Bremen Township’s post office opened in 1850, and 2 of its places are on the National Register
More historic than 36% of U.S. towns · #500 of 768 in Illinois. What drives it
Most of Bremen Township was built recently: 4% of its homes predate 1940 and the median home dates from 1973. Below: 8 old photos and papers, maps from 1892 on, and the census since 2000.
From Bremen Township’s archive · credits on each photo
Quick answers
How Bremen Township began
When was Bremen Township founded?
1850
The Bremen Township post office opened in 1850, the earliest record of the town by name. Two smaller post offices, Bachelors' Grove (1843) and Goselville (1884), opened inside today’s town and later closed.
First census: 109,575 in 20002020 census: 107,149176 years
How historic is Bremen Township?
C+
More historic than 36% of U.S. towns, on its age, its old homes and the National Register.
Founding year: the first Bremen Township post office (Blevins & Helbock, CC0).
History grade
What drives Bremen Township’s History grade
On its age, its old homes and the National Register, Bremen Township is more historic than 36% of U.S. towns, #500 of 768 in Illinois. Its National Register listings hold the grade up; its share of homes from before 1940 pulls it down.
C+
HistoryA character grade: shown, never part of Bremen Township’s overall grade.
Among the 400 U.S. cities of 100,000 or more, Bremen Township ranks #281 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 Bremen Township’s 0.2 sits near the middle of its state (58% of Illinois towns have fewer) while its 2 listings outnumber those of 60% of U.S. towns.
How sure. Graded on any two of the three inputs instead, the letter would range from C− to C+. The pre-1940 share (±0.8 points) is firm at this size. The founding year is the first post office, not a stated founding date.
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 Bremen Township’s past
Read from the archive, the National Register and the record. The page puts what stands out first.
Every edition of the U.S. Geological Survey’s map of Bremen Township. Tap a year, or press play to watch the town change.
1892Calumet 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 Bremen Township.
Places that used to be
Lost post offices, old corners and burying grounds
Two other post offices opened and closed inside today’s town.
Bachelors' Grove
1843–1850
Goselville
1884–1903
18401930today
Hamlets and corners on the map
Goeselville
3cemeteries and burying grounds inside Bremen Township
Bachelor GroveCountySaint Gabriel Catholic
US Post Offices dataset (Blevins & Helbock, CC0). Places and cemeteries from the USGS Geographic Names Information System (2021).
The story so far
Bremen Township, in brief
Wikipedia doesn’t have a history of Bremen Township yet. The photos, dates and memories neighbors add here are how it gets written.
Bremen Township is one of 29 townships in Cook County, Illinois, USA. As of the 2020 census, its population was 107,149 and it contained 42,611 housing units. It was organized in 1850 and is located southwest of Chicago in southern Cook County. An administrative office for Bremen Township is located at 16361 South Kedzie Parkway, Markham, Illinois. It is named after the State of the same name in Germany as this area was settled by primarily German settlers.
Its first post office opened in 1850. Between the 2010 and 2020 censuses its population fell from 110,118 to 107,149 (-3%).
Intro from Wikipedia. Population: U.S. Census Bureau.
Timeline
Bremen Township, 1843 to 1903
Woven from the archive, old maps, post office records, the National Register and the people born here.
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.
The Bremen Township post office opened in 1850, the earliest record of the town by name (U.S. post office records).
How does Bremen Township rank for history?
Bremen Township is more historic than 36% of U.S. towns, #500 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.
How old are the homes in Bremen Township?
4% of Bremen Township’s homes were built before 1940 (Census estimate), against a typical 11% for an Illinois town; the median home was built in 1973.
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 (8), 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.
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