Guest, Sign inJoin

Post to Deer Park Township

We’ll email a one-tap link to publish your post. No password, and nothing is public until you click it.
Already a member? Sign in
–Not graded
History · Deer Park Township

26% of Deer Park Township’s homes were built before 1940

2 places in town are on the National Register, among them the Starved Rock, a National Historic Landmark. Below: maps from 1892 on.

2on the National Register
26%homes built before 1940
Add an old photoShare a memory

What stands out about Deer Park Township’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 Deer Park Township are in the public archives yet. The rest are in attics and albums.On the map since 18924 editions of the USGS map, 1892 to 1970. Watch Deer Park Township change.Lost villages2 post offices opened and closed inside today’s Deer Park Township, and 2 old place names are still on the map.A National Historic Landmark2 places on the National Register, including Starved Rock, a National Historic Landmark.
★ What stands out · Help out

Start Deer Park Township’s collection

The first neighbors to add old photos shape how Deer Park Township’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
On the map

Deer Park Township on the map, 1892 to 1970

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

Deer Park Township on the 1892 USGS mapDeer Park Township on the 1915 USGS mapDeer Park Township on the 1946 USGS mapDeer Park Township on the 1970 USGS map1892Ottawa 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 Deer Park Township.

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.

Vermillionville
1835–1850
Vermilionville
1854–1901
18301930today
Hamlets and corners on the map
Little RockVermilionville
Gone or out of use
Armstrong SchoolschoolBunker Hill SchoolschoolDimmick SchoolschoolFort Saint LouismilitaryNewell SchoolschoolStarved Rock AirparkairportVermilion Quarrymine
1cemetery inside Deer Park Township
Vermillionville

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

The story so far

Deer Park Township, in brief

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

Deer Park Township is located in LaSalle County, Illinois. As of the 2020 census, its population was 459 and it contained 211 housing units.

Between the 2010 and 2020 censuses its population fell from 492 to 459 (-7%).

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

Timeline

Deer Park Township, 1835 to 1960

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

  1. 19th century
  2. 1835Post officeThe Vermillionville post office opens
  3. 1850Post officeThe Vermillionville post office closes
  4. 1854Post officeThe Vermilionville post office opens
  5. 1892On the mapFirst mapped by the U.S. Geological Survey
  6. 20th century
  7. 1901Post officeThe Vermilionville post office closes
  8. 1960LandmarkStarved Rock named a National Historic Landmark
By decade

Deer Park Township, decade by decade

Today3 recent
Former Deer Park Township building 2026-09-012026Former Deer Park Township building 2026-09-01Deer Park Township building 2026-09-012026Deer Park Township building 2026-09-01Deer Park Township building 2026-09-01 (cropped)2026Deer Park Township building 2026-09-01 (cropped)
On the National Register

2 historic places in Deer Park Township

The country’s official list of buildings and places worth saving. One is a National Historic Landmark, the highest tier.

places listed
2
National Historic Landmark
1
Starved Rock
historic buildings protected
14
each building in a district counts
first listed
1966
Starved Rock
Starved Rock Lodge and CabinsStarved Rock★
BuildingsSites★ landmark
★ Landmark
Starved RockSite
Starved Rock Lodge and CabinsBuilding

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

Famous people

Famous people close to Deer Park Township

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

See all →
Jim BottomleyAmerican baseball player and coach · b. 1900
Billy PapkeAmerican boxer · b. 1886
Herbert Spencer JenningsAmerican biologist · b. 1868
R
Robert J. HornerAmerican film producer, director and screenwrit… · b. 1894
B
Bo MolendaAmerican football player and coach · b. 1905
J
Joe RutgensAmerican football player · b. 1939
Stories next door

History across the town line

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

Vermillion TownshipIts storynot graded: under 1,000 residents or part of its townLaSalle Township5 historic placesA+OglesbyIts storyB−Utica Township2 historic placesAFarm Ridge TownshipIts storynot graded: under 1,000 residents or part of its townEden TownshipIts storyB+South Ottawa Township1 historic placeA−

Questions about Deer Park Township’s history

What is on the National Register in Deer Park Township?

Two places: the Starved Rock (listed 1966) and the Starved Rock Lodge and Cabins (1985).

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 (3), the National Register of Historic Places (2), U.S. Geological Survey historical maps, 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.