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C−History
History · Grayslake

Grayslake’s post office opened in 1886

More historic than 21% of U.S. towns · #628 of 768 in Illinois. What drives it

Most of Grayslake was built recently: 4% of its homes predate 1940 and the median home dates from 1994. Below: maps from 1920 on and the census since 1900.

1886first post office
0on the National Register
4%homes built before 1940
3famous people
Add an old photoShare a memory
Quick answers

How Grayslake began

When was Grayslake founded?

1886

The Grayslake post office opened in 1886, the earliest record of the town by name.

First census: 416 in 19002020 census: 21,248140 years

How historic is Grayslake?

C−

More historic than 21% of U.S. towns, on its age, its old homes and the National Register.

What drives the grade ↓
Founding year: the first Grayslake post office (Blevins & Helbock, CC0).The full story ↓
History grade

What drives Grayslake’s History grade

On its age, its old homes and the National Register, Grayslake is more historic than 21% of U.S. towns, #628 of 768 in Illinois. Its age holds the grade up; its National Register listings pull it down.

C−
HistoryA character grade: shown, never part of Grayslake’s overall grade.
Founding era1886, from the first post office: founded 1850–1899, an older era than 37% of U.S. townsC+Homes built before 19404.1% of homes (±1.3) · typical IL town 10.6% · U.S. 8.4%CNational 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 21%
NewerOlder
Illinois towns of 2,500+ (768)Ahead of 18%

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 Grayslake’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 still be C−. The pre-1940 share (±1.3 points) is firm at this size. 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 Grayslake’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 Grayslake are in the public archives yet. The rest are in attics and albums.On the map since 19205 editions of the USGS map, 1920 to 1993. Watch Grayslake change.
★ What stands out · Help out

Start Grayslake’s collection

The first neighbors to add old photos shape how Grayslake’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

Grayslake on the map, 1920 to 1993

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

Grayslake on the 1920 USGS mapGrayslake on the 1960 USGS mapGrayslake on the 1972 USGS mapGrayslake on the 1980 USGS mapGrayslake on the 1993 USGS map1920Grays 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 Grayslake.

The story

How Grayslake came to be

From Wikipedia’s history of Grayslake.

Read it all →

In 1840, Massachusetts-born William M. Gray settled along the then-unnamed Grays Lake. Other farmers trickled into the area in 1840s. Gray moved to Waukegan in 1845.

In 1880, the Wisconsin Central Railroad built a line from Fond du Lac, Wisconsin, to Chicago that passed by the east side of Grays Lake. In 1886, the railroad built a station there, naming it Grayslake. The village incorporated in 1895.

ChaptersEarly history

Text from Wikipedia, licensed CC BY-SA 4.0.

Timeline

Grayslake, 1886 to 2003

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

  1. 19th century
  2. 1886Post officeThe Grays Lake post office opens
  3. 20th century
  4. 1902Born hereJim McMillen is born here
  5. 1920On the mapFirst mapped by the U.S. Geological Survey
  6. 1976Born herePete Loeffler is born here
  7. 21st century
  8. 2003Born hereKorbin Shrader is born here
By decade

Grayslake, decade by decade

Today12 recent
Dognsudssign2009DognsudssignConclusion of a Memorial Day ceremony 090522-N-EP859-0022009Conclusion of a Memorial Day ceremony 090522-N-EP859-…Wetlands2007WetlandsThesat2007ThesatSplit rails2007Split railsRed stand2007Red standRazorback2007RazorbackPunkindependent2007PunkindependentGrayslake Gelatin Factory2007Grayslake Gelatin FactoryGoat coat2007Goat coatAce Steel-College of Lake County-Grayslake2007Ace Steel-College of Lake County-GrayslakeGrayslake, Illinois downtown2006Grayslake, Illinois downtown
People over time

Grayslake, census by census

05,00010,00015,00020,000190019201940196019802000202021,248

Grew from 416 people in 1900 to 21,248 in 2020, more than tenfold.

13 censuses, 1900–2020.

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

Famous people

3 famous people were born in Grayslake

Writers, athletes, leaders and more, ranked by how widely they’re known.

See all →
Korbin ShraderAmerican soccer player · b. 2003
Pete LoefflerAmerican musician · b. 1976
Jim McMillenAmerican football player · b. 1902
Places that used to be

Places now gone and burying grounds

Gone or out of use
Avon Center SchoolschoolGages Schoolschool
2cemeteries and burying grounds inside Grayslake
Avon CentreGrayslake

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.

Round Lake BeachIts storyC−Gages LakeIts storyC−Libertyville8 historic placesA−Avon TownshipIts storyC+Third LakeIts storyDRound Lake ParkIts storyC−Warren Township1 historic placeCHainesvilleIts storyCMundeleinIts storyDLake Villa Township1 historic placeC

Questions about Grayslake’s history

What year was Grayslake founded?

The Grayslake post office opened in 1886, the earliest record of the town by name (U.S. post office records).

How does Grayslake rank for history?

Grayslake is more historic than 21% of U.S. towns, #628 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 Grayslake?

4% of Grayslake’s homes were built before 1940 (Census estimate, ±1.3 points), against a typical 11% for an Illinois town; the median home was built in 1994.

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 (12), Wikipedia, 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.