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C−History
History · Gurnee

Gurnee’s post office opened in 1874

More historic than 16% of U.S. towns · #670 of 768 in Illinois. What drives it

Most of Gurnee was built recently: 2% of its homes predate 1940 and the median home dates from 1992. Below: 1 old photo or paper, maps from 1906 on, and the census since 1930.

1874first post office
0on the National Register
2%homes built before 1940
1old photo or paper
6famous people
Add an old photoShare a memory
From Gurnee’s archive · credits on each photo
Quick answers

How Gurnee began

When was Gurnee founded?

1874

The Gurnee post office opened in 1874, the earliest record of the town by name. Wikidata gives 1928. Another post office, Gurnee Station (1874), opened inside today’s town and later closed.

First census: 503 in 19302020 census: 30,706152 years

How historic is Gurnee?

C−

More historic than 16% of U.S. towns, on its age, its old homes and the National Register.

What drives the grade ↓
Founding year: the first Gurnee post office (Blevins & Helbock, CC0). Wikidata: 1928.The full story ↓
History grade

What drives Gurnee’s History grade

On its age, its old homes and the National Register, Gurnee is more historic than 16% of U.S. towns, #670 of 768 in Illinois. Its age holds the grade up; its share of homes from before 1940 pulls it down.

C−
HistoryA character grade: shown, never part of Gurnee’s overall grade.
Founding era1874, from the first post office: founded 1850–1899, an older era than 37% of U.S. townsC+Homes built before 19401.5% of homes (±0.7) · typical IL town 10.6% · U.S. 8.4%C−National 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 16%
NewerOlder
Illinois towns of 2,500+ (768)Ahead of 13%

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 Gurnee’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 D to C−. The pre-1940 share (±0.7 points) is firm at this size. The founding year is the first post office, not a stated founding date; Wikidata gives 1928.

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 Gurnee’s past

Read from the archive, the National Register and the record. The page puts what stands out first.

A history waiting to be writtenOnly 1 old photo is in the public archives. The rest are in attics and albums.On the map since 19065 editions of the USGS map, 1906 to 1993. Watch Gurnee change.Lost villages1 post office opened and closed inside today’s Gurnee, and 3 old place names are still on the map.
★ What stands out · Help out

Start Gurnee’s collection

The first neighbors to add old photos shape how Gurnee’s history is told.

Decades since 1900 with photos
00s10s20s30s40s50s60s70s80s90s
0 of 10 decades. The empty ones are waiting for someone’s album.
Retake an old viewThe Mother Rudd Barn Historic Garden: stand where they stood+15Share a family photoSign in to add one+10
On the map

Gurnee on the map, 1906 to 1993

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

Gurnee on the 1906 USGS mapGurnee on the 1960 USGS mapGurnee on the 1972 USGS mapGurnee on the 1980 USGS mapGurnee on the 1993 USGS map1906Waukegan 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 Gurnee.

Places that used to be

Lost post offices, old corners, places now gone and burying grounds

Gurnee’s post office has been open since 1874. Another post office, Gurnee Station, opened and closed inside today’s town.

Gurnee
1874–today
Gurnee Station
1874–1874
18701950today
Hamlets and corners on the map
ChittendenGrange HallSherman Corners
Gone or out of use
O John Clark RLA Airportairport
1cemetery inside Gurnee
Warren

US Post Offices dataset (Blevins & Helbock, CC0). Places and cemeteries from the USGS Geographic Names Information System (2021).

The story

How Gurnee came to be

From Wikipedia’s history of Gurnee.

Read it all →

Early settlers in the Gurnee area came by foot horseback and by "Prairie Schooners" drawn by oxen or via the Erie Canal and the Great Lakes. They came from the town of Warren, New York, which was named in honor of Major General Joseph Warren, killed at the Battle of Bunker Hill. Warren Township, formed in 1850, was also named after him. The first settlement of Warren Township commenced in 1835 in the vicinity of the Aux Plaines River (now the Des Plaines River).

