Downers Grove dates to 1832, and 1 of its places is on the National Register
More historic than 68% of U.S. towns · #276 of 768 in Illinois. What drives it
Most of Downers Grove was built recently: 9% of its homes predate 1940 and the median home dates from 1974. Its Register listing is the Coonley, Avery, School. Below: 1 old photo or paper, maps from 1892 on, and the census since 1880.
Founding year: Wikidata; Wikipedia’s history section gives the same year. First post office: 1839.The full story ↓
History grade
What drives Downers Grove’s History grade
On its age, its old homes and the National Register, Downers Grove is more historic than 68% of U.S. towns, #276 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 Downers Grove’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 Downers Grove’s 0.6 sits near the middle of its state (61% 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 (±1.3 points) is firm at this size. Two sources give 1832.
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 Downers Grove’s past
Read from the archive, the National Register and the record. The page puts what stands out first.
Fire insurance maps drew every building, what it was made of and what it was used for, so insurers could price the risk of fire. Pick a year, then a sheet.
Downers Grove was founded in 1832 by Pierce Downer, a farmer who traveled to Illinois from Rutland, New York, but was originally from Vermont. Downers Grove was named for a lush grove of old-growth bur oak trees surrounding the village, which stood out from the local savanna landscape. Its other early settlers included the Blodgett, Curtiss, Blanchard, Stanley, Lyman, and Carpenter families. The original settlers were mostly migrants from the Northeastern United States and Northern Europe. In 1839, Reverend Orange Lyman, a presbyterian minister, and his wife Maria Dewey Lyman arrived, and built what is believed to be the first home in Downers Grove. The first schoolhouse was built in 1844. In 1846, the Blodgett house was built by Israel and Avis Blodgett. It was the second (or third) home built in Downers Grove. Both the Lyman and Blodgett homes are of cultural significance, as they wer…
Nothing in the archives for these yearsWeddings on Main Street, storms, parades, school pictures, the old store. If it’s in your family album, it belongs here.
Every edition of the U.S. Geological Survey’s map of Downers Grove. Tap a year, or press play to watch the town change.
1954Wheaton 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 Downers Grove.
Then & now
Stand where they stood
No then-and-now pairs yet. Take a photo from the same spot as an old one and they appear here side by side.
Retake this viewUntitled - Sports (NBY 3183), 1950
Find the spot, match the angle, and add your photo. It becomes the first then-and-now pair on Downers Grove’s page.
In 1832, according to Wikidata and Wikipedia’s history of the town. Downers Grove’s post office opened in 1839, and the census of 1880 counted 586 people here.
How does Downers Grove rank for history?
Downers Grove is more historic than 68% of U.S. towns, #276 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 Downers Grove?
One place: the Coonley, Avery, School (listed 2007).
How old are the homes in Downers Grove?
9% of Downers Grove’s homes were built before 1940 (Census estimate, ±1.3 points), against a typical 11% for an Illinois town; the median home was built in 1974.
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 (24), 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), the USGS Geographic Names Information System and Sanborn fire insurance maps (Library of Congress). Archive images are copied here with their credits and licenses, shown on each photo’s page. Refreshed monthly.
2019
2019
2019
2019
2016
2016
2016
2014
2014
2014
2014
2013
2012
2012
2011
2011
2011
2009
2009
2006
2006
2005
2004
