Founding year: the first Burlington Township post office (Blevins & Helbock, CC0).The full story ↓
History grade
What drives Burlington Township’s History grade
On its age, its old homes and the National Register, Burlington Township is more historic than 51% of U.S. towns. Its age holds the grade up; its National Register listings pull it down.
B−
HistoryA character grade: shown, never part of Burlington Township’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 Burlington Township’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 (±4.4 points). 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 Burlington Township’s past
Read from the archive, the National Register and the record. The page puts what stands out first.
Burlington was platted by Andrew Pingree in 1851. It is located on the former Illinois Central Railroad which runs through the south edge of the village. A post office under the name "Burlington" has been in operation since 1865. In 1878, the area had three cheese factories, a general store, a hotel and a saloon. The last dairy plant closed in the 1970s.
Passages that mention Burlington Township, cut from the printed page as they were published.
The past and present of Kane County, Illinois1878 · page 484Read the page →
Read the text
The dairy business, so extensively carried on in Kane County, is represented in Burlington Township by three large cheese factories. The first one built was that at the village of Burlington, erected in 1871 by a stock company, Uriah Thomas taking $1,000 stock, and assuming the business management of the concern at the time. It is a two-story frame building, of the capacity of a majority of the factories in this section. It is doing a good business, but running somewhat below its average, and is owned at present by Mann & Roseborough. They make up the milk exclusively. In 1872, a factory was
Text read by machine from the scan; it may contain errors.
Scans and text from the Internet Archive. Books published in 1930 or earlier, which are in the public domain.
By decade
No old photos in the archives yet
Weddings on Main Street, storms, parades, school pictures, the old store. If it’s in your family album, it belongs here.
Be the first to add onePhotograph a print flat, in daylight, no flash.
Every edition of the U.S. Geological Survey’s map of Burlington Township. Tap a year, or press play to watch the town change.
1938Genoa 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 Burlington Township.
People over time
Burlington Township, census by census
Between 209 and 618 people in every census since 1910.
12 censuses, 1910–2020.
U.S. Census Bureau decennial counts, from the census table on Burlington Township’s Wikipedia page.
Famous people
Famous people close to Burlington Township
Nobody well known was born in Burlington Township itself, so here are the best known from just nearby.
The Burlington Township post office opened in 1846, the earliest record of the town by name (U.S. post office records).
How does Burlington Township rank for history?
Burlington Township is more historic than 51% 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 Burlington Township?
11% of Burlington Township’s homes were built before 1940 (Census estimate, ±4.4 points), against a typical 11% for an Illinois town; the median home was built in 1979.
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 Wikipedia, U.S. Geological Survey historical maps, U.S. Census counts (via Wikipedia), the USGS Geographic Names Information System and old county and town histories (Internet Archive). Archive images are copied here with their credits and licenses, shown on each photo’s page. Refreshed monthly.
