Most of Dunlap was built recently: 8% of its homes predate 1940 and the median home dates from 1996. Below: maps from 1893 on and the census since 1880.
Founding year: the first Dunlap post office (Blevins & Helbock, CC0).The full story ↓
History grade
What drives Dunlap’s History grade
On its age, its old homes and the National Register, Dunlap is more historic than 26% of U.S. towns. Its share of homes from before 1940 holds the grade up; its National Register listings pull it down.
C
HistoryA character grade: shown, never part of Dunlap’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 Dunlap’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 C− to C. The pre-1940 share is a Census survey estimate (±4.1 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 Dunlap’s past
Read from the archive, the National Register and the record. The page puts what stands out first.
The town of Dunlap was officially established on June 12, 1871, on 40 acres of land owned by Alva Dunlap. The site of his former home is now occupied by the Prospect United Methodist Church. The town was originally located along the Rock Island Railroad. A post office has been in operation at Dunlap since 1871.
The Dunlap Volunteer Fire Department and Rescue Squad was established in 1899. Police services are provided by the Peoria County Sheriff's Office. The meeting of the first Dunlap Village Council was on January 7, 1952, and the town petitioned for incorporation on February 19, 1952. The current Village Hall was built in 1995.
The Dunlap post office opened in 1871, the earliest record of the town by name (U.S. post office records).
How does Dunlap rank for history?
Dunlap is more historic than 26% of U.S. towns. 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 Dunlap?
8% of Dunlap’s homes were built before 1940 (Census estimate, ±4.1 points), against a typical 11% for an Illinois town; the median home was built in 1996.
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 Wikipedia, 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.
