Half of Fremont Township’s homes were built after 1996
More historic than 11% of U.S. towns · #720 of 768 in Illinois. What drives it
Most of Fremont Township was built recently: 2% of its homes predate 1940 and the median home dates from 1996. Below: maps from 1920 on and the census since 1930.
On its age, its old homes and the National Register, Fremont Township is more historic than 11% of U.S. towns, #720 of 768 in Illinois. Its National Register listings hold the grade up; its share of homes from before 1940 pulls it down.
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HistoryA character grade: shown, never part of Fremont 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 Fremont 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 two of the three inputs, so a change in either one moves the letter more than it would with three. The pre-1940 share (±0.7 points) is firm at this size.
Founding year: our sources. 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 Fremont Township’s past
Read from the archive, the National Register and the record. The page puts what stands out first.
Every edition of the U.S. Geological Survey’s map of Fremont Township. Tap a year, or press play to watch the town change.
1920Grays Lake 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 Fremont Township.
The land of the township was first settled by Europeans in 1835, and the first permanent settlements by Europeans were built in 1836, and the first house was built by a settler named William Fenwick on the south side of Diamond Lake. The first post office named was established in the township was in 1839 between Half Day and McHenry, until it was disestablished in 1842. The post office was named after its postmaster, Charles Darling.
In 1837, a settlement inside the township was called "Fort Hill Settlement" after a prairie hill in the northwest of the township, and would establish its post office in the spring of the following year.
Fremont Township is more historic than 11% of U.S. towns, #720 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 Fremont Township?
2% of Fremont Township’s homes were built before 1940 (Census estimate), 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.
