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DHistory
History · Hodgkins

Hodgkins was first counted by the census in 1900

More historic than 9% of U.S. towns. What drives it

Most of Hodgkins was built recently: 2% of its homes predate 1940 and the median home dates from 1994. Below: maps from 1891 on and the census since 1900.

1900first census
0on the National Register
2%homes built before 1940
Add an old photoShare a memory
Photo: jdkscoop · CC BY-SA 3.0
Quick answers

How Hodgkins began

When was Hodgkins founded?

1900

Hodgkins first appears in the census in 1900. Another post office, Gary (1894), opened inside today’s town and later closed.

First census: 195 in 19002020 census: 1,500126 years

How historic is Hodgkins?

D

More historic than 9% of U.S. towns, on its age, its old homes and the National Register.

What drives the grade ↓
Founding year: the first census.The full story ↓
History grade

What drives Hodgkins’ History grade

On its age, its old homes and the National Register, Hodgkins is more historic than 9% of U.S. towns. Its National Register listings hold the grade up; its age pulls it down.

D
HistoryA character grade: shown, never part of Hodgkins’ overall grade.
Founding era1900, from the first census: founded 1900–1944, an older era than 9% of U.S. townsDHomes built before 19402.3% of homes (±2.4) · 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 9%
NewerOlder

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 Hodgkins’ 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 still be D. The pre-1940 share (±2.4 points) is firm at this size.

Founding year: the first census (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 Hodgkins’ 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 Hodgkins are in the public archives yet. The rest are in attics and albums.Shrank, then grewLost a third of its people between 1910 and 1920, then grew 5-fold.On the map since 18918 editions of the USGS map, 1891 to 1993. Watch Hodgkins change.
★ What stands out · Help out

Start Hodgkins’s collection

The first neighbors to add old photos shape how Hodgkins’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
People over time

Hodgkins, census by census

05001,0001,5002,0002,5001900192019401960198020002020480 in 1910Low: 266

Lost a third of its people between 1910 and 1920, then grew 5-fold.

13 censuses, 1900–2020.

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

On the map

Hodgkins on the map, 1891 to 1993

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

Hodgkins on the 1891 USGS mapHodgkins on the 1900 USGS mapHodgkins on the 1928 USGS mapHodgkins on the 1953 USGS mapHodgkins on the 1963 USGS mapHodgkins on the 1972 USGS mapHodgkins on the 1980 USGS mapHodgkins on the 1993 USGS map1891Riverside 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 Hodgkins.

The story

How Hodgkins came to be

From Wikipedia’s history of Hodgkins.

Read it all →

The first European visitors to present-day Hodgkins, explorers Jacques Marquette and Louis Joliet, paddled down the Des Plaines River in 1673, passing through the area, making their camp in present-day Summit. Settlement in the area, however, was somewhat stagnant until the early 19th century. It was at this time, around 1836, that Irish and Italian immigrants came to the area to work on the Illinois and Michigan Canal. The construction and eventual operation of the canal was responsible for the formation of many villages presently located along its banks, including Hodgkins.

ChaptersPatrick Crowley murder2023 EF-1 TornadoJohn Pisano Cold Case

Text from Wikipedia, licensed CC BY-SA 4.0.

Timeline

Hodgkins, 1891 to 1970

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

  1. 19th century
  2. 1891On the mapFirst mapped by the U.S. Geological Survey
  3. 1894Post officeThe Gary post office opens
  4. 20th century
  5. 1908Post officeThe Gary post office closes
  6. 1970CensusPopulation peaks at 2,270
By decade

Hodgkins, decade by decade

Today5 recent
I-55 south at US 12 US 20 US 45 exit - Hodgkins, IL - August 20242024I-55 south at US 12 US 20 US 45 exit - Hodgkins, IL -…I-55 south at US 12 US 20 US 45 distributor lanes - Hodgkins, IL - August 20242024I-55 south at US 12 US 20 US 45 distributor lanes - H…Vulcan Materials Mining Along Interstate 552016Vulcan Materials Mining Along Interstate 55Old Fire Station2009Old Fire StationUntitled photo2005Untitled photo
Famous people

Famous people close to Hodgkins

Nobody well known was born in Hodgkins itself, so here are the best known from just nearby.

See all →
Kathryn HahnAmerican actress · b. 1973
J
Jonathan FranzenAmerican writer · b. 1959
Danielle CampbellAmerican actress · b. 1995
Chris KleinAmerican actor · b. 1979
Nicholle TomAmerican actress · b. 1978
D
Dizzy ReedAmerican musician · b. 1963
Places that used to be

Lost post offices, old corners and burying grounds

Another post office, Gary, opened and closed inside today’s town.

Hamlets and corners on the map
Gary
1cemetery inside Hodgkins
Saint Johns

US Post Offices dataset (Blevins & Helbock, CC0). Places and cemeteries from the USGS Geographic Names Information System (2021).

Stories next door

History across the town line

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

CountrysideIts storyDWillow SpringsIts storyCBedford ParkIts storynot graded: under 1,000 residents or part of its townMcCookIts storynot graded: under 1,000 residents or part of its townJusticeIts storyD

Questions about Hodgkins’ history

What year was Hodgkins founded?

The Hodgkins post office opened in 1900, the earliest record of the town by name (U.S. post office records).

How does Hodgkins rank for history?

Hodgkins is more historic than 9% 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 Hodgkins?

2% of Hodgkins’ homes were built before 1940 (Census estimate, ±2.4 points), against a typical 11% for an Illinois town; the median home was built in 1994.

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 (5), Wikipedia, 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.