Each edition grades its towns against each other only.
More historic than 18% of U.S. towns · #650 of 768 in Illinois. What drives it
Most of Glenwood was built recently: 3% of its homes predate 1940 and the median home dates from 1968. Below: maps from 1892 on and the census since 1910.
The Glenwood post office opened in 1875, the earliest record of the town by name. Another post office, Longwood (1890), opened inside today’s town and later closed.
More historic than 18% of U.S. towns, on its age, its old homes and the National Register.
On its age, its old homes and the National Register, Glenwood is more historic than 18% of U.S. towns, #650 of 768 in Illinois. Its age holds the grade up; its share of homes from before 1940 pulls it down.
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 Glenwood’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.
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 →
Read from the archive, the National Register and the record. The page puts what stands out first.
The first neighbors to add old photos shape how Glenwood’s history is told.
Every edition of the U.S. Geological Survey’s map of Glenwood. Tap a year, or press play to watch the town change.
U.S. Geological Survey historical topographic maps (public domain), via Esri’s collection of the scans. The red ring marks the center of Glenwood.
Wikipedia doesn’t have a history of Glenwood yet. The photos, dates and memories neighbors add here are how it gets written.
Glenwood is a village in Cook County, Illinois, United States. The population was 8,662 at the 2020 census. It is a south suburb of Chicago.
Its first post office opened in 1875. Between the 2010 and 2020 censuses its population fell from 8,969 to 8,662 (-3%).
Intro from Wikipedia. Population: U.S. Census Bureau.
Woven from the archive, old maps, post office records, the National Register and the people born here.
Between 581 and 10,538 people in every census since 1910.
12 censuses, 1910–2020.
U.S. Census Bureau decennial counts, from the census table on Glenwood’s Wikipedia page.
Writers, athletes, leaders and more, ranked by how widely they’re known.
Glenwood’s post office has been open since 1875. Another post office, Longwood, opened and closed inside today’s town.
US Post Offices dataset (Blevins & Helbock, CC0). Places and cemeteries from the USGS Geographic Names Information System (2021).
Each neighbor’s History grade, on the same three inputs.
The Glenwood post office opened in 1875, the earliest record of the town by name (U.S. post office records).
Glenwood is more historic than 18% of U.S. towns, #650 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.
3% of Glenwood’s homes were built before 1940 (Census estimate, ±1.6 points), against a typical 11% for an Illinois town; the median home was built in 1968.
What the archives can’t tell you, neighbors can.
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 (1), 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) 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.
2021