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BHistory
History · Big Rock

Big Rock’s post office opened in 1850, and 50% of its homes were built before 1940

More historic than 56% of U.S. towns. What drives it

Below: 5 old photos and papers and maps from 1937 on.

1850first post office
0on the National Register
50%homes built before 1940
5old photos & papers
Add an old photoShare a memory
From Big Rock’s archive · credits on each photo
Quick answers

How Big Rock began

When was Big Rock founded?

1850

The Big Rock post office opened in 1850, the earliest record of the town by name. Wikidata gives 2001.

2020 census: 1,104176 years

How historic is Big Rock?

B

More historic than 56% of U.S. towns, on its age, its old homes and the National Register.

What drives the grade ↓
Founding year: the first Big Rock post office (Blevins & Helbock, CC0). Wikidata: 2001.
History grade

What drives Big Rock’s History grade

On its age, its old homes and the National Register, Big Rock is more historic than 56% of U.S. towns. Its share of homes from before 1940 holds the grade up; its National Register listings pull it down.

B
HistoryA character grade: shown, never part of Big Rock’s overall grade.
Founding era1850, from the first post office: founded 1850–1899, an older era than 37% of U.S. townsC+Homes built before 194049.9% of homes (±47.4) · typical IL town 10.6% · U.S. 8.4%A+National RegisterNo listings counted · typical IL town 0.5 per 10,000 · U.S. 2.4C
All U.S. towns we grade (21,289)Ahead of 56%
NewerOlder

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 Big Rock’s 0.0 sits below most of its state (28% of Illinois towns have fewer) while its 0 listings outnumber those of 23% of U.S. towns.

How sure. Graded on any two of the three inputs instead, the letter would range from C− to B+. The pre-1940 share is a Census survey estimate (±47.4 points). The founding year is the first post office, not a stated founding date; Wikidata gives 2001.

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 Big Rock’s past

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

Old housesHalf of Big Rock’s homes were built before 1941.
★ What stands out · The story so far

Big Rock, in brief

Wikipedia doesn’t have a history of Big Rock yet. The photos, dates and memories neighbors add here are how it gets written.

Big Rock is a village in Kane County, Illinois, United States. It is located approximately 50 miles (80 km) due west of Chicago. It is between the villages of Hinckley and Sugar Grove. The village was incorporated on July 26, 2001. As of the 2020 census it had a population of 1,104.

Its first post office opened in 1850. Its population held steady between the last two censuses: 1,126 in 2010, 1,104 in 2020.

Intro from Wikipedia. Population: U.S. Census Bureau.

Timeline

Big Rock, 1850 to 1996

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

  1. 19th century
  2. 1850Post officeThe Big Rock post office opens
  3. 20th century
  4. 1937On the mapFirst mapped by the U.S. Geological Survey
  5. 1996In the archive19960615 25 BNSF
By decade

Big Rock, decade by decade

One decade in the archive so far: the 1990s. Scroll each row; tap a photo for its story.

1990s5 items
19960615 25 BNSF199619960615 25 BNSF19960615 26 BNSF199619960615 26 BNSF19960720 01 BNSF near199619960720 01 BNSF near19960720 02 BNSF near199619960720 02 BNSF near19960720 04 BNSF199619960720 04 BNSF
Today13 recent
Barn with wing additions near Big Rock, Illinois2020Barn with wing additions near Big Rock, IllinoisBN-CBQ SAvanna Main, Big Rock, IL on December 12, 19872015BN-CBQ SAvanna Main, Big Rock, IL on December 12, 1987BN-CBQ Big Rock, IL on December 12, 19872015BN-CBQ Big Rock, IL on December 12, 1987RichHarvestFarms-52008RichHarvestFarms-5RichHarvestFarms-42008RichHarvestFarms-4RichHarvestFarms-32008RichHarvestFarms-3RichHarvestFarms-22008RichHarvestFarms-2Big Rock, Illinois2008Big Rock, IllinoisBig Rock, Illinois-52008Big Rock, Illinois-5Big Rock, Illinois-42008Big Rock, Illinois-4Big Rock, Illinois-32008Big Rock, Illinois-3Big Rock, Illinois-22008Big Rock, Illinois-220030608 01 House being moved200320030608 01 House being moved
On the map

Big Rock on the map, 1937 to 1975

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

Big Rock on the 1937 USGS mapBig Rock on the 1968 USGS mapBig Rock on the 1975 USGS map1937Sycamore 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 Big Rock.

Places that used to be

Places now gone

Big Rock’s post office has been open since 1850.

Gone or out of use
Rockville Schoolschool

US Post Offices dataset (Blevins & Helbock, CC0). Places and cemeteries from the USGS Geographic Names Information System (2021).

Help out

Finish Big Rock’s story

Most archives stop around 1920. The photos from after that are in family albums, not libraries.

Decades since 1900 with photos
00s10s20s30s40s50s60s70s80s90s
1 of 10 decades. The empty ones are waiting for someone’s album.
Retake an old view19960615 25 BNSF: stand where they stood+15Share a family photoSign in to add one+10
Stories next door

History across the town line

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

Sugar Grove1 historic placeB−

Questions about Big Rock’s history

What year was Big Rock founded?

The Big Rock post office opened in 1850, the earliest record of the town by name (U.S. post office records). Wikidata gives 2001.

How does Big Rock rank for history?

Big Rock is more historic than 56% of U.S. towns. 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.

How old are the homes in Big Rock?

50% of Big Rock’s homes were built before 1940 (Census estimate, ±47.4 points), against a typical 11% for an Illinois town; the median home was built in 1941.

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).

From Wikimedia Commons (17), the Library of Congress (1), U.S. Geological Survey historical maps, the US Post Offices dataset (Blevins & Helbock) and the USGS Geographic Names Information System. Archive images are copied here with their credits and licenses, shown on each photo’s page. Refreshed monthly.