More historic than 2% of U.S. towns · #760 of 768 in Illinois. What drives it
Most of Hanover Park was built recently: 0.8% of its homes predate 1940 and the median home dates from 1976. Below: 1 old photo or paper and the census since 1960.
Founding year: Wikidata. First post office: 1873.The full story ↓
History grade
What drives Hanover Park’s History grade
On its age, its old homes and the National Register, Hanover Park is more historic than 2% of U.S. towns, #760 of 768 in Illinois. Its National Register listings hold the grade up; its age pulls it down.
D−
HistoryA character grade: shown, never part of Hanover 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 Hanover 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 D− to D. The pre-1940 share (±0.5 points) is firm at this size. Two sources give 1958.
Founding year: Wikidata (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 Hanover Park’s past
Read from the archive, the National Register and the record. The page puts what stands out first.
Ontarioville was initially the name assigned to the village of Hanover Park, a municipality situated on the border of Cook and DuPage Counties. Back in 1836, a stagecoach service transported residents along Lake Trail (also known as Grant Highway and later renamed Lake Street) all the way to Galena. By 1872, the Chicago & Pacific Railroad (later known as the Chicago, Milwaukee & St. Paul) installed railway tracks on land donated by Edwin Bartlett, who contributed over seven acres for the establishment of a depot. Edwin and Luther Bartlett each established stations named "Bartlett" along the Chicago and Pacific Railroad line. Luther's station kept the name Bartlett, but to avoid confusion, Edwin renamed his station "Ontario" in 1873, after a legend that the site was built on an old Indian trail between Lake Ontario and Green Bay, Wisconsin.
In 1958, according to Wikidata. Hanover Park’s post office opened in 1873, and the census of 1960 counted 451 people here.
How does Hanover Park rank for history?
Hanover Park is more historic than 2% of U.S. towns, #760 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 Hanover Park?
0.8% of Hanover Park’s homes were built before 1940 (Census estimate), against a typical 11% for an Illinois town; the median home was built in 1976.
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 (1), Wikipedia, Wikidata and Wikipedia for famous people, 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.
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