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DHistory
History · Darien

Darien dates to 1969, and 1 of its places is on the National Register

More historic than 13% of U.S. towns · #710 of 768 in Illinois. What drives it

Most of Darien was built recently: 0.6% of its homes predate 1940 and the median home dates from 1978. Its Register listing is the Old Lace School. Below: maps from 1927 on and the census since 1970.

1969founded
1on the National Register
0.6%homes built before 1940
2famous people
Add an old photoShare a memory
Photo: Bnperdue2010 · CC BY-SA 4.0
Quick answers

How Darien began

When was Darien founded?

1969

Darien dates its founding to 1969 (Wikidata). The census first counted it in 1970.

First census: 7,789 in 19702020 census: 22,01157 years

How historic is Darien?

D

More historic than 13% of U.S. towns, on its age, its old homes and the National Register.

What drives the grade ↓
Founding year: Wikidata. First post office: 1834.The full story ↓
History grade

What drives Darien’s History grade

On its age, its old homes and the National Register, Darien is more historic than 13% of U.S. towns, #710 of 768 in Illinois. Its National Register listings hold the grade up; its age pulls it down.

D
HistoryA character grade: shown, never part of Darien’s overall grade.
Founding era1969, from Wikidata: founded 1945 or later, an older era than 2% of U.S. townsD−Homes built before 19400.6% of homes (±0.6) · typical IL town 10.6% · U.S. 8.4%DNational Register1 listing, 0.5 per 10,000 residents · typical IL town 0.5 · U.S. 2.4B
All U.S. towns we grade (21,289)Ahead of 13%
NewerOlder
Illinois towns of 2,500+ (768)Ahead of 8%

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 Darien’s 0.5 sits near the middle of its state (60% of Illinois towns have fewer) while its 1 listings outnumber those of 51% of U.S. towns.

NoteThe founding year comes from Wikidata alone; no second source gives 1969.
How sure. Graded on any two of the three inputs instead, the letter would range from D− to C−. The pre-1940 share (±0.6 points) is firm at this size.

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 Darien’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 Darien are in the public archives yet. The rest are in attics and albums.Lost villages2 post offices opened and closed inside today’s Darien, and 1 old place names are still on the map.
★ What stands out · Help out

Start Darien’s collection

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

Decades since 1900 with photos
00s10s20s30s40s50s60s70s80s90s
0 of 10 decades. The empty ones are waiting for someone’s album.
Share a family photoSign in to add one+10
Places that used to be

Lost post offices, old corners, places now gone and burying grounds

Two other post offices opened and closed inside today’s town.

Cass
1834–1885
Lace
1884–1909
18301930today
Hamlets and corners on the map
Lace
Gone or out of use
Upper Cass Schoolschool
2cemeteries and burying grounds inside Darien
CassSaint John Lutheran Church

US Post Offices dataset (Blevins & Helbock, CC0). Places and cemeteries from the USGS Geographic Names Information System (2021).

The story

How Darien came to be

From Wikipedia’s history of Darien.

Read it all →

The first people to settle in Darien came from New England via the Erie Canal and Great Lakes. Among the first to arrive was Thomas Andrus, the Rapones, and the Capra family. They settled along an old stagecoach line in 1835. Thomas Andrus served as the first postmaster, the first Justice of the Peace, a county commissioner, and county assessor. The Andrus farmhouse also operated as an inn and tavern to accommodate travelers from the Frink and Walker Stagecoach line according to the Darien Historical Society. Mr. Capra was the Dog Catcher, and also established the Capra Inn, near what is currently the intersection of Lemont Road and I-55; the inn served the 15 stagecoaches that traveled the stagecoach line, and included a tavern and a post office. Andrus named the area "Cass".

Text from Wikipedia, licensed CC BY-SA 4.0.

Timeline

Darien, 1834 to 1981

Woven from the archive, old maps, post office records, the National Register and the people born here.

