More historic than 22% of U.S. towns · #610 of 768 in Illinois. What drives it
Most of Lake Villa was built recently: 5% of its homes predate 1940 and the median home dates from 1996. Below: maps from 1920 on and the census since 1910.
The Lake Villa post office opened in 1886, the earliest record of the town by name. Wikidata gives 1901. Another post office, Angola (1847), opened inside today’s town and later closed.
First census: 342 in 19102020 census: 8,741140 years
How historic is Lake Villa?
C−
More historic than 22% of U.S. towns, on its age, its old homes and the National Register.
Founding year: the first Lake Villa post office (Blevins & Helbock, CC0). Wikidata: 1901.
History grade
What drives Lake Villa’s History grade
On its age, its old homes and the National Register, Lake Villa is more historic than 22% of U.S. towns, #610 of 768 in Illinois. Its age holds the grade up; its National Register listings pull it down.
C−
HistoryA character grade: shown, never part of Lake Villa’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 Lake Villa’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 any two of the three inputs instead, the letter would range from C− to C. The pre-1940 share is a Census survey estimate (±3.6 points). The founding year is the first post office, not a stated founding date; Wikidata gives 1901.
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 Villa’s past
Read from the archive, the National Register and the record. The page puts what stands out first.
Every edition of the U.S. Geological Survey’s map of Lake Villa. Tap a year, or press play to watch the town change.
1920Grays Lake 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 Villa.
The story so far
Lake Villa, in brief
Wikipedia doesn’t have a history of Lake Villa yet. The photos, dates and memories neighbors add here are how it gets written.
Lake Villa is a village in Lake County, Illinois United States. Per the 2020 census, the population was 8,741. Lake Villa lies within Lake Villa Township and about 50 miles north of Chicago and is part of the United States Census Bureau's Chicago combined statistical area (CSA).
Its first post office opened in 1886. Its population held steady between the last two censuses: 8,741 in 2010, 8,741 in 2020.
Intro from Wikipedia. Population: U.S. Census Bureau.
Timeline
Lake Villa, 1847 to 1996
Woven from the archive, old maps, post office records, the National Register and the people born here.
The Lake Villa post office opened in 1886, the earliest record of the town by name (U.S. post office records). Wikidata gives 1901.
How does Lake Villa rank for history?
Lake Villa is more historic than 22% of U.S. towns, #610 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 Lake Villa?
5% of Lake Villa’s homes were built before 1940 (Census estimate, ±3.6 points), against a typical 11% for an Illinois town; the median home was built in 1996.
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.
