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History · Custer Park

Custer Park’s post office opened in 1885

Most of Custer Park was built recently: 0.0% of its homes predate 1940 and the median home dates from 1975. Below: maps from 1923 on.

1885first post office
0on the National Register
0.0%homes built before 1940
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Photo: User:Visviva · CC BY-SA 4.0
Quick answers

How Custer Park began

When was Custer Park founded?

1885

The Custer Park post office opened in 1885, the earliest record of the town by name.

2020 census: 112141 years
Founding year: the first Custer Park post office (Blevins & Helbock, CC0).

What stands out about Custer Park’s past

Read from the archive, the National Register and the record. The page puts what stands out first.

A history waiting to be writtenNo old photos of Custer Park are in the public archives yet. The rest are in attics and albums.
★ What stands out · Help out

Start Custer Park’s collection

The first neighbors to add old photos shape how Custer Park’s history is told.

Decades since 1900 with photos
00s10s20s30s40s50s60s70s80s90s
0 of 10 decades. The empty ones are waiting for someone’s album.
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The story so far

Custer Park, in brief

Wikipedia doesn’t have a history of Custer Park yet. The photos, dates and memories neighbors add here are how it gets written.

Custer Park is an unincorporated community and census designated place (CDP) in Will County, Illinois, United States. Custer Park is located on Illinois Route 113 and the south bank of the Kankakee River 4.5 miles (7.2 km) east-southeast of Braidwood. As of the 2020 census, Custer Park had a population of 112.

Its first post office opened in 1885.

Intro from Wikipedia. Population: U.S. Census Bureau.

By decade

Custer Park, decade by decade

Today1 recent
Custer Park sign 2026-06-032026Custer Park sign 2026-06-03
On the map

Custer Park on the map, 1923 to 1973

Every edition of the U.S. Geological Survey’s map of Custer Park. Tap a year, or press play to watch the town change.

Custer Park on the 1923 USGS mapCuster Park on the 1973 USGS map1923Herscher 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 Custer Park.

Famous people

Famous people close to Custer Park

Nobody well known was born in Custer Park itself, so here are the best known from just nearby.

See all →
K
KiiaraAmerican singer and songwriter · b. 1995
Tanner RoarkAmerican baseball pitcher · b. 1986
Doug PinnickAmerican bassist and singer · b. 1950
Lewis M. LongAmerican politician · b. 1883
John Mitchell(1870-1919) American labor leader · b. 1870
Ruth Randall EdströmAmerican activist · b. 1867
Stories next door

History across the town line

Each neighbor’s History grade, on the same three inputs.

Rest HavenIts storynot graded: under 1,000 residents or part of its townCuster TownshipIts storyC−Wesley TownshipIts storyC+

Questions about Custer Park’s history

What year was Custer Park founded?

The Custer Park post office opened in 1885, the earliest record of the town by name (U.S. post office records).

Memory lane

What the archives can’t tell you, neighbors can.

Town Square →
Start a conversation
Sources

Where this page comes from

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). How TownRatings grades history →

From Wikimedia Commons (1) and U.S. Geological Survey historical maps. Archive images are copied here with their credits and licenses, shown on each photo’s page. Refreshed monthly.