1 of Kendall Township’s places is on the National Register
More historic than 38% of U.S. towns · #484 of 768 in Illinois. What drives it
Most of Kendall Township was built recently: 4% of its homes predate 1940 and the median home dates from 2002. Below: maps from 1925 on and the census since 2000.
On its age, its old homes and the National Register, Kendall Township is more historic than 38% of U.S. towns, #484 of 768 in Illinois. Its National Register listings hold the grade up; its share of homes from before 1940 pulls it down.
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HistoryA character grade: shown, never part of Kendall Township’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 Kendall Township’s 1.1 sits near the middle of its state (63% of Illinois towns have fewer) while its 1 listings outnumber those of 51% 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 (±2.4 points) is firm at this size.
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 Kendall Township’s past
Read from the archive, the National Register and the record. The page puts what stands out first.
US Post Offices dataset (Blevins & Helbock, CC0). Places and cemeteries from the USGS Geographic Names Information System (2021).
On the map
Kendall Township on the map, 1925 to 1993
Every edition of the U.S. Geological Survey’s map of Kendall Township. Tap a year, or press play to watch the town change.
1925Yorkville 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 Kendall Township.
The story so far
Kendall Township, in brief
Wikipedia doesn’t have a history of Kendall Township yet. The photos, dates and memories neighbors add here are how it gets written.
Kendall Township is located in Kendall County, Illinois. As of the 2020 census, its population was 8,532 and it contained 3,152 housing units. Kendall Township was named after the county, which was named after Amos Kendall, a powerful Democratic politician in the Andrew Jackson administration. Kendall later became a business partner of Samuel F.B. Morse, inventor of the Morse Code and the electric telegraph, and made his fortune with Morse. Yorkville's division amongst Bristol and Kendall Townships mirrors the fact that, until the 1950s, The City of Yorkville was situated along the south bank of the Fox River, while the Village of Bristol was situated to the north. When the communities cons…
Between the 2010 and 2020 censuses its population grew from 7,739 to 8,532 (+10%).
Intro from Wikipedia. Population: U.S. Census Bureau.
Timeline
Kendall Township, 1849 to 1925
Woven from the archive, old maps, post office records, the National Register and the people born here.
Kendall Township is more historic than 38% of U.S. towns, #484 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 Kendall Township?
4% of Kendall Township’s homes were built before 1940 (Census estimate, ±2.4 points), against a typical 11% for an Illinois town; the median home was built in 2002.
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 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) 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.
