The Hartland Township post office opened in 1839, the earliest record of the town by name. Three smaller post offices, Hartland (1839), Brookdale (1848) and Deep Cut (1856), opened inside today’s town and later closed.
2020 census: 1,861187 years
How historic is Hartland Township?
B−
More historic than 52% of U.S. towns, on its age, its old homes and the National Register.
Founding year: the first Hartland Township post office (Blevins & Helbock, CC0).
History grade
What drives Hartland Township’s History grade
On its age, its old homes and the National Register, Hartland Township is more historic than 52% of U.S. towns. Its age holds the grade up; its National Register listings pull it down.
B−
HistoryA character grade: shown, never part of Hartland 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 Hartland Township’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 C to B+. The pre-1940 share is a Census survey estimate (±13.8 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 Hartland 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 Hartland Township yet. The photos, dates and memories neighbors add here are how it gets written.
Hartland is an unincorporated community and census-designated place in McHenry County, Illinois, United States. It was named a CDP before the 2020 census, at which time it had a population of 157.
Its first post office opened in 1839. Between the 2010 and 2020 censuses its population fell from 2,031 to 1,861 (-8%).
Intro from Wikipedia. Population: U.S. Census Bureau.
From the old history books
What they wrote about Hartland Township, 1885–1922
Passages that mention Hartland Township, cut from the printed page as they were published.
History of McHenry County, Illinois1885 · page 697Read the page →
Read the text
at McClure's Grove, about a mile southeast of Dundee, it being about twenty-five miles distant. After a time they were enabled to get their mail at Crystal Lake; finally they got a postoffice established near the middle of Hartland Township, at the residence of Alvin Judd. About the year 1854 Eden postoffice was established, near the eastern side of the township. Henry Oliver was first Postmaster, and Peter McFarland the second. In 1855 a postoffice was established at Deep Cut, on the railroad, and con-
Text read by machine from the scan; it may contain errors.
History of McHenry County, Illinois1922 · page 409Read the page →
Read the text
POST OFFICE For some years after Hartland Township was settled the people had to go to McClure's Grove, a distance of twenty-five miles, for mail. Later they received their mail at Crystal Lake, and finally a post office was established at the residence of Alvin Judd, about the center of the township. Eden post office was established in the eastern part of the township, with Henry Oliver as its first postmaster, and Peter McFarland was its second. At Deep Cut a post office was established in 1855,
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 Hartland Township. Tap a year, or press play to watch the town change.
1932Harvard 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 Hartland Township.
Famous people
Famous people close to Hartland Township
Nobody well known was born in Hartland Township itself, so here are the best known from just nearby.
The Hartland Township post office opened in 1839, the earliest record of the town by name (U.S. post office records).
How does Hartland Township rank for history?
Hartland Township is more historic than 52% of U.S. towns. 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 Hartland Township?
12% of Hartland Township’s homes were built before 1940 (Census estimate, ±13.8 points), against a typical 11% for an Illinois town; the median home was built in 1981.
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), 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.
