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CHistory
History · Fox River Grove

Fox River Grove dates to 1919, and 20% of its homes were built before 1940

More historic than 27% of U.S. towns · #574 of 768 in Illinois. What drives it

Below: maps from 1923 on and the census since 1920.

1919founded
0on the National Register
20%homes built before 1940
Add an old photoShare a memory
Photo: OhanaSurf · CC BY-SA 4.0
Quick answers

How Fox River Grove began

When was Fox River Grove founded?

1919

Fox River Grove dates its founding to 1919 (Wikidata). The census first counted it in 1920.

First census: 193 in 19202020 census: 4,702107 years

How historic is Fox River Grove?

C

More historic than 27% of U.S. towns, on its age, its old homes and the National Register.

What drives the grade ↓
Founding year: Wikidata. First post office: 1920.The full story ↓
History grade

What drives Fox River Grove’s History grade

On its age, its old homes and the National Register, Fox River Grove is more historic than 27% of U.S. towns, #574 of 768 in Illinois. Its share of homes from before 1940 holds the grade up; its age pulls it down.

C
HistoryA character grade: shown, never part of Fox River Grove’s overall grade.
Founding era1919, from Wikidata: founded 1900–1944, an older era than 9% of U.S. townsDHomes built before 194020.4% of homes (±9.8) · typical IL town 10.6% · U.S. 8.4%B+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 27%
NewerOlder
Illinois towns of 2,500+ (768)Ahead of 25%

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 Fox River Grove’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 B−. The pre-1940 share is a Census survey estimate (±9.8 points). Two sources give 1919.

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 Fox River Grove’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 Fox River Grove 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 Fox River Grove change.
★ What stands out · Help out

Start Fox River Grove’s collection

The first neighbors to add old photos shape how Fox River Grove’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

Fox River Grove on the map, 1923 to 1993

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

Fox River Grove on the 1923 USGS mapFox River Grove on the 1935 USGS mapFox River Grove on the 1960 USGS mapFox River Grove on the 1972 USGS mapFox River Grove on the 1980 USGS mapFox River Grove 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 Fox River Grove.

The story

How Fox River Grove came to be

From Wikipedia’s history of Fox River Grove.

Read it all →

Long before the arrival of Europeans, Native Americans called the land within Fox River Grove home. The Ojibwe (also known as Chippewa) people continued to winter in the Fox River Valley into the 1860s. The women traded beadwork and purses with local settlers while the men trapped muskrat and mink, selling the pelts in nearby Barrington, Illinois. The area's proximity to Northwest Highway (Route 14), a major military and trade road, enabled such commerce to thrive. The men also made fence posts for local farmers and would "spear fish at night using torches attached to the ends of their birchbark canoes." When spring came, they traveled north to their summer lands in Wisconsin. Between 1816 and 1833, the Ojibwe and U.S. governments engaged in peace talks, resulting in several land cession treaties being signed. Eventually, the federal government took control of all Ojibwe land in Illinoi…

ChaptersIndigenous peoplesCzech heritageResort town periodPicnic Grove heydayOther resort-era establishmentsGang-related activitySuburban growthLevel crossing accident

Text from Wikipedia, licensed CC BY-SA 4.0.

Timeline

Fox River Grove, 1919 to 1923

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

  1. 20th century
  2. 1919
    FoundingFox River Grove is established
  3. 1920Post officeThe Fox River Grove post office opens
  4. 1923On the mapFirst mapped by the U.S. Geological Survey
By decade

Fox River Grove, decade by decade

Today30 recent
Chalets in2020Chalets inCanon Memorial in2020Canon Memorial inBouncy horse at Hunters Farm Park2020Bouncy horse at Hunters Farm ParkBaseball Sign in2020Baseball Sign inAsian restaurant in2020Asian restaurant inTownhomes in2019Townhomes inRiver Inn Motel in2019River Inn Motel inPeninsula at Lions Park2019Peninsula at Lions ParkOak savanna in2019Oak savanna inNorge Ski Club Sign2019Norge Ski Club SignLittle Free Library - Lions Park in2019Little Free Library - Lions Park inKing Pin Lanes in2019King Pin Lanes inKing Pin Lanes - Sign2019King Pin Lanes - SignFoxmoor Park in2019Foxmoor Park inFox River Grove Sign2019Fox River Grove SignFox River Grove Sign on U.S. Route 142019Fox River Grove Sign on U.S. Route 14Fox River Grove Middle School2019Fox River Grove Middle SchoolFox River Grove Memorial Library2019Fox River Grove Memorial LibraryFox River Grove Memorial Library - Front2019Fox River Grove Memorial Library - FrontFox River Grove Fire Department2019Fox River Grove Fire DepartmentFox River Beach in2019Fox River Beach inDrainage Ditch in2019Drainage Ditch inCanada Geese in2019Canada Geese inBaseball Field in2019Baseball Field inAlgonquin Road School2019Algonquin Road SchoolWhite-tailed deer fawn in2013White-tailed deer fawn inOwl carving in Lions Park2013Owl carving in Lions ParkMallards in the Fox River2013Mallards in the Fox RiverDoe and baby2013Doe and babyFox River Grove Castle2010Fox River Grove Castle
People over time

Fox River Grove, census by census

05001,0001,5002,0002,5003,0003,5004,0004,5005,000192019401960198020002020Peak: 4,862

Between 193 and 4,862 people in every census since 1920.

11 censuses, 1920–2020.

U.S. Census Bureau decennial counts, from the census table on Fox River Grove’s Wikipedia page.

Famous people

Famous people close to Fox River Grove

Nobody well known was born in Fox River Grove itself, so here are the best known from just nearby.

See all →
Brian DietzenAmerican actor · b. 1977
Joe WalshAmerican politician · b. 1961
Kirk CousinsAmerican football player · b. 1988
P
Phoebe SnetsingerAmerican birder · b. 1931
Casey LarsonAmerican ski jumper · b. 1998
C
Connor MackeyAmerican ice hockey player · b. 1996
Places that used to be

Old corners and places now gone

Fox River Grove’s post office has been open since 1920.

Hamlets and corners on the map
Ski Hill
Gone or out of use
Oak Glen Schoolschool

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

Stories next door

History across the town line

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

Lake BarringtonIts storyD−Barrington Hills4 historic placesA−CaryIts storyC+

Questions about Fox River Grove’s history

What year was Fox River Grove founded?

In 1919, according to Wikidata. Fox River Grove’s post office opened in 1920, and the census of 1920 counted 193 people here.

How does Fox River Grove rank for history?

Fox River Grove is more historic than 27% of U.S. towns, #574 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 Fox River Grove?

20% of Fox River Grove’s homes were built before 1940 (Census estimate, ±9.8 points), against a typical 11% for an Illinois town; the median home was built in 1980.

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 Wikimedia Commons (30), 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.