The Dunham Township post office opened in 1846, the earliest record of the town by name. Another post office, Dunham (1846), opened inside today’s town and later closed.
2020 census: 2,823180 years
How historic is Dunham Township?
B
More historic than 62% of U.S. towns, on its age, its old homes and the National Register.
Founding year: the first Dunham Township post office (Blevins & Helbock, CC0).
History grade
What drives Dunham Township’s History grade
On its age, its old homes and the National Register, Dunham Township is more historic than 62% of U.S. towns, #308 of 768 in Illinois. Its age holds the grade up; its National Register listings pull it down.
B
HistoryA character grade: shown, never part of Dunham Township’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 Dunham Township’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 B− to A−. The pre-1940 share is a Census survey estimate (±14.2 points). The founding year is the first post office, not a stated founding date.
Founding year: the first post office (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 Dunham Township’s past
Read from the archive, the National Register and the record. The page puts what stands out first.
Wikipedia doesn’t have a history of Dunham Township yet. The photos, dates and memories neighbors add here are how it gets written.
Dunham Township is located in McHenry County, Illinois, USA. As of the 2010 census, its population was 2,844 and it contained 1,035 housing units. It includes southern portions of Harvard, most of the city being in Chemung Township, and part of the census-designated place of Chemung. Dunham Township changed its name from Byron Township on December 28, 1850, to avoid confusion with Byron Township and to honor a resident, Solomon J. Dunham.
Its first post office opened in 1846. Its population held steady between the last two censuses: 2,844 in 2010, 2,823 in 2020.
Intro from Wikipedia. Population: U.S. Census Bureau.
From the old history books
What they wrote about Dunham Township in 1922
Passages that mention Dunham Township, cut from the printed page as they were published.
In Dunham Township the first school was taught in the schoolhouse buill in 1838, on the farm of Mr. Jerome. It was a small Log structure which was also used for religious and political purposes. Miss Edna Jewetl was the first to teach there. A. M. Disbrow was the new teacher.
Text read by machine from the scan; it may contain errors.
in 1839; Seneca, MeHenry and Chemung in 1840 ami Richmond in L841; A Men's first school started in either 1840 or 184] The firsl schoolhouse of which there appears to be any official record is the fine buill in section 1. township 4.">, range 9, Dunham Township, which was completed in June, 1839. The first official mention of the public schools in this county appears upon the county records under the date of June. 1841. Carlisle Hastings was then appointed School Land Commissioner, and boards of scd 1 trustees were appointed for each
Text read by machine from the scan; it may contain errors.
Scans and text from the Internet Archive. Books published in 1930 or earlier, which are in the public domain.
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.
Every edition of the U.S. Geological Survey’s map of Dunham Township. Tap a year, or press play to watch the town change.
1932Harvard 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 Dunham Township.
Famous people
Famous people close to Dunham Township
Nobody well known was born in Dunham Township itself, so here are the best known from just nearby.
The Dunham Township post office opened in 1846, the earliest record of the town by name (U.S. post office records).
How does Dunham Township rank for history?
Dunham Township is more historic than 62% of U.S. towns, #308 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 Dunham Township?
20% of Dunham Township’s homes were built before 1940 (Census estimate, ±14.2 points), against a typical 11% for an Illinois town; the median home was built in 1982.
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, the US Post Offices dataset (Blevins & Helbock), the USGS Geographic Names Information System and old county and town histories (Internet Archive). Archive images are copied here with their credits and licenses, shown on each photo’s page. Refreshed monthly.
![in 1839; Seneca, MeHenry and Chemung in 1840 ami Richmond in L841; A Men's first school started in either 1840 or 184] The firsl schoolhouse of which there appears to be any official record is the fine buill in section 1. township 4.">, range 9, Dunham Township, which was completed in June, 1839. T…](https://images.townratings.com/story/20418/bk-64518f3136e7e2d4-l.jpg)
