Highwood dates to 1887, and 37% of its homes were built before 1940
More historic than 83% of U.S. towns · #156 of 768 in Illinois. What drives it
1 place in town is on the National Register, among them a historic district with 15 buildings. Below: 2 old photos and papers, maps from 1900 on, and the census since 1890.
Founding year: Wikidata. First post office: 1849.The full story ↓
History grade
What drives Highwood’s History grade
On its age, its old homes and the National Register, Highwood is more historic than 83% of U.S. towns, #156 of 768 in Illinois. Its share of homes from before 1940 holds the grade up; its age pulls it down.
A−
HistoryA character grade: shown, never part of Highwood’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 Highwood’s 28.3 sits above most of its state (89% of Illinois towns have fewer) while its 15 historic buildings outnumber those of 78% of U.S. towns.
How sure. Graded on any two of the three inputs instead, the letter would range from B to A+. The pre-1940 share is a Census survey estimate (±12.7 points). Two sources give 1887.
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 Highwood’s past
Read from the archive, the National Register and the record. The page puts what stands out first.
Originally, the land was owned by the Potawatomi until it was ceded to the United States through the 1833 Treaty of Chicago. The first non-Native American settled in the town in 1846. In 1851 Highwood became the headquarter location of the Chicago North Shore and Milwaukee Railroad, which ran parallel to the Chicago and North Western Railway, and is known today as Metra's Union Pacific North Line. Thomas Curley suggested the name High Woods because the land was the highest ground between Chicago and Milwaukee and was covered with trees.
Passages that mention Highwood, cut from the printed page as they were published.
The past and present of Lake County, Illinois, containing a history of the county ... a biographical directory ... war record ... early settlers ... statistics ... history of Illinois ... the Northwest ... etc., etc ..1877 · page 266Read the page →
Read the text
Highwood is a village in the township of Deerfield, on the railroad, adjoin¬ ing the town plat of Highland Park on the north, but the depot or station house at this place is about a mile from that at Highland Park. The town plat of this place was laid out in April, 1871. It is about three miles south of Lake Forest. It is connected with Highland Park by broad avenues, on some of which the buildings are scattered along, so that the dividing point between the two places is not discernible. The streets and avenues were first laid out by Rev. Dr. Evarts. Directly east of the railroad depot he secured a handsome
Text read by machine from the scan; it may contain errors.
The past and present of Lake County, Illinois, containing a history of the county ... a biographical directory ... war record ... early settlers ... statistics ... history of Illinois ... the Northwest ... etc., etc ..1877 · page 260Read the page →
Read the text
Railway. At an early day, something over thirty years ago, a town plat was laid out on the lake, east of what is now Highwood, called St. John’s. Some progress was made in building here, with the prospect of making it quite a place ; but the title to the land becoming involved in litigation, its further progress became impeded, and the enterprise was finally abandoned, and the town plat became vacated. About the year 1850, Jacob C. Bloom, William Steele and others laid out a town plat on the lake, immediately on the south of St.
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.
Timeline
Highwood, 1849 to 1968
Woven from the archive, old maps, post office records, the National Register and the people born 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.
In 1887, according to Wikidata. Highwood’s post office opened in 1849, and the census of 1890 counted 451 people here.
How does Highwood rank for history?
Highwood is more historic than 83% of U.S. towns, #156 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.
What is on the National Register in Highwood?
One place: the Westover Road Non-Commissioned Officers' Housing Historic District (listed 2009).
How old are the homes in Highwood?
37% of Highwood’s homes were built before 1940 (Census estimate, ±12.7 points), against a typical 11% for an Illinois town; the median home was built in 1969.
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 (5), Wikidata (1), the National Register of Historic Places (1), 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), 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.
1968
2024
2017
2015