Guest, Sign inJoin

Post to Lemont Township

We’ll email a one-tap link to publish your post. No password, and nothing is public until you click it.
Already a member? Sign in
A−History
History · Lemont Township

Lemont Township dates to 1836, and 4 of its places are on the National Register

More historic than 77% of U.S. towns · #204 of 768 in Illinois. What drives it

Most of Lemont Township was built recently: 7% of its homes predate 1940 and the median home dates from 1993. Below: 5 old photos and papers, maps from 1890 on, and the census since 1880.

1836founded
4on the National Register
7%homes built before 1940
5old photos & papers
Add an old photoShare a memory
From Lemont Township’s archive · credits on each photo
Quick answers

How Lemont Township began

When was Lemont Township founded?

1836

Lemont Township dates its founding to 1836 (Wikidata). The census first counted it in 1880.

First census: 2,108 in 18802020 census: 22,645190 years

How historic is Lemont Township?

A−

More historic than 77% of U.S. towns, on its age, its old homes and the National Register.

What drives the grade ↓
Founding year: Wikidata. First post office: 1840.The full story ↓
History grade

What drives Lemont Township’s History grade

On its age, its old homes and the National Register, Lemont Township is more historic than 77% of U.S. towns, #204 of 768 in Illinois. Its National Register listings hold the grade up; its share of homes from before 1940 pulls it down.

A−
HistoryA character grade: shown, never part of Lemont Township’s overall grade.
Founding era1836, from Wikidata: founded 1776–1849, an older era than 75% of U.S. townsA−Homes built before 19406.5% of homes (±2.7) · typical IL town 10.6% · U.S. 8.4%C+National Register4 listings, 57 historic buildings, 25.3 per 10,000 residents · typical IL town 0.5 · U.S. 2.4A
All U.S. towns we grade (21,289)Ahead of 77%
NewerOlder
Illinois towns of 2,500+ (768)Ahead of 74%

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 Lemont Township’s 25.3 sits above most of its state (88% of Illinois towns have fewer) while its 57 historic buildings outnumber those of 86% of U.S. towns.

How sure. Graded on any two of the three inputs instead, the letter would range from B− to A. The pre-1940 share (±2.7 points) is firm at this size. Two sources give 1836.

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 Lemont Township’s past

Read from the archive, the National Register and the record. The page puts what stands out first.

On the map since 18907 editions of the USGS map, 1890 to 1993. Watch Lemont Township change.Lost villages11 hamlets and corners are still on the map.Deep rootsEstablished in 1836: 190 years of Lemont Township.Landmarks on the Register4 places on the National Register.
★ What stands out · On the map

Lemont Township on the map, 1890 to 1993

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

Lemont Township on the 1890 USGS mapLemont Township on the 1900 USGS mapLemont Township on the 1928 USGS mapLemont Township on the 1953 USGS mapLemont Township on the 1963 USGS mapLemont Township on the 1973 USGS mapLemont Township on the 1993 USGS map1890Des Plaines 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 Lemont Township.

Places that used to be

Old corners, places now gone and burying grounds

Old hamlets and crossroads still carry their names on the map.

Hamlets and corners on the map
Big Run AcresCache LakeCreekwoodEmerald AcresEquestrian EstatesEquestrian WoodsFox Chase EstatesFox HillsMaple Leaf EstatesMoorefield EstatesSylvan Woods
Gone or out of use
Brackin Schoolschool
1cemetery inside Lemont Township
Mount Vernon Memorial Park

Places and cemeteries from the USGS Geographic Names Information System (2021).

Timeline

Lemont Township, 1836 to 1943

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

  1. 19th century
  2. 1836
    FoundingLemont Township is established
  3. 1853BuiltSt. James Catholic Church and Cemetery is built
  4. 1890On the mapFirst mapped by the U.S. Geological Survey
  5. 20th century
  6. 1900In the archiveView from picnic grounds
  7. 1934In the archiveMeet me at Cog-Hill, The World's Finest Public Golf Courses, Pay as you Play (NBY 10286)
  8. 1943In the archiveLemont, Illinois. Crossing the drainage canal along the Atchison, Topeka, and Santa Fe Ra…
The story

How Lemont Township came to be

From Wikipedia’s history of Lemont Township.

Read it all →

Before European settlers arrived in Lemont, Native Americans traveled the Des Plaines River in birch bark canoes on trading trips between the Mississippi River and Lake Michigan. The native Potawatomi lived off the land in this area, directly using natural resources for food, shelter, clothing and medicine. In the 18th century, French voyageurs traveled down the Des Plaines River, trading Native Americans metal, beads and cloth for animal furs.

ChaptersTornadoes

Text from Wikipedia, licensed CC BY-SA 4.0.

From the old history books

What they wrote about Lemont Township in 1884

Passages that mention Lemont Township, cut from the printed page as they were published.

