Each edition grades its towns against each other only.
More historic than 16% of U.S. towns · #685 of 768 in Illinois. What drives it
Most of Buffalo Grove was built recently: 1% of its homes predate 1940 and the median home dates from 1981. Below: 2 old photos and papers, maps from 1900 on, and the census since 1960.
The Buffalo Grove post office opened in 1874, the earliest record of the town by name. Wikidata gives 1958. Another post office, Aptakisic (1889), opened inside today’s town and later closed.
More historic than 16% of U.S. towns, on its age, its old homes and the National Register.
On its age, its old homes and the National Register, Buffalo Grove is more historic than 16% of U.S. towns, #685 of 768 in Illinois. Its age holds the grade up; its share of homes from before 1940 pulls it down.
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 Buffalo Grove’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.
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 →
Read from the archive, the National Register and the record. The page puts what stands out first.
The first neighbors to add old photos shape how Buffalo Grove’s history is told.
Every edition of the U.S. Geological Survey’s map of Buffalo Grove. Tap a year, or press play to watch the town change.
U.S. Geological Survey historical topographic maps (public domain), via Esri’s collection of the scans. The red ring marks the center of Buffalo Grove.
Writers, athletes, leaders and more, ranked by how widely they’re known.
From Wikipedia’s history of Buffalo Grove.
The first inhabitants of the region were the Illinois Confederation; they comprised multiple tribes and mainly lived in central Illinois.
Text from Wikipedia, licensed CC BY-SA 4.0.
Woven from the archive, old maps, post office records, the National Register and the people born here.
On the mapFirst mapped by the U.S. Geological SurveyBorn hereBrett Lebda is born hereBorn hereFelice Herrig is born hereBorn hereMegan Bozek is born here
2025Power lines chicago area
2025Power lines chicago area 2
2025Blue and grey shipping containers
2024Former Zenith Data Systems Headquarters Buffalo Grove…
2021Welcoming sign in
2021Buffalo Grove Post Office
2019Revathi Advaithi at
2012JustKidsStore - Buffalo Grove Store Front
2009Buffalo Grove IL 2009 reference mapMap
2006Pritchettschool
2006Aptakisic-Tripp school district mapMapNo then-and-now pairs yet. Take a photo from the same spot as an old one and they appear here side by side.
Find the spot, match the angle, and add your photo. It becomes the first then-and-now pair on Buffalo Grove’s page.
Retake this view · +15Grew from 1,492 people in 1960 to 43,212 in 2020, more than tenfold.
7 censuses, 1960–2020.
U.S. Census Bureau decennial counts, from the census table on Buffalo Grove’s Wikipedia page.
Buffalo Grove had its own post office from 1874 to 1903. Another post office, Aptakisic, opened and closed inside today’s town.
US Post Offices dataset (Blevins & Helbock, CC0). Places and cemeteries from the USGS Geographic Names Information System (2021).
Each neighbor’s History grade, on the same three inputs.
The Buffalo Grove post office opened in 1874, the earliest record of the town by name (U.S. post office records). Wikidata gives 1958.
Buffalo Grove is more historic than 16% of U.S. towns, #685 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.
1% of Buffalo Grove’s homes were built before 1940 (Census estimate), against a typical 11% for an Illinois town; the median home was built in 1981.
What the archives can’t tell you, neighbors can.
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 (13), 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) 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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