Founding year: Wikidata. First post office: 1839.The full story ↓
History grade
What drives Kingston Township’s History grade
On its age, its old homes and the National Register, Kingston Township is more historic than 34% of U.S. towns, #516 of 768 in Illinois. Its share of homes from before 1940 holds the grade up; its National Register listings pull it down.
C
HistoryA character grade: shown, never part of Kingston 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 Kingston Township’s 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 (±5.4 points). Two sources give 1835.
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 Kingston Township’s past
Read from the archive, the National Register and the record. The page puts what stands out first.
Prior to the arrival of white settlers to the region, the land that would become the Village of Kingston was once home to the Potawatomi tribe. The Potawatomi in this area lived and built their communities on the fertile land surrounding the Kishwaukee River. The United States Government forcibly removed the Potawatomi from the land, moving them westward in 1835, and pioneers quickly occupied the territory. The first settlers to arrive in Kingston would come using a trail made by General Winfield Scott and his army during the Black Hawk War. The establishment of Kingston in 1835 makes it one of the first settled townships in DeKalb County, Illinois. The post office was established in 1837 with Levi Lee as postmaster.
Every edition of the U.S. Geological Survey’s map of Kingston Township. Tap a year, or press play to watch the town change.
1918Kirkland 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 Kingston Township.
People over time
Kingston Township, census by census
Between 138 and 1,164 people in every census since 1880.
15 censuses, 1880–2020.
U.S. Census Bureau decennial counts, from the census table on Kingston Township’s Wikipedia page.
Famous people
Famous people close to Kingston Township
Nobody well known was born in Kingston Township itself, so here are the best known from just nearby.
In 1835, according to Wikidata. Kingston Township’s post office opened in 1839, and the census of 1880 counted 138 people here.
How does Kingston Township rank for history?
Kingston Township is more historic than 34% of U.S. towns, #516 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 Kingston Township?
13% of Kingston Township’s homes were built before 1940 (Census estimate, ±5.4 points), against a typical 11% for an Illinois town; the median home was built in 1994.
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, 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.