Text from Wikipedia, licensed CC BY-SA 4.0.

Timeline

Gurnee, 1840 to 2002

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

  1. 19th century
  2. 1840In the archiveThe Mother Rudd Barn Historic Garden
  3. 1874Post officeThe Gurnee post office opens
  4. 1874Post officeThe Gurnee Station post office opens
  5. 1874Post officeThe Gurnee Station post office closes
  6. 20th century
  7. 1906On the mapFirst mapped by the U.S. Geological Survey
  8. 1981Born hereGreg Rallo is born here
  9. 1987Born hereEric M. Esquivel is born here
  10. 1991Born hereBrandon Paul is born here
  11. 21st century
  12. 2002Born hereIsaiah Parker is born here
By decade

Gurnee, decade by decade

One decade in the archive so far: the 1840s. Scroll each row; tap a photo for its story.

1840s1 item
The Mother Rudd Barn Historic Garden1840The Mother Rudd Barn Historic Garden
Today16 recent
Great Wolf Lodge2022Great Wolf LodgeIllinois1322019Illinois132Mother Rudd Home2018Mother Rudd HomeMarcusTheatreGurnee2018MarcusTheatreGurneeBeautiful View From Hole 132016Beautiful View From Hole 13Post Storm - panoramio (1)2011Post Storm - panoramio (1)Hunt Club Farms22008Hunt Club Farms2Hunt Club Farms2008Hunt Club FarmsGurnee Town Centre2008Gurnee Town CentreGurnee Shopping District2008Gurnee Shopping DistrictWelcome to2007Welcome toWelcome to gurnee (cropped)2007Welcome to gurnee (cropped)Great America 037 - Flickr - GregTheBusker2004Great America 037 - Flickr - GregTheBuskerGreat America 027 - Flickr - GregTheBusker2004Great America 027 - Flickr - GregTheBuskerGreat America 023 - Flickr - GregTheBusker2004Great America 023 - Flickr - GregTheBuskerGreat America 018 - Flickr - GregTheBusker2004Great America 018 - Flickr - GregTheBusker
Then & now

Stand where they stood

No then-and-now pairs yet. Take a photo from the same spot as an old one and they appear here side by side.

The Mother Rudd Barn Historic Garden
Retake this viewThe Mother Rudd Barn Historic Garden, 1840

Find the spot, match the angle, and add your photo. It becomes the first then-and-now pair on Gurnee’s page.

Retake this view · +15
People over time

Gurnee, census by census

05,00010,00015,00020,00025,00030,00035,00019401960198020002020Peak: 31,295

Between 503 and 31,295 people in every census since 1930.

10 censuses, 1930–2020.

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

Famous people

6 famous people were born in Gurnee

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

See all →
B
Brandon PaulAmerican basketball player · b. 1991
Greg RalloAmerican ice hockey player · b. 1981
Eric M. EsquivelAmerican comic book writer and journalist · b. 1987
I
Isaiah ParkerAmerican soccer player · b. 2002
D
Darius PaulAmerican basketball player · b. 1994
I
Isaac Jean-PaulAmerican Paralympic athlete · b. 1993
Stories next door

History across the town line

Each neighbor’s History grade, on the same three inputs.

Waukegan6 historic placesAGages LakeIts storyC−Grandwood ParkIts storyDPark CityIts storyD−Warren Township1 historic placeCWaukegan Township6 historic placesnot graded: under 1,000 residents or part of its townThird LakeIts storyDWadsworthIts storyC

Questions about Gurnee’s history

What year was Gurnee founded?

The Gurnee post office opened in 1874, the earliest record of the town by name (U.S. post office records). Wikidata gives 1928.

How does Gurnee rank for history?

Gurnee is more historic than 16% of U.S. towns, #670 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 Gurnee?

2% of Gurnee’s homes were built before 1940 (Census estimate), against a typical 11% for an Illinois town; the median home was built in 1992.

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 (17), 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.