The Grant Township post office opened in 1862, the earliest record of the town by name. Two smaller post offices, Grant (1862) and Long Lake (1901), opened inside today’s town and later closed.
2020 census: 28,051164 years
How historic is Grant Township?
B−
More historic than 48% of U.S. towns, on its age, its old homes and the National Register.
Founding year: the first Grant Township post office (Blevins & Helbock, CC0).
History grade
What drives Grant Township’s History grade
On its age, its old homes and the National Register, Grant Township is more historic than 48% of U.S. towns, #409 of 768 in Illinois. Its National Register listings hold the grade up; its age pulls it down.
B−
HistoryA character grade: shown, never part of Grant 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 Grant Township’s 0.4 sits near the middle of its state (59% of Illinois towns have fewer) while its 1 listings outnumber those of 51% 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 (±3.4 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 Grant Township’s past
Read from the archive, the National Register and the record. The page puts what stands out first.
Lost post offices, old corners, places now gone and burying grounds
Two other post offices opened and closed inside today’s town.
Grant
1862–1865
Long Lake
1901–1904
18601940today
Hamlets and corners on the map
InglesideIngleside ShoreLong LakePalm BeachWilson
Gone or out of use
Brick Schoolschool
1cemetery inside Grant Township
Grant
US Post Offices dataset (Blevins & Helbock, CC0). Places and cemeteries from the USGS Geographic Names Information System (2021).
On the map
Grant Township on the map, 1920 to 1993
Every edition of the U.S. Geological Survey’s map of Grant 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 Grant Township.
The story so far
Grant Township, in brief
Wikipedia doesn’t have a history of Grant Township yet. The photos, dates and memories neighbors add here are how it gets written.
Grant Township is a township in Lake County, Illinois, USA. As of the 2020 census, its population was 28,051. Grant Township changed its name from Goodale Township on March 8, 1867.
Its first post office opened in 1862. Between the 2010 and 2020 censuses its population grew from 26,523 to 28,051 (+6%).
Intro from Wikipedia. Population: U.S. Census Bureau.
Timeline
Grant Township, 1862 to 1920
Woven from the archive, old maps, post office records, the National Register and the people born here.
The Grant Township post office opened in 1862, the earliest record of the town by name (U.S. post office records).
How does Grant Township rank for history?
Grant Township is more historic than 48% of U.S. towns, #409 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 Grant Township?
13% of Grant Township’s homes were built before 1940 (Census estimate, ±3.4 points), against a typical 11% for an Illinois town; the median home was built in 1988.
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 U.S. Geological Survey historical maps, 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.