The town of Palos is situated in the southwestern portion of the county, und is bounded on the north by Lyons, on the east by Worth, on the south by Orland, (in the west by Lemont Township and Downer's drove, in 1 hi Page County. In size it is an exact congressional township, antl is traversed by t…
History of Cook County, Illinois. From the earliest period to the present time1884 · page 822Read the page →
Read the text

The town of Palos is situated in the southwestern portion of the county, und is bounded on the north by Lyons, on the east by Worth, on the south by Orland, (in the west by Lemont Township and Downer's drove, in 1 hi Page County. In size it is an exact congressional township, antl is traversed by the Illinois & Michigan Canal and by the Wabash, St. Louis Jv. Pacific Railroad.

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.

By decade

Lemont Township, decade by decade

3 decades in the archive, from the 1900s to the 1940s. Scroll each row; tap a photo for its story.

1900s–1940s5 items
View from picnic grounds1900View from picnic groundsPicnic grounds at Lemont, Ill's1900Picnic grounds at Lemont, Ill'sStation [of the Chicago and Alton Railroad] at Lemont, Ill1900Station [of the Chicago and Alton Railroad] at Lemont…Meet me at Cog-Hill, The World's Finest Public Golf Courses, Pay as you Play (NBY 10286)1934Meet me at Cog-Hill, The World's Finest Public Golf C…Lemont, Illinois. Crossing the drainage canal along the Atchison, Topeka, and Santa Fe Railroad between Chicago, and Ch…1943Lemont, Illinois. Crossing the drainage canal along t…
1950s–1990snothing yet
Nothing in the archives for these yearsWeddings on Main Street, storms, parades, school pictures, the old store. If it’s in your family album, it belongs here.
Add from your album
Today12 recent
Lemont, IL, USA - panoramio (18)2016Lemont, IL, USA - panoramio (18)Lemont, IL, USA - panoramio (17)2016Lemont, IL, USA - panoramio (17)Lemont, IL, USA - panoramio (16)2016Lemont, IL, USA - panoramio (16)Lemont, IL, USA - panoramio (15)2016Lemont, IL, USA - panoramio (15)Lemont, IL, USA - panoramio (14)2016Lemont, IL, USA - panoramio (14)Lemont, IL, USA - panoramio (13)2016Lemont, IL, USA - panoramio (13)Lemont, IL, USA - panoramio (12)2016Lemont, IL, USA - panoramio (12)Lemont, IL, USA - panoramio (11)2016Lemont, IL, USA - panoramio (11)Lemont, IL, USA - panoramio (10)2016Lemont, IL, USA - panoramio (10)Lemont, IL, USA - panoramio (1)2016Lemont, IL, USA - panoramio (1)Employees Arrive at the Lab in ANL's Van Pool2014Employees Arrive at the Lab in ANL's Van PoolBeautiful Coyote2013Beautiful Coyote
Then & now

Stand where they stood

No then-and-now pairs yet. Take a photo from the same spot as an old one and they appear here side by side.

View from picnic grounds
Retake this viewView from picnic grounds, 1900

Find the spot, match the angle, and add your photo. It becomes the first then-and-now pair on Lemont Township’s page.

Retake this view · +15
On the National Register

4 listings protect 57 historic buildings

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

places listed
4
National Historic Landmarks
0
none yet
historic buildings protected
57
each building in a district counts
first listed
1984
St. James Catholic Church and Cemetery
St. James Catholic Church and Cemetery, built 1853
Sites
St. James Catholic Church and CemeteryBuilt 1853

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

People over time

Lemont Township, census by census

02,0004,0006,0008,00010,00012,00014,00016,00018,0001880190019201940196019802000202017,629

Grew from 2,108 people in 1880 to 17,629 in 2020, 8 times over.

14 censuses, 1880–2020.

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

Help out

Finish Lemont Township’s story

Most archives stop around 1920. The photos from after that are in family albums, not libraries.

Decades since 1900 with photos
00s10s20s30s40s50s60s70s80s90s
3 of 10 decades. The empty ones are waiting for someone’s album.
Retake an old viewView from picnic grounds: stand where they stood+15Share a family photoSign in to add one+10
Stories next door

History across the town line

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

Downers Grove Township11 historic placesA−Palos Township1 historic placeCWillow SpringsIts storyCHomer Township1 historic placeCHomer Glen1 historic placeC−Lemont3 historic placesA−WoodridgeIts storyD−Palos ParkIts storyC−

Questions about Lemont Township’s history

What year was Lemont Township founded?

In 1836, according to Wikidata. Lemont Township’s post office opened in 1840, and the census of 1880 counted 2,108 people here.

How does Lemont Township rank for history?

Lemont Township is more historic than 77% of U.S. towns, #204 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 Lemont Township?

4 listings: 1 site. 57 historic buildings in all.

How old are the homes in Lemont Township?

7% of Lemont Township’s homes were built before 1940 (Census estimate, ±2.7 points), against a typical 11% for an Illinois town; the median home was built in 1993.

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 (13), the Library of Congress (4), Wikidata (1), the National Register of Historic Places (1), Wikipedia, U.S. Geological Survey historical maps, U.S. Census counts (via Wikipedia), the USGS Geographic Names Information System 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.