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History · Lake Carroll

Half of Lake Carroll’s homes were built after 1998

Most of Lake Carroll was built recently: 0.0% of its homes predate 1940 and the median home dates from 1998. Below: maps from 1942 on.

0on the National Register
0.0%homes built before 1940
Add an old photoShare a memory

What stands out about Lake Carroll’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 Carroll are in the public archives yet. The rest are in attics and albums.
★ What stands out · Help out

Start Lake Carroll’s collection

The first neighbors to add old photos shape how Lake Carroll’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
The story so far

Lake Carroll, in brief

Wikipedia doesn’t have a history of Lake Carroll yet. The photos, dates and memories neighbors add here are how it gets written.

Lake Carroll is a census-designated place (CDP) in Carroll County, Illinois, United States, surrounding a lake of the same name. It is in northeastern Carroll County and is bordered to the north by Stephenson County. It is 10 miles (16 km) northeast of Mount Carroll, the county seat, and 20 miles (32 km) southwest of Freeport. Lake Carroll was first listed as a CDP prior to the 2020 census. As of the 2020 census, the population was 852.

Intro from Wikipedia. Population: U.S. Census Bureau.

By decade

No old photos in the archives yet

Weddings on Main Street, storms, parades, school pictures, the old store. If it’s in your family album, it belongs here.

Be the first to add onePhotograph a print flat, in daylight, no flash.
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On the map

Lake Carroll on the map, 1942 to 1985

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

Lake Carroll on the 1942 USGS mapLake Carroll on the 1985 USGS map1942Mt Carroll 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 Carroll.

Famous people

Famous people close to Lake Carroll

Nobody well known was born in Lake Carroll itself, so here are the best known from just nearby.

See all →
Calista FlockhartAmerican actress · b. 1964
Louella ParsonsAmerican gossip columnist · b. 1881
George Kingsley ZipfAmerican statistician · b. 1902
Alfred A. CohnAmerican screenwriter · b. 1880
Carl CainAmerican basketball player · b. 1934
Edmund HellerAmerican zoologist · b. 1875
Stories next door

History across the town line

Each neighbor’s History grade, on the same three inputs.

Cherry Grove-Shannon TownshipIts storyBFreedom TownshipIts storynot graded: under 1,000 residents or part of its townJefferson TownshipIts storynot graded: under 1,000 residents or part of its town

Questions about Lake Carroll’s history

Memory lane

What the archives can’t tell you, neighbors can.

Town Square →
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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). How TownRatings grades history →

From U.S. Geological Survey historical maps. Archive images are copied here with their credits and licenses, shown on each photo’s page. Refreshed monthly.