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BHistory
History · Lake Bluff

Lake Bluff’s post office opened in 1882, and 5 of its places are on the National Register

More historic than 55% of U.S. towns · #364 of 768 in Illinois. What drives it

Most of Lake Bluff was built recently: 7% of its homes predate 1940 and the median home dates from 1980. 5 places in town are on the National Register, among them a historic district with 6 buildings. Below: maps from 1906 on and the census since 1900.

1882first post office
5on the National Register
7%homes built before 1940
3famous people
Add an old photoShare a memory
Quick answers

How Lake Bluff began

When was Lake Bluff founded?

1882

The Lake Bluff post office opened in 1882, the earliest record of the town by name. Wikidata gives 1895. Another post office, Lake Bluffs (1882), opened inside today’s town and later closed.

First census: 490 in 19002020 census: 5,616144 years

How historic is Lake Bluff?

B

More historic than 55% of U.S. towns, on its age, its old homes and the National Register.

What drives the grade ↓
Founding year: the first Lake Bluff post office (Blevins & Helbock, CC0). Wikidata: 1895.The full story ↓
History grade

What drives Lake Bluff’s History grade

On its age, its old homes and the National Register, Lake Bluff is more historic than 55% of U.S. towns, #364 of 768 in Illinois. Its National Register listings hold the grade up; its age pulls it down.

B
HistoryA character grade: shown, never part of Lake Bluff’s overall grade.
Founding era1882, from the first post office: founded 1850–1899, an older era than 37% of U.S. townsC+Homes built before 19407.0% of homes (±2.3) · typical IL town 10.6% · U.S. 8.4%C+National Register5 listings, 17 historic buildings, 28.1 per 10,000 residents · typical IL town 0.5 · U.S. 2.4A−
All U.S. towns we grade (21,289)Ahead of 55%
NewerOlder
Illinois towns of 2,500+ (768)Ahead of 53%

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 Lake Bluff’s 28.1 sits above most of its state (89% of Illinois towns have fewer) while its 17 historic buildings outnumber those of 79% of U.S. towns.

How sure. Graded on any two of the three inputs instead, the letter would range from C to B+. The pre-1940 share (±2.3 points) is firm at this size. The founding year is the first post office, not a stated founding date; Wikidata’s 1895 falls in the same era, so the grade doesn’t depend on which one is used.

Founding year: the first post office (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 Lake Bluff’s 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 Lake Bluff are in the public archives yet. The rest are in attics and albums.On the map since 19065 editions of the USGS map, 1906 to 1993. Watch Lake Bluff change.Landmarks on the Register5 places on the National Register.
★ What stands out · Help out

Start Lake Bluff’s collection

The first neighbors to add old photos shape how Lake Bluff’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
On the map

Lake Bluff on the map, 1906 to 1993

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

Lake Bluff on the 1906 USGS mapLake Bluff on the 1960 USGS mapLake Bluff on the 1972 USGS mapLake Bluff on the 1980 USGS mapLake Bluff on the 1993 USGS map1906Waukegan 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 Lake Bluff.

On the National Register

5 listings protect 17 historic buildings

The country’s official list of buildings and places worth saving.

places listed
5
National Historic Landmarks
0
none yet
historic buildings protected
17
each building in a district counts
first listed
1984
Lester Armour House
Lester Armour HouseMrs. C. Morse Ely House, built 1923John Griffith Store Building, built 1926Lake Bluff Uptown Commercial Historic DistrictWilliam McCormick Blair Estate, built 1926
BuildingsDistricts

Architectural styles listings

Colonial Revival3
French Renaissance1
Tudor Revival1
Prairie School1
Late Victorian1
Lester Armour HouseBuilding
Mrs. C. Morse Ely HouseFrench Renaissance · Built 1923
John Griffith Store BuildingColonial Revival · Built 1926
Lake Bluff Uptown Commercial Historic DistrictColonial Revival
William McCormick Blair EstateColonial Revival · Built 1926

National Park Service, National Register of Historic Places. Photos from Wikimedia Commons, credited on each place’s page.

The story

How Lake Bluff came to be

From Wikipedia’s history of Lake Bluff.

Read it all →

The first non-native settler family to claim land within the area now part of Lake Bluff arrived in 1836. John and Catherine Cloes claimed 100 acres of land extending from the lake west to the Green Bay Trail. In 1849, a few residents left to seek their fortune in the California gold rush. In 1837, William and Mary Dwyer claimed the land just north of the former Central School. They opened and operated a stage coach stop and tavern along the Green Bay Trail. Some of the other early settlers were Henry and Angeline Ostrander, James Cole and William Whitnell.

Text from Wikipedia, licensed CC BY-SA 4.0.

From the old history books

What they wrote about Lake Bluff in 1877

Passages that mention Lake Bluff, cut from the printed page as they were published.

