Crete Township dates to 1836, and 1 of its places is on the National Register
More historic than 70% of U.S. towns · #265 of 768 in Illinois. What drives it
Most of Crete Township was built recently: 9% of its homes predate 1940 and the median home dates from 1973. Below: maps from 1949 on and the census since 1880.
On its age, its old homes and the National Register, Crete Township is more historic than 70% of U.S. towns, #265 of 768 in Illinois. Its age holds the grade up; its share of homes from before 1940 pulls it down.
B+
HistoryA character grade: shown, never part of Crete 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 Crete Township’s 1.3 sits near the middle of its state (64% of Illinois towns have fewer) while its 3 historic buildings outnumber those of 65% of U.S. towns.
How sure. Graded on any two of the three inputs instead, the letter would range from B to A−. The pre-1940 share (±2.4 points) is firm at this size. Two sources give 1836.
Founding year: Wikidata (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 Crete Township’s past
Read from the archive, the National Register and the record. The page puts what stands out first.
Wikipedia doesn’t have a history of Crete Township yet. The photos, dates and memories neighbors add here are how it gets written.
Crete is a village in Will County, Illinois, United States. It is a far south suburb of Chicago, 30 miles from the Loop and only 6 miles from the Indiana border. The population was 8,465 at the 2020 census. Originally named Wood's Corner, it was founded in 1836 by Vermonters Dyantha Wood, Willard Wood & Gary Neal.
Crete Township was established in 1836. Its population held steady between the last two censuses: 23,774 in 2010, 23,759 in 2020.
Intro from Wikipedia. Population: U.S. Census Bureau.
From the old history books
What they wrote about Crete Township in 1878
Passages that mention Crete Township, cut from the printed page as they were published.
The history of Will County, Illinois, containing a history of the county ..1878 · page 554Read the page →
Read the text
The original settlements of Crete Township were four, and quite distinct. The settlements of Thorn Grove, Beebe s Grove and Wood's Corners, on the State road, were almost identical as to time, but divided as to locality more definitely than are the townships of to-day. Especially was this the case with the two grove settlements ; while Wood's Corners, now the village of Crete, being just on the borders of Thorn Grove, partook more of the identity of that settlement. The German settlement, which began a few years later, though not confined to any one locality, was yet distinct, in that the people were from the
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.
Every edition of the U.S. Geological Survey’s map of Crete Township. Tap a year, or press play to watch the town change.
1949Crete 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 Crete Township.
On the National Register
1 historic place in Crete Township
The country’s official list of buildings and places worth saving.
place listed
1
National Historic Landmarks
0
none yet
historic buildings protected
3
each building in a district counts
National Park Service, National Register of Historic Places. Photos from Wikimedia Commons, credited on each place’s page.
People over time
Crete Township, census by census
Grew from 539 people in 1880 to 8,465 in 2020, more than tenfold.
15 censuses, 1880–2020.
U.S. Census Bureau decennial counts, from the census table on Crete Township’s Wikipedia page.
Stories next door
History across the town line
Each neighbor’s History grade, on the same three inputs.
In 1836, according to Wikidata. Crete Township’s post office opened in 1838, and the census of 1880 counted 539 people here.
How does Crete Township rank for history?
Crete Township is more historic than 70% of U.S. towns, #265 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 Crete Township?
9% of Crete Township’s homes were built before 1940 (Census estimate, ±2.4 points), against a typical 11% for an Illinois town; the median home was built in 1973.
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 (4), 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 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.
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