  1. 19th century
  2. 1834Post officeThe Cass post office opens
  3. 1884Post officeThe Lace post office opens
  4. 1885Post officeThe Cass post office closes
  5. 20th century
  6. 1909Post officeThe Lace post office closes
  7. 1927On the mapFirst mapped by the U.S. Geological Survey
  8. 1969
    FoundingDarien is established
  9. 1973Born hereDoug Lussenhop is born here
  10. 1981Born hereGavin Griffin is born here
By decade

Darien, decade by decade

Today14 recent
Walmart (Darien, Illinois) 12023Walmart (Darien, Illinois) 1The Home Depot (Darien, Illinois) 12023The Home Depot (Darien, Illinois) 1PetSmart (Darien, Illinois) 12023PetSmart (Darien, Illinois) 1Cass Av south at Plainfield Rd - Darien, IL - December 20212021Cass Av south at Plainfield Rd - Darien, IL - Decembe…Darien Sign2017Darien SignNorris Ice Arena2016Norris Ice ArenaFront entrance of Darien Sportsplex2016Front entrance of Darien SportsplexField House2016Field HouseWaterfall Glen Forest Preserve2013Waterfall Glen Forest PreserveLuis Trejo, right foreground, waits to light a candle for his son, U.S. Army Pfc. Mario Trejo-Castro, during a remembra…2013Luis Trejo, right foreground, waits to light a candle…Luis Trejo, right foreground, lights a candle for his son, U.S. Army Pfc. Mario Trejo-Castro, during a remembrance cere…2013Luis Trejo, right foreground, lights a candle for his…A man and woman light a candle during a remembrance ceremony for fallen Service members at the St. John Lutheran Church…2013A man and woman light a candle during a remembrance c…A man and woman light a candle during a remembrance ceremony for fallen Service members at the St. John Lutheran Church…2013A man and woman light a candle during a remembrance c…AASM National Office2010AASM National Office
On the map

Darien on the map, 1927 to 1993

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

Darien on the 1927 USGS mapDarien on the 1953 USGS mapDarien on the 1963 USGS mapDarien on the 1972 USGS mapDarien on the 1993 USGS map1927Hinsdale sheet · 1:24,000

U.S. Geological Survey historical topographic maps (public domain), via Esri’s collection of the scans. The red ring marks the center of Darien.

On the National Register

1 historic place in Darien

The country’s official list of buildings and places worth saving.

place listed
1
National Historic Landmarks
0
none yet
historic buildings protected
1
each building in a district counts
first listed
2026
Old Lace School
All 1 listings
Old Lace SchoolBuilding · listed 2026

National Park Service, National Register of Historic Places. Photos from Wikimedia Commons, credited on each place’s page.

People over time

Darien, census by census

05,00010,00015,00020,00025,000198020002020Peak: 22,860

Between 7,789 and 22,860 people in every census since 1970.

6 censuses, 1970–2020.

U.S. Census Bureau decennial counts, from the census table on Darien’s Wikipedia page.

Famous people

2 famous people were born in Darien

Writers, athletes, leaders and more, ranked by how widely they’re known.

See all →
Gavin GriffinAmerican poker player · b. 1981
Doug LussenhopAmerican television and film editor · b. 1973
Stories next door

History across the town line

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

Downers Grove1 historic placeB+WoodridgeIts storyD−Willowbrook1 historic placeDWestmont1 historic placeC−

Questions about Darien’s history

What year was Darien founded?

In 1969, according to Wikidata. Darien’s post office opened in 1834, and the census of 1970 counted 7,789 people here.

How does Darien rank for history?

Darien is more historic than 13% of U.S. towns, #710 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.

What is on the National Register in Darien?

One place: the Old Lace School (listed 2026).

How old are the homes in Darien?

0.6% of Darien’s homes were built before 1940 (Census estimate), against a typical 11% for an Illinois town; the median home was built in 1978.

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).

From Wikimedia Commons (14), the National Register of Historic Places (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) 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.