Guest, Sign inJoin

Post to Bolingbrook

We’ll email a one-tap link to publish your post. No password, and nothing is public until you click it.
Already a member? Sign in
DHistory
History · Bolingbrook

Bolingbrook was first counted by the census in 1970, and 1 of its places is on the National Register

More historic than 14% of U.S. towns · #698 of 768 in Illinois. What drives it

Its Register listing is the George, Ron, Round Barn. Most of Bolingbrook was built recently: 1% of its homes predate 1940 and the median home dates from 1989. Below: 2 old photos and papers, maps from 1892 on, and the census since 1970.

1970first census
1on the National Register
1%homes built before 1940
2old photos & papers
Add an old photoShare a memory
From Bolingbrook’s archive · credits on each photo
Quick answers

How Bolingbrook began

When was Bolingbrook founded?

1970

Bolingbrook first appears in the census in 1970. Two smaller post offices, Du Page (1833) and Barber's Corners (1846), opened inside today’s town and later closed.

First census: 7,651 in 19702020 census: 73,92256 years

How historic is Bolingbrook?

D

More historic than 14% of U.S. towns, on its age, its old homes and the National Register.

What drives the grade ↓
Founding year: the first census.The full story ↓
History grade

What drives Bolingbrook’s History grade

On its age, its old homes and the National Register, Bolingbrook is more historic than 14% of U.S. towns, #698 of 768 in Illinois. Its National Register listings hold the grade up; its age pulls it down.

D
HistoryA character grade: shown, never part of Bolingbrook’s overall grade.
Founding era1970, from the first census: founded 1945 or later, an older era than 2% of U.S. townsD−Homes built before 19401.4% of homes (±0.7) · typical IL town 10.6% · U.S. 8.4%DNational Register1 listing, 0.1 per 10,000 residents · typical IL town 0.5 · U.S. 2.4B−
All U.S. towns we grade (21,289)Ahead of 14%
NewerOlder
Illinois towns of 2,500+ (768)Ahead of 9%

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 Bolingbrook’s 0.1 sits near the middle of its state (57% of Illinois towns have fewer) while its 1 listings outnumber those of 51% of U.S. towns.

How sure. Graded on any two of the three inputs instead, the letter would range from D− to C. The pre-1940 share (±0.7 points) is firm at this size.

Founding year: the first census (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 Bolingbrook’s past

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

Lost villages2 post offices opened and closed inside today’s Bolingbrook, and 40 old place names are still on the map.A history waiting to be writtenOnly 2 old photos are in the public archives. The rest are in attics and albums.On the map since 18927 editions of the USGS map, 1892 to 1993. Watch Bolingbrook change.
★ What stands out · Places that used to be

Lost post offices, old corners, places now gone and burying grounds

Two other post offices opened and closed inside today’s town.

Du Page
1833–1899
Barber's Corners
1846–1856
18301930today
Hamlets and corners on the map
Barbers CornersBayberry RidgeBeaconridgeBloomfield VillageBloomfield WestBradford PlaceBrookwood EstatesCherrywoodCider CreekCinnamon CreekClaridge EstatesColonial VillageDrafkeFoxridge FarmsHeather SoundHeritage CreekHeritage PlaceHickory OaksHome RunHunters TrailIndian BoundaryIndian Chase MeadowsIndian OaksIvanhoe
Gone or out of use
Chapman SchoolschoolDay AirportairportDuPage Post Officepost officeGeorge AirportairportGraves SchoolschoolHiggins SchoolschoolLambert AirportairportLambert SchoolschoolPlainfield QuarrymineRed SchoolschoolTyler Schoolschool
1cemetery inside Bolingbrook
Hillcrest

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

Help out

Start Bolingbrook’s collection

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

Decades since 1900 with photos
00s10s20s30s40s50s60s70s80s90s
0 of 10 decades. The empty ones are waiting for someone’s album.
Date a photo2 archive items have no date. Guess the decade.+2Retake an old viewK1C5 Diagram: stand where they stood+15Share a family photoSign in to add one+10
On the map

Bolingbrook on the map, 1892 to 1993

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

Bolingbrook on the 1892 USGS mapBolingbrook on the 1923 USGS mapBolingbrook on the 1954 USGS mapBolingbrook on the 1962 USGS mapBolingbrook on the 1973 USGS mapBolingbrook on the 1980 USGS mapBolingbrook on the 1993 USGS map1892Joliet 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 Bolingbrook.

The story

How Bolingbrook came to be

From Wikipedia’s history of Bolingbrook.

Read it all →

Bolingbrook is a suburb of Chicago incorporated in 1965. Similar to the neighboring village of Woodridge, almost all of the businesses, homes, churches and other buildings in Bolingbrook were built after 1960. The first settlement in what is now Bolingbrook was established in 1831, but the informal farming villages remained unincorporated for over 130 years. The area that is now Bolingbrook is located in the heart of the Gateway Wetlands, which begin in Downers Grove and end just north of the Joliet city limits. The tiny Boardman Cemetery, in what is now the Heritage Creek subdivision, contains the remains of some of these early residents.

Text from Wikipedia, licensed CC BY-SA 4.0.