Lake Bluff, otherwise known as the Lake Bluff Camp Meeting enterprise, is situated in this township, on Lake Michigan, a short distance north of Lake Forest, east of Rockland Station, on the Northwestern Railroad. A plat of this place was laid out and completed February 24, 1877.
The past and present of Lake County, Illinois, containing a history of the county ... a biographical directory ... war record ... early settlers ... statistics ... history of Illinois ... the Northwest ... etc., etc ..1877 · page 311Read the page →
Read the text

Lake Bluff, otherwise known as the Lake Bluff Camp Meeting enterprise, is situated in this township, on Lake Michigan, a short distance north of Lake Forest, east of Rockland Station, on the Northwestern Railroad. A plat of this place was laid out and completed February 24, 1877.

Text read by machine from the scan; it may contain errors.

Scans and text from the Internet Archive. Books published in 1930 or earlier, which are in the public domain.

Timeline

Lake Bluff, 1882 to 1931

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

  1. 19th century
  2. 1882Post officeThe Lake Bluff post office opens
  3. 1882Post officeThe Lake Bluffs post office opens
  4. 1882Post officeThe Lake Bluffs post office closes
  5. 20th century
  6. 1906On the mapFirst mapped by the U.S. Geological Survey
  7. 1910Born hereMartha Sleeper is born here
  8. 1915Born hereWilliam Vanderkloot is born here
  9. 1923BuiltMrs. C. Morse Ely House is built
  10. 1926BuiltJohn Griffith Store Building is built
  11. 1926BuiltWilliam McCormick Blair Estate is built
  12. 1931Born hereBay Darnell is born here
By decade

Lake Bluff, decade by decade

Today9 recent
IL 131 north at its southern terminus at IL 176 - Lake Bluff, IL - July 20262026IL 131 north at its southern terminus at IL 176 - Lak…5 MPH sharp left curve sign - Knollwood-Lake Bluff, IL - July 202620265 MPH sharp left curve sign - Knollwood-Lake Bluff, I…Roadwork on Scranton Ave - July 20252025Roadwork on Scranton Ave - July 2025McClory Bike Path and Sheridan Rd south at connector to IL 176 - Lake Bluff, IL - July 20252025McClory Bike Path and Sheridan Rd south at connector …Junction between Robert McClory and North Shore bike paths - Lake Bluff, IL - July 20252025Junction between Robert McClory and North Shore bike …Sugar Maple in Ravine2016Sugar Maple in RavineAmerican linden in ravine2016American linden in ravineLester Armour House2014Lester Armour HouseCar 553 at2012Car 553 at
Every building

Lake Bluff, building by building, 1928

Fire insurance maps drew every building, what it was made of and what it was used for, so insurers could price the risk of fire. Pick a sheet.

Lake Bluff fire insurance map, 1928, sheet 11928Sheet 1 of 3
BrickWoodStone

Sanborn Map Company, via the Library of Congress. Editions published in 1930 or earlier, which are in the public domain.

People over time

Lake Bluff, census by census

05001,0001,5002,0002,5003,0003,5004,0004,5005,0005,5006,0006,5001900192019401960198020002020Peak: 6,056

Between 490 and 6,056 people in every census since 1900.

13 censuses, 1900–2020.

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

Famous people

3 famous people were born in Lake Bluff

Writers, athletes, leaders and more, ranked by how widely they’re known.

See all →
Martha SleeperActress · b. 1910
B
Bay DarnellAmerican stock car and open-wheel racing driver · b. 1931
W
William VanderklootAmerican aviator · b. 1915
Places that used to be

Lost post offices and places now gone

Lake Bluff’s post office has been open since 1882. Another post office, Lake Bluffs, opened and closed inside today’s town.

Lake Bluff
1882–today
Lake Bluffs
1882–1882
18801950today
Gone or out of use
Lake Bluff Post Officepost officeOur Lady of the Forest Schoolschool

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.

Shields Township25 historic placesAKnollwoodIts storyD−North Chicago3 historic placesB+Lake Forest20 historic placesA−Libertyville Township10 historic placesB+

Questions about Lake Bluff’s history

What year was Lake Bluff founded?

The Lake Bluff post office opened in 1882, the earliest record of the town by name (U.S. post office records). Wikidata gives 1895.

How does Lake Bluff rank for history?

Lake Bluff is more historic than 55% of U.S. towns, #364 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 Lake Bluff?

5 listings: 4 buildings, among them the Lester Armour House (listed 1984, the first), and 1 historic district, the Lake Bluff Uptown Commercial Historic District, with 6 contributing buildings. 17 historic buildings in all.

How old are the homes in Lake Bluff?

7% of Lake Bluff’s homes were built before 1940 (Census estimate, ±2.3 points), against a typical 11% for an Illinois town; the median home was built in 1980.

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 (9), Wikidata (3), the National Register of Historic Places (5), Wikipedia, 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), the USGS Geographic Names Information System, Sanborn fire insurance maps (Library of Congress) and old county and town histories (Internet Archive). Archive images are copied here with their credits and licenses, shown on each photo’s page. Refreshed monthly.