerial View of Suburban Chicago, Berwyn, 1925 (NBY 53…
1930s–1980snothing yet
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.
Add from your album
1990s2 items
19990905 22 BNSF Amtrak199919990905 22 BNSF AmtrakBNSF1999BNSF
Today31 recent
Freeport Sub from2019Freeport Sub fromUP 5087 leads M3372018UP 5087 leads M337Metra 117 and an outbound express2018Metra 117 and an outbound expressM337 with all BNSF power2018M337 with all BNSF powerM337 with a variety of power2018M337 with a variety of powerM337 with GECX 2039 and IC 24622018M337 with GECX 2039 and IC 2462M337 with 2 Union Pacific engines2018M337 with 2 Union Pacific enginesM337 on Christmas Eve Eve Eve2018M337 on Christmas Eve Eve EveM337 in the late afternoon w GECX 7828 leading2018M337 in the late afternoon w GECX 7828 leadingM337 at night part 22018M337 at night part 2M337 at night2018M337 at nightM337 at Riverside Drive2018M337 at Riverside DriveUntitled photo2018Untitled photoUntitled photo2018Untitled photoUntitled photo2018Untitled photoIC 2462 (Blue Devil) closeup2018IC 2462 (Blue Devil) closeupGECX 20392018GECX 2039Amtrak 187 and 1762018Amtrak 187 and 1764 BNSF engines on an intermodal20184 BNSF engines on an intermodalOffice Depot2017Office DepotJ. Sterling Morton West High School2016J. Sterling Morton West High SchoolBuona Berwyn 19812016Buona Berwyn 1981Proksa Park Playground2014Proksa Park Playground20130406 07 Metra Pub Crawl @ George's Tavern in201320130406 07 Metra Pub Crawl @ George's Tavern in20120411 05 Metra, Harlem Ave201220120411 05 Metra, Harlem Ave20110520 07 Metra201120110520 07 MetraCarl Sandburg train2010Carl Sandburg trainBerwyn IL 2009 reference map2009Berwyn IL 2009 reference mapMapWelcome To Berwyn Sign2008Welcome To Berwyn SignBerwyn car spindle2007Berwyn car spindleLincoln Highway - The Spindle2006Lincoln Highway - The Spindle
Then & now

Stand where they stood

No then-and-now pairs yet. Take a photo from the same spot as an old one and they appear here side by side.

Aerial View of Suburban Chicago, Berwyn, 1925 (NBY 5308)
Retake this viewAerial View of Suburban Chicago, Berwyn, 1925 (NBY 5308), 1925

Find the spot, match the angle, and add your photo. It becomes the first then-and-now pair on Berwyn Township’s page.

Retake this view · +15
On the National Register

7 listings protect 1,922 historic buildings

The country’s official list of buildings and places worth saving.

places listed
7
National Historic Landmarks
0
none yet
historic buildings protected
1,922
each building in a district counts

National Park Service, National Register of Historic Places. Photos from Wikimedia Commons, credited on each place’s page.

People over time

Berwyn Township, census by census

05,00010,00015,00020,00025,00030,00035,00040,00045,00050,00055,00060,00019201940196019802000202057,250

Grew from 5,841 people in 1910 to 57,250 in 2020, 9 times over.

12 censuses, 1910–2020.

U.S. Census Bureau decennial counts, from the census table on Berwyn Township’s Wikipedia page.

Stories next door

History across the town line

Each neighbor’s History grade, on the same three inputs.

Berwyn7 historic placesACicero1 historic placeB+North RiversideIts storyCProviso Township20 historic placesA−Riverside Township5 historic placesA−

Questions about Berwyn Township’s history

What year was Berwyn Township founded?

The Berwyn Township post office opened in 1891, the earliest record of the town by name (U.S. post office records). Wikidata gives 1908.

Memory lane

What the archives can’t tell you, neighbors can.

Town Square →
Start a conversation
Sources

Where this page comes from

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 Wikimedia Commons (34), the Library of Congress (1), Wikidata (1), Wikipedia, U.S. Geological Survey historical maps and U.S. Census counts (via Wikipedia). Archive images are copied here with their credits and licenses, shown on each photo’s page. Refreshed monthly.