The Burritt Township post office opened in 1851, the earliest record of the town by name. Two smaller post offices, Burritt (1851) and Wempletown (1887), opened inside today’s town and later closed.
2020 census: 1,111175 years
How historic is Burritt Township?
C
More historic than 34% of U.S. towns, on its age, its old homes and the National Register.
Founding year: the first Burritt Township post office (Blevins & Helbock, CC0).
History grade
What drives Burritt Township’s History grade
On its age, its old homes and the National Register, Burritt Township is more historic than 34% of U.S. towns. Its share of homes from before 1940 holds the grade up; its National Register listings pull it down.
C
HistoryA character grade: shown, never part of Burritt 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 Burritt 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 C+. The pre-1940 share is a Census survey estimate (±8.1 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 Burritt Township’s past
Read from the archive, the National Register and the record. The page puts what stands out first.
2cemeteries and burying grounds inside Burritt Township
North Burritt UnionSouth Burritt
US Post Offices dataset (Blevins & Helbock, CC0). Places and cemeteries from the USGS Geographic Names Information System (2021).
The story so far
Burritt Township, in brief
Wikipedia doesn’t have a history of Burritt Township yet. The photos, dates and memories neighbors add here are how it gets written.
Burritt Township is located in Winnebago County, Illinois, United States. As of the 2010 census, its population was 947 and it contained 388 housing units. It contains part of the census-designated place of Westlake Village.
Its first post office opened in 1851. Between the 2010 and 2020 censuses its population grew from 947 to 1,111 (+17%).
Intro from Wikipedia. Population: U.S. Census Bureau.
Timeline
Burritt Township, 1851 to 1900
Woven from the archive, old maps, post office records, the National Register and the people born here.
The Burritt Township post office opened in 1851, the earliest record of the town by name (U.S. post office records).
How does Burritt Township rank for history?
Burritt Township is more historic than 34% 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 Burritt Township?
14% of Burritt Township’s homes were built before 1940 (Census estimate, ±8.1 points), against a typical 11% for an Illinois town; the median home was built in 1967.
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 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.
