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DHistory
History · Deer Park

Deer Park was first counted by the census in 1960

More historic than 7% of U.S. towns · #744 of 768 in Illinois. What drives it

Most of Deer Park was built recently: 3% of its homes predate 1940 and the median home dates from 1989. Below: maps from 1923 on and the census since 1960.

1960first census
0on the National Register
3%homes built before 1940
Add an old photoShare a memory
Quick answers

How Deer Park began

When was Deer Park founded?

1960

Deer Park first appears in the census in 1960. Another post office, Oak Hill (1848), opened inside today’s town and later closed.

First census: 476 in 19602020 census: 3,68166 years

How historic is Deer Park?

D

More historic than 7% of U.S. towns, on its age, its old homes and the National Register.

What drives the grade ↓
Founding year: the first census.
History grade

What drives Deer Park’s History grade

On its age, its old homes and the National Register, Deer Park is more historic than 7% of U.S. towns, #744 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 Deer Park’s overall grade.
Founding era1960, from the first census: founded 1945 or later, an older era than 2% of U.S. townsD−Homes built before 19402.6% of homes (±2.2) · typical IL town 10.6% · U.S. 8.4%C−National RegisterNo listings counted · typical IL town 0.5 per 10,000 · U.S. 2.4C
All U.S. towns we grade (21,289)Ahead of 7%
NewerOlder
Illinois towns of 2,500+ (768)Ahead of 3%

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 Deer Park’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 D− to D. The pre-1940 share (±2.2 points) is firm at this size.

Founding year: the first census (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 Deer Park’s past

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

Lost villages1 post office opened and closed inside today’s Deer Park, and 16 old place names are still on the map.A history waiting to be writtenNo old photos of Deer Park are in the public archives yet. The rest are in attics and albums.On the map since 19236 editions of the USGS map, 1923 to 1993. Watch Deer Park change.
★ What stands out · Places that used to be

Lost post offices and old corners

Another post office, Oak Hill, opened and closed inside today’s town.

Hamlets and corners on the map
AmherstChapel HillDeer ChaseDeer Lake MeadowsDeerpath EstatesDover PondFerndale WoodsForest Green Lake EstatesFoxcroftHamilton EstatesOak RidgePark HillRavens WingRue ValleeSquiresSwansway

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

Help out

Start Deer Park’s collection

The first neighbors to add old photos shape how Deer Park’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 on the map, 1923 to 1993

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

Deer Park on the 1923 USGS mapDeer Park on the 1935 USGS mapDeer Park on the 1960 USGS mapDeer Park on the 1972 USGS mapDeer Park on the 1980 USGS mapDeer Park on the 1993 USGS map1923Barrington 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.

The story so far

Deer Park, in brief

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

Deer Park is a village in Lake and Cook counties, Illinois, United States. Per the 2020 census, the population was 3,681. The village is one of the few left in the Chicago area that enjoy a green belt which is bordered by two large natural areas providing outdoor recreation and open space. The village is home to popular shopping and dining destinations: Deer Park Town Center and the Town Center Promenade. The town is also home to the Vehe Farm, an Illinois Centennial Farm. Residential zoning is mainly single-family homes with lot sizes of 1-acre (4,000 m2) or more. Upscale townhomes are available near the Deer Park Center. The Metra/Chicago & Northwestern train line provides commuter servic…

Its first post office opened in 1960. Between the 2010 and 2020 censuses its population grew from 3,200 to 3,681 (+15%).

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

Timeline

Deer Park, 1848 to 1923

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

  1. 19th century
  2. 1848Post officeThe Oak Hill post office opens
  3. 1859Post officeThe Oak Hill post office closes
  4. 20th century
  5. 1923On the mapFirst mapped by the U.S. Geological Survey
By decade

No old photos in the archives yet

Weddings on Main Street, storms, parades, school pictures, the old store. If it’s in your family album, it belongs here.

Be the first to add onePhotograph a print flat, in daylight, no flash.
Add from your album
People over time

Deer Park, census by census

05001,0001,5002,0002,5003,0003,5004,00019601980200020203,681

Grew from 476 people in 1960 to 3,681 in 2020, 7 times over.

7 censuses, 1960–2020.

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

Famous people

Famous people close to Deer Park

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

See all →
Charlie KirkAmerican political activist · b. 1993
Jonathan SpectorAmerican soccer player · b. 1986
Brian McBrideAmerican soccer player · b. 1972
Brian DietzenAmerican actor · b. 1977
Lee StrobelAmerican writer · b. 1952
A
Aaron HimelsteinAmerican actor · b. 1985
Stories next door

History across the town line

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

KildeerIts storyD−Palatine2 historic placesCLake ZurichIts storyCEla TownshipIts storyC−Cuba Township4 historic placesBBarrington4 historic placesANorth BarringtonIts storyC−

Questions about Deer Park’s history

What year was Deer Park founded?

The Deer Park post office opened in 1960, the earliest record of the town by name (U.S. post office records).

How does Deer Park rank for history?

Deer Park is more historic than 7% of U.S. towns, #744 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 Deer Park?

3% of Deer Park’s homes were built before 1940 (Census estimate, ±2.2 points), against a typical 11% for an Illinois town; the median home was built in 1989.

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 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.