Greenwood Township’s post office opened in 1849, and 1 of its places is on the National Register
More historic than 55% of U.S. towns · #363 of 768 in Illinois. What drives it
Most of Greenwood Township was built recently: 4% of its homes predate 1940 and the median home dates from 1987. Below: maps from 1926 on and the census since 1880.
Founding year: the first Greenwood Township post office (Blevins & Helbock, CC0). Wikidata: 1995.
History grade
What drives Greenwood Township’s History grade
On its age, its old homes and the National Register, Greenwood Township is more historic than 55% of U.S. towns, #363 of 768 in Illinois. Its age holds the grade up; its share of homes from before 1940 pulls it down.
B
HistoryA character grade: shown, never part of Greenwood 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 Greenwood Township’s 0.7 sits near the middle of its state (61% 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 (±1.7 points) is firm at this size. The founding year is the first post office, not a stated founding date; Wikidata gives 1995.
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 Greenwood Township’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 Greenwood Township yet. The photos, dates and memories neighbors add here are how it gets written.
Greenwood is a village in McHenry County, Illinois, United States. It is a commuter village, part of the Chicago metropolitan area It was incorporated as a village on April 4, 1995. The population was 324 at the 2020 census.
Its first post office opened in 1849. Its population held steady between the last two censuses: 13,990 in 2010, 14,184 in 2020.
Intro from Wikipedia. Population: U.S. Census Bureau.
From the old history books
What they wrote about Greenwood Township, 1885–1922
Passages that mention Greenwood Township, cut from the printed page as they were published.
History of McHenry County, Illinois1885 · page 670Read the page →
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Greenwood Township, like the most of the townships of McHenry County, cannot be excelled for rich soil and surface features. No pleasanter landscape picture was ever beheld than is presented to the eye of the person riding over the township of Greenwood. The land is gently rolling, the farms are under a fine state of cultivation, and the residences indicate thrift and prosperity on every hand. To a stranger the township presents the appearance of being chiefly prairie land, so completely have the lands been
Text read by machine from the scan; it may contain errors.
History of McHenry County, Illinois1922 · page 405Read the page →
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The first store was opened in Greenwood Township, at Boone's Mill, in 1847, by a Mr. Lock wood who soon moved away, being succeeded by C. M. Goodsell, at the village of Greenwood.
Text read by machine from the scan; it may contain errors.
History of McHenry County, Illinois1885 · page 672Read the page →
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The first postoffice established in Greenwood Township was in the year 1850. It was kept in the store of Mr. C. M. Goodsell, Mr. Goodsell being the first Postmaster. The postoffice was named after the township and is still known as Greenwood postoffice. The second Postmaster was a Mr. Robbins who clerked for Mr. Goodsell, followed by Baker Martin, John M. Barber, Mrs. J. M. Barber, J. H. Garrison and D. W. Soper, the present incumbent.
Text read by machine from the scan; it may contain errors.
History of McHenry County, Illinois1922 · page 403Read the page →
Read the text
CEMETERIES About one-half mile south of the village of Greenwood lies Greenwood cemetery. It is the oldest burying place in Greenwood Township. Here repose many of the pioneers of the township. Another cemetery was early laid out near the Methodist Church in southern part of the township.
Text read by machine from the scan; it may contain errors.
Scans and text from the Internet Archive. Books published in 1930 or earlier, which are in the public domain.
By decade
No old photos in the archives yet
Weddings on Main Street, storms, parades, school pictures, the old store. If it’s in your family album, it belongs here.
Be the first to add onePhotograph a print flat, in daylight, no flash.
Every edition of the U.S. Geological Survey’s map of Greenwood Township. Tap a year, or press play to watch the town change.
1926McHenry 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 Greenwood Township.
On the National Register
1 historic place in Greenwood Township
The country’s official list of buildings and places worth saving.
place listed
1
National Historic Landmarks
0
none yet
historic buildings protected
1
each building in a district counts
National Park Service, National Register of Historic Places. Photos from Wikimedia Commons, credited on each place’s page.
People over time
Greenwood Township, census by census
Grew from 137 people in 1880 to 324 in 2020.
4 censuses, 1880–2020.
U.S. Census Bureau decennial counts, from the census table on Greenwood Township’s Wikipedia page.
Famous people
Famous people close to Greenwood Township
Nobody well known was born in Greenwood Township itself, so here are the best known from just nearby.
The Greenwood Township post office opened in 1849, the earliest record of the town by name (U.S. post office records). Wikidata gives 1995.
How does Greenwood Township rank for history?
Greenwood Township is more historic than 55% of U.S. towns, #363 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 Greenwood Township?
4% of Greenwood Township’s homes were built before 1940 (Census estimate, ±1.7 points), against a typical 11% for an Illinois town; the median home was built in 1987.
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, U.S. Census counts (via Wikipedia), the USGS Geographic Names Information System and old county and town histories (Internet Archive). Archive images are copied here with their credits and licenses, shown on each photo’s page. Refreshed monthly.
