More historic than 47% of U.S. towns · #422 of 768 in Illinois. What drives it
Most of Cherry Valley was built recently: 8% of its homes predate 1940 and the median home dates from 1997. Below: 6 old photos and papers, maps from 1913 on, and the census since 1900.
Founding year: the first Cherry Valley post office (Blevins & Helbock, CC0).The full story ↓
History grade
What drives Cherry Valley’s History grade
On its age, its old homes and the National Register, Cherry Valley is more historic than 47% of U.S. towns, #422 of 768 in Illinois. Its age holds the grade up; its National Register listings pull it down.
B−
HistoryA character grade: shown, never part of Cherry 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 Cherry Valley’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 (±4.2 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 Cherry Valley’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 Cherry Valley. Tap a year, or press play to watch the town change.
1918Kirkland 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 Cherry Valley.
Timeline
Cherry Valley, 1849 to 1993
Woven from the archive, old maps, post office records, the National Register and the people born here.
Official documents from the Winnebago County Clerk's office and the Village of Cherry Valley state Cherry Valley was settled in 1836. The first settler within Cherry Valley was Joseph Griggs who, along with his family, settled on the north bank of the Kishwaukee River in 1835. Cherry Valley was incorporated as a village on January 31, 1857. Early landmark events for Cherry Valley was the establishment of a mill on the Kishwaukee River, and the coming of the railroad in 1852.
Passages that mention Cherry Valley, cut from the printed page as they were published.
The History of Winnebago County, Illinois1877 · page 441Read the page →
Read the text
The township of Cherry Yalley was first known 'on the records of the county as Butler Precinct. The name was changed to Cherry Valley upon the adoption of the township organization law. Its settlement commenced in 1S36, Joseph P.jGriggs being the first settler of whom direct trace can be found. Embracing' a good deal of timber, it attracted a liberal share of immigration, as it is a fact that all the pioneers sought the timber districts in which to locate their claims, believing that it would be easier to make farms by grubbing and clearing the lands than it would be to reduce the prairie
Text read by machine from the scan; it may contain errors.
The History of Winnebago County, Illinois1877 · page 668Read the page →
Read the text
Purchased Cherry Valley Mill in 1850, and has resided in Cherry Valley from that time to the present. Mr. Chamber! in has served the people faithfully in various official capacities, as Assessor, Collector and Justice of the Peace, having held one or more of these responsible positions constantly since his residence in the town.
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
Cherry Valley, decade by decade
2 decades in the archive, from the 1930s to the 1970s. Scroll each row; tap a photo for its story.
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.
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 Cherry Valley post office opened in 1849, the earliest record of the town by name (U.S. post office records).
How does Cherry Valley rank for history?
Cherry Valley is more historic than 47% of U.S. towns, #422 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 Cherry Valley?
8% of Cherry Valley’s homes were built before 1940 (Census estimate, ±4.2 points), against a typical 11% for an Illinois town; the median home was built in 1997.
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 (9), the Library of Congress (1), 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), the USGS Geographic Names Information System, Sanborn fire insurance maps (Library of Congress) 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.
1933
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1933
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2009
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