The Grant Park post office opened in 1875, the earliest record of the town by name. Wikidata gives 1883. Another post office, Judson (1870), opened inside today’s town and later closed.
2020 census: 1,294151 years
How historic is Grant Park?
C+
More historic than 45% of U.S. towns, on its age, its old homes and the National Register.
Founding year: the first Grant Park post office (Blevins & Helbock, CC0). Wikidata: 1883.
History grade
What drives Grant Park’s History grade
On its age, its old homes and the National Register, Grant Park is more historic than 45% 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 Grant Park’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 Grant Park’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 B. The pre-1940 share is a Census survey estimate (±7.7 points). The founding year is the first post office, not a stated founding date; Wikidata’s 1883 falls in the same era, so the grade doesn’t depend on which one is used.
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 Grant Park’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 Grant Park yet. The photos, dates and memories neighbors add here are how it gets written.
Grant Park is a village in northeastern Kankakee County, Illinois, United States. Grant Park was incorporated in 1883. As of the 2020 census, Grant Park had a population of 1,294. It is part of the Kankakee–Bradley Metropolitan Statistical Area. Much of the town was destroyed by a cyclone in 1912, according to Frank Leslie's Weekly magazine, which ran pictures.
Its first post office opened in 1875. Between the 2010 and 2020 censuses its population fell from 1,331 to 1,294 (-3%).
Intro from Wikipedia. Population: U.S. Census Bureau.
Timeline
Grant Park, 1870 to 1914
Woven from the archive, old maps, post office records, the National Register and the people born here.
Grant Park’s post office has been open since 1875. Another post office, Judson, opened and closed inside today’s town.
Judson
1870–1871
Grant Park
1875–today
18701950today
Hamlets and corners on the map
Judson
US Post Offices dataset (Blevins & Helbock, CC0). Places and cemeteries from the USGS Geographic Names Information System (2021).
Questions about Grant Park’s history
What year was Grant Park founded?
The Grant Park post office opened in 1875, the earliest record of the town by name (U.S. post office records). Wikidata gives 1883.
How does Grant Park rank for history?
Grant Park is more historic than 45% 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 Grant Park?
24% of Grant Park’s homes were built before 1940 (Census estimate, ±7.7 points), against a typical 11% for an Illinois town; the median home was built in 1973.
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 (4), Wikidata and Wikipedia for famous people, 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.
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