On its age, its old homes and the National Register, Holiday Shores is more historic than 26% of U.S. towns, #582 of 768 in Illinois. Its share of homes from before 1940 holds the grade up; its National Register listings pull it down.
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HistoryA character grade: shown, never part of Holiday Shores’ 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 Holiday Shores’ 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 two of the three inputs, so a change in either one moves the letter more than it would with three. The pre-1940 share is a Census survey estimate (±10.3 points).
Founding year: our sources. 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 Holiday Shores’ past
Read from the archive, the National Register and the record. The page puts what stands out first.
Development of Holiday Shores began in 1965 around the man-made Holiday Lake, which covers approximately 430 acres. Madison County's growth-management plan describes the unincorporated community as established in 1967.
The county plan identifies Holishor Association as the community's private membership association. In 2016, the association's membership voted to explore incorporating Holiday Shores as a municipality.
Every edition of the U.S. Geological Survey’s map of Holiday Shores. Tap a year, or press play to watch the town change.
1927Edwardsville 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 Holiday Shores.
Famous people
Famous people close to Holiday Shores
Nobody well known was born in Holiday Shores itself, so here are the best known from just nearby.
Holiday Shores is more historic than 26% of U.S. towns, #582 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 Holiday Shores?
9% of Holiday Shores’ homes were built before 1940 (Census estimate, ±10.3 points), against a typical 11% for an Illinois town; the median home was built in 1992.
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 Wikipedia and U.S. Geological Survey historical maps. Archive images are copied here with their credits and licenses, shown on each photo’s page. Refreshed monthly.
