The Harvey post office opened in 1890, the earliest record of the town by name. Wikidata gives 1891. Another post office, North Harvey (1893), opened inside today’s city and later closed.
First census: 5,395 in 19002020 census: 20,324136 years
How historic is Harvey?
C+
More historic than 44% of U.S. towns, on its age, its old homes and the National Register.
Founding year: the first Harvey post office (Blevins & Helbock, CC0). Wikidata: 1891.The full story ↓
History grade
What drives Harvey’s History grade
On its age, its old homes and the National Register, Harvey is more historic than 44% of U.S. towns, #438 of 768 in Illinois. Its share of homes from before 1940 holds the grade up; its National Register listings pull it down.
C+
HistoryA character grade: shown, never part of Harvey’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 Harvey’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 (±3.2 points). The founding year is the first post office, not a stated founding date; Wikidata’s 1891 falls in the same era, so the grade doesn’t depend on which one is used.
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 Harvey’s past
Read from the archive, the National Register and the record. The page puts what stands out first.
In 1871–72, a syndicate of six area businessmen purchased 1,700 acres of land and divided it into lots, establishing the "South Lawn" community. On October 1, 1874, contractor John Gay purchased two lots and began grading streets. He also graded a railway line for the Grand Trunk Western Railroad from Thornton through South Lawn, which was instrumental in generating industrial development. In 1880, Harvey L. Hopkins established the first significant local industry, a mower factory. In 1889, Turlington W. Harvey made large land purchases, which he transferred to the Harvey Land Association. Harvey was a close associate of Dwight Moody, the founder of the Moody Bible Institute in Chicago.
Nothing in the archives for these yearsWeddings on Main Street, storms, parades, school pictures, the old store. If it’s in your family album, it belongs here.
Nothing in the archives for these yearsWeddings on Main Street, storms, parades, school pictures, the old store. If it’s in your family album, it belongs here.
The Harvey post office opened in 1890, the earliest record of the town by name (U.S. post office records). Wikidata gives 1891.
How does Harvey rank for history?
Harvey is more historic than 44% of U.S. towns, #438 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 Harvey?
24% of Harvey’s homes were built before 1940 (Census estimate, ±3.2 points), against a typical 11% for an Illinois town; the median home was built in 1960.
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 (6), 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.
1987
1987