Most of Bull Valley was built recently: 9% of its homes predate 1940 and the median home dates from 1983. Its Register listing is the George Stickney House. Below: maps from 1926 on and the census since 1980.
On its age, its old homes and the National Register, Bull Valley is more historic than 30% of U.S. towns. Its National Register listings hold the grade up; its age pulls it down.
C
HistoryA character grade: shown, never part of Bull Valley’s overall grade.
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 Bull Valley’s 7.9 sits above most of its state (80% 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 B. The pre-1940 share is a Census survey estimate (±6.5 points).
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 Bull Valley’s past
Read from the archive, the National Register and the record. The page puts what stands out first.
In 1942, a group of neighbors organized the Countryside Improvement Association. It gradually became involved in questions of land use, and in 1955, in an unprecedented action, owners of about 3,000 acres, half of the Bull Valley area at the time, voluntarily put their land into 3-acre zoning, the highest residential classification then offered by the county. This single decision would establish the future character of the community.
The Bull Valley post office opened in 1980, the earliest record of the town by name (U.S. post office records).
How does Bull Valley rank for history?
Bull Valley is more historic than 30% 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.
What is on the National Register in Bull Valley?
One place: the George Stickney House (listed 1979).
How old are the homes in Bull Valley?
9% of Bull Valley’s homes were built before 1940 (Census estimate, ±6.5 points), against a typical 11% for an Illinois town; the median home was built in 1983.
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 (2), the National Register of Historic Places (1), Wikipedia, U.S. Geological Survey historical maps, U.S. Census counts (via Wikipedia) 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.
2007
2005
