The story
Read it all →How Homer Glen came to be
From Wikipedia’s history of Homer Glen.
The area that is now Homer Glen was formerly known as Goodings Grove.
Text from Wikipedia, licensed CC BY-SA 4.0.
C−History
History · Homer Glen
Homer Glen dates to 2001, and 1 of its places is on the National Register
More historic than 16% of U.S. towns · #675 of 768 in Illinois. What drives it
Its Register listing is the Stone Manor. Most of Homer Glen was built recently: 1% of its homes predate 1940 and the median home dates from 1989. Below: maps from 1890 on.
2001founded
1on the National Register
1%homes built before 1940
Quick answers
How Homer Glen began
When was Homer Glen founded?
2001
Homer Glen dates its founding to 2001 (Wikidata and Wikipedia’s history agree). Its post office opened in 1846.
2020 census: 24,54325 years
How historic is Homer Glen?
C−
What drives the grade ↓More historic than 16% of U.S. towns, on its age, its old homes and the National Register.
Founding year: Wikidata; Wikipedia’s history section gives the same year. First post office: 1846.The full story ↓
History grade
What drives Homer Glen’s History grade
On its age, its old homes and the National Register, Homer Glen is more historic than 16% of U.S. towns, #675 of 768 in Illinois. Its National Register listings hold the grade up; its age pulls it down.
C−
HistoryA character grade: shown, never part of Homer Glen’s overall grade.
Founding era2001, from Wikidata: founded 1945 or later, an older era than 2% of U.S. townsD−Homes built before 19401.3% of homes (±0.8) · typical IL town 10.6% · U.S. 8.4%DNational Register1 listing, 2 historic buildings, 0.8 per 10,000 residents · typical IL town 0.5 · U.S. 2.4B
All U.S. towns we grade (21,289)Ahead of 16%
NewerOlder
Illinois towns of 2,500+ (768)Ahead of 12%
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 Homer Glen’s 0.8 sits near the middle of its state (62% of Illinois towns have fewer) while its 2 historic buildings outnumber those of 60% of U.S. towns.
How sure. Graded on any two of the three inputs instead, the letter would range from D− to C. The pre-1940 share (±0.8 points) is firm at this size. Two sources give 2001.
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 Homer Glen’s past
Read from the archive, the National Register and the record. The page puts what stands out first.
Lost villages2 post offices opened and closed inside today’s Homer Glen, and 55 old place names are still on the map.A history waiting to be writtenNo old photos of Homer Glen are in the public archives yet. The rest are in attics and albums.On the map since 18907 editions of the USGS map, 1890 to 1993. Watch Homer Glen change.
★ What stands out · Places that used to be
Lost post offices, old corners, places now gone and burying grounds
Two other post offices opened and closed inside today’s town.
Goodings Grove
Trim Creek
18401930today
Hamlets and corners on the map
BellbrookCedar GlenChickasawCinnamon CreekCountry SquireCrystal Lake EstatesDawn WoodDeboer WoodsDerby HillsDerby MeadowsDoctor Parker PlaceErin HillsFarm View HillsFoxley AcresGolden Oak EstatesGombisGoodings GroveHadleyHeritage EstatesHidden Creek EstatesHidden ValleyHillside CourtKensingtonKing Acres
Gone or out of use
Lauffer SchoolschoolRoss SchoolschoolSolterman Schoolschool
3cemeteries and burying grounds inside Homer Glen
BrooksHadleySaint Michael Catholic
US Post Offices dataset (Blevins & Helbock, CC0). Places and cemeteries from the USGS Geographic Names Information System (2021).
Help out
Start Homer Glen’s collection
The first neighbors to add old photos shape how Homer Glen’s history is told.
Decades since 1900 with photos
00s10s20s30s40s50s60s70s80s90s
0 of 10 decades. The empty ones are waiting for someone’s album.On the map
Homer Glen on the map, 1890 to 1993
Every edition of the U.S. Geological Survey’s map of Homer Glen. Tap a year, or press play to watch the town change.
1890Des Plaines sheet · 1:62,500U.S. Geological Survey historical topographic maps (public domain), via Esri’s collection of the scans. The red ring marks the center of Homer Glen.
Timeline
Homer Glen, 1846 to 2001
Woven from the archive, old maps, post office records, the National Register and the people born here.
- 19th century
- 1846Post officeThe Goodings Grove post office opens
- 1857Post officeThe Trim Creek post office opens
- 1858Post officeThe Trim Creek post office closes
- 1890
On the mapFirst mapped by the U.S. Geological Survey - 20th century
- 1901Post officeThe Goodings Grove post office closes
- 21st century
- 2001FoundingHomer Glen is established
By decade
Homer Glen, decade by decade
2024
2023
2023
2022
2010On the National Register
1 historic place in Homer Glen
The country’s official list of buildings and places worth saving.
place listed
1
National Historic Landmarks
0
none yet
historic buildings protected
2
each building in a district counts
first listed
1980
Stone Manor
Buildings
National Park Service, National Register of Historic Places. Photos from Wikimedia Commons, credited on each place’s page.
Famous people
See all →Famous people close to Homer Glen
Nobody well known was born in Homer Glen itself, so here are the best known from just nearby.
Stories next door
History across the town line
Each neighbor’s History grade, on the same three inputs.
Questions about Homer Glen’s history
What year was Homer Glen founded?
In 2001, according to Wikidata and Wikipedia’s history of the town. Homer Glen’s post office opened in 1846.
How does Homer Glen rank for history?
Homer Glen is more historic than 16% of U.S. towns, #675 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 Homer Glen?
One place: the Stone Manor (listed 1980).
How old are the homes in Homer Glen?
1% of Homer Glen’s homes were built before 1940 (Census estimate), against a typical 11% for an Illinois town; the median home was built in 1989.
Memory lane
What the archives can’t tell you, neighbors can.
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), the National Register of Historic Places (1), Wikipedia, U.S. Geological Survey historical maps, 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.