Timeline

Bolingbrook, 1833 to 1899

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

  1. 19th century
  2. 1833Post officeThe Du Page post office opens
  3. 1846Post officeThe Barber's Corners post office opens
  4. 1856Post officeThe Barber's Corners post office closes
  5. 1892On the mapFirst mapped by the U.S. Geological Survey
  6. 1899Post officeThe Du Page post office closes
By decade

Bolingbrook, decade by decade

Date unknown2 to date
K1C5 DiagramDate?K1C5 DiagramUS-IL-Chicagoland-BolingbrookDate?US-IL-Chicagoland-Bolingbrook
Today30 recent
Weber Rd south at I-55 north - Bolingbrook-Romeoville, IL - August 20242024Weber Rd south at I-55 north - Bolingbrook-Romeoville…Weber Rd south - Bolingbrook-Romeoville, IL - August 20242024Weber Rd south - Bolingbrook-Romeoville, IL - August …Weber Rd ramp to I-55 south - Bolingbrook-Romeoville, IL - August 20242024Weber Rd ramp to I-55 south - Bolingbrook-Romeoville,…Sideways merge sign at Weber Rd and I-55 interchange - Bolingbrook-Romeoville, IL - August 20242024Sideways merge sign at Weber Rd and I-55 interchange …Meijer (Weber Road; Bolingbrook, Illinois) 12024Meijer (Weber Road; Bolingbrook, Illinois) 1McDonald's and CosMc's at Weber Rd - August 20242024McDonald's and CosMc's at Weber Rd - August 2024I-55 SB weigh station entrance - August 20242024I-55 SB weigh station entrance - August 2024I-55 SB approaching weigh station in Bolingbrook, IL - August 20242024I-55 SB approaching weigh station in Bolingbrook, IL …Five Guys (Bolingbrook, Illinois) 12024Five Guys (Bolingbrook, Illinois) 1Eastern terminus of Illinois Route 1262024Eastern terminus of Illinois Route 126CosMc's in Bolingbrook, IL - August 20242024CosMc's in Bolingbrook, IL - August 2024CosMc's at Weber Rd - August 20242024CosMc's at Weber Rd - August 2024CosMc's Bolingbrook entrance and exit - August 20242024CosMc's Bolingbrook entrance and exit - August 2024CosMc's Bolingbrook drive-thru gate - August 20242024CosMc's Bolingbrook drive-thru gate - August 2024Buffalo Wild Wings (Bolingbrook, Illinois) 12024Buffalo Wild Wings (Bolingbrook, Illinois) 195th St west crossing the DuPage River - Bolingbrook, IL - August 2024202495th St west crossing the DuPage River - Bolingbrook,…95th St east crossing the DuPage River - Bolingbrook, IL - August 2024202495th St east crossing the DuPage River - Bolingbrook,…The Home Depot (Bolingbrook, Illinois) 12023The Home Depot (Bolingbrook, Illinois) 1Menards (Bolingbrook, Illinois) 12023Menards (Bolingbrook, Illinois) 1Downtown2023DowntownCosMc's2023CosMc'sLa-Z-Boy (Bolingbrook, Illinois) 12022La-Z-Boy (Bolingbrook, Illinois) 1Meijer (Boughton Road; Bolingbrook, Illinois) 12021Meijer (Boughton Road; Bolingbrook, Illinois) 1K1C5 Runway2019K1C5 RunwayFilipinoAmericanClothingExample2017FilipinoAmericanClothingExampleGirl in Snow (Unsplash)2016Girl in Snow (Unsplash)Bolingbrook Golf Club, Bolingbrook, Illinois - Underground garbage can2008Bolingbrook Golf Club, Bolingbrook, Illinois - Underg…I-355 and I-55 interchange from air2007I-355 and I-55 interchange from airBolingbrook32006Bolingbrook3Bolingbrook12006Bolingbrook1
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.

K1C5 Diagram
Retake this viewK1C5 Diagram

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

Retake this view · +15
On the National Register

1 historic place in Bolingbrook

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

place listed
1
National Historic Landmarks
0
none yet
historic buildings protected
1
each building in a district counts
first listed
1982
George, Ron, Round Barn
George, Ron, Round Barn
Buildings

Architectural styles listings

Round Barn1
George, Ron, Round BarnRound Barn

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

People over time

Bolingbrook, census by census

020,00040,00060,00080,00019802000202073,922

Grew from 7,651 people in 1970 to 73,922 in 2020, 9 times over.

6 censuses, 1970–2020.

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

Stories next door

History across the town line

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

WoodridgeIts storyD−Romeoville1 historic placeC−Naperville2 historic placesB+Plainfield4 historic placesB+Du Page Township1 historic placeB−Lisle TownshipIts storyC+

Questions about Bolingbrook’s history

What year was Bolingbrook founded?

The Bolingbrook post office opened in 1970, the earliest record of the town by name (U.S. post office records).

How does Bolingbrook rank for history?

Bolingbrook is more historic than 14% of U.S. towns, #698 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 Bolingbrook?

One place: the George, Ron, Round Barn (listed 1982).

How old are the homes in Bolingbrook?

1% of Bolingbrook’s homes were built before 1940 (Census estimate), against a typical 11% for an Illinois town; the median home was built in 1989.

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 (32), the National Register of Historic Places (1), Wikipedia, U.S. Geological Survey historical maps, U.S. Census counts (via Wikipedia), 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.