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Hickory Hills DecemberPhoto: Crosbiesmith · CC BY-SA 4.0
D−History
History · Hickory Hills

Hickory Hills dates to 1951

More historic than 4% of U.S. towns · #750 of 768 in Illinois. What drives it

Most of Hickory Hills was built recently: 2% of its homes predate 1940 and the median home dates from 1970. Below: maps from 1890 on and the census since 1960.

1951founded
0on the National Register
2%homes built before 1940
1famous people
Add an old photoShare a memory
Photo: Crosbiesmith · CC BY-SA 4.0
Quick answers

How Hickory Hills began

When was Hickory Hills founded?

1951

Hickory Hills dates its founding to 1951 (Wikidata and Wikipedia’s history agree). The census first counted it in 1960.

First census: 2,707 in 19602020 census: 14,50575 years

How historic is Hickory Hills?

D−

More historic than 4% of U.S. towns, on its age, its old homes and the National Register.

What drives the grade ↓
Founding year: Wikidata; Wikipedia’s history section gives the same year.The full story ↓
History grade

What drives Hickory Hills’ History grade

On its age, its old homes and the National Register, Hickory Hills is more historic than 4% of U.S. towns, #750 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 Hickory Hills’ overall grade.
Founding era1951, from Wikidata: founded 1945 or later, an older era than 2% of U.S. townsD−Homes built before 19401.8% of homes (±1.4) · 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 4%
NewerOlder
Illinois towns of 2,500+ (768)Ahead of 2%

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 Hickory Hills’ 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 (±1.4 points) is firm at this size. Two sources give 1951.

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 Hickory Hills’ past

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

A history waiting to be writtenNo old photos of Hickory Hills are in the public archives yet. The rest are in attics and albums.On the map since 18908 editions of the USGS map, 1890 to 1993. Watch Hickory Hills change.
★ What stands out · Help out

Start Hickory Hills’s collection

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

Decades since 1900 with photos
00s10s20s30s40s50s60s70s80s90s
0 of 10 decades. The empty ones are waiting for someone’s album.
Share a family photoSign in to add one+10
On the map

Hickory Hills on the map, 1890 to 1993

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

Hickory Hills on the 1890 USGS mapHickory Hills on the 1900 USGS mapHickory Hills on the 1928 USGS mapHickory Hills on the 1953 USGS mapHickory Hills on the 1963 USGS mapHickory Hills on the 1973 USGS mapHickory Hills on the 1980 USGS mapHickory Hills on the 1993 USGS map1890Des Plaines 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 Hickory Hills.

The story

How Hickory Hills came to be

From Wikipedia’s history of Hickory Hills.

Read it all →

The Hickory Hills Country Club was founded in 1917 in the area of the present-day city, with an 18-hole golf course designed by Scottish-American golfer James Foulis. The club exists to the present day.

The village of Hickory Hills was incorporated in September 1951 from the territory between 91st to 95th street, and between 80th to 88th avenue. The village at the time of incorporation had around 600 residents. Voters approved a change from village to city form of government in October 1966.

Text from Wikipedia, licensed CC BY-SA 4.0.

Timeline

Hickory Hills, 1890 to 1996

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

  1. 19th century
  2. 1890On the mapFirst mapped by the U.S. Geological Survey
  3. 20th century
  4. 1951
    FoundingHickory Hills is established
  5. 1996Born hereMax Strus is born here
By decade

Hickory Hills, decade by decade

Today6 recent
Hickory Hills2022Hickory HillsHickory Hills December2022Hickory Hills DecemberTri-State Tollway (Interstate 294)2014Tri-State Tollway (Interstate 294)Roberts Road2014Roberts RoadRoberts Road, Hickory Hills, Illinois (14024037590) (2)2014Roberts Road, Hickory Hills, Illinois (14024037590) (…Tornado over2008Tornado over
People over time

Hickory Hills, census by census

02,0004,0006,0008,00010,00012,00014,00016,000196019802000202014,505

Grew from 2,707 people in 1960 to 14,505 in 2020, 5 times over.

7 censuses, 1960–2020.

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

Stories next door

History across the town line

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

Palos HillsIts storyD−BridgeviewIts storyDJusticeIts storyD

Questions about Hickory Hills’ history

What year was Hickory Hills founded?

In 1951, according to Wikidata and Wikipedia’s history of the town. the census of 1960 counted 2,707 people here.

How does Hickory Hills rank for history?

Hickory Hills is more historic than 4% of U.S. towns, #750 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 Hickory Hills?

2% of Hickory Hills’ homes were built before 1940 (Census estimate, ±1.4 points), against a typical 11% for an Illinois town; the median home was built in 1970.

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 (6), Wikipedia, Wikidata and Wikipedia for famous people, U.S. Geological Survey historical maps, U.S. Census counts (via Wikipedia) 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.