The Limestone Township post office opened in 1848, the earliest record of the town by name. Wikidata gives 2006. Two smaller post offices, Hawkins (1882) and Greenwich (1899), opened inside today’s town and later closed.
2020 census: 5,057178 years
How historic is Limestone Township?
C+
More historic than 38% of U.S. towns, on its age, its old homes and the National Register.
Founding year: the first Limestone Township post office (Blevins & Helbock, CC0). Wikidata: 2006.
History grade
What drives Limestone Township’s History grade
On its age, its old homes and the National Register, Limestone Township is more historic than 38% of U.S. towns, #478 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 Limestone 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 Limestone 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 any two of the three inputs instead, the letter would range from C− to B−. The pre-1940 share (±2.7 points) is firm at this size. The founding year is the first post office, not a stated founding date; Wikidata gives 2006.
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 Limestone Township’s past
Read from the archive, the National Register and the record. The page puts what stands out first.
2cemeteries and burying grounds inside Limestone Township
LimestoneShreffler
US Post Offices dataset (Blevins & Helbock, CC0). Places and cemeteries from the USGS Geographic Names Information System (2021).
On the map
Limestone Township on the map, 1922 to 1973
Every edition of the U.S. Geological Survey’s map of Limestone Township. Tap a year, or press play to watch the town change.
1922Kankakee 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 Limestone Township.
The story so far
Limestone Township, in brief
Wikipedia doesn’t have a history of Limestone Township yet. The photos, dates and memories neighbors add here are how it gets written.
Limestone is a village in Limestone Township, Kankakee County, Illinois, United States. It was incorporated in 2006 and had a population of 1,558 at the 2020 census. The village is part of the Kankakee–Bradley Metropolitan Statistical Area, which comprises all of Kankakee County.
Its first post office opened in 1848. Its population held steady between the last two censuses: 5,035 in 2010, 5,057 in 2020.
Intro from Wikipedia. Population: U.S. Census Bureau.
Timeline
Limestone Township, 1882 to 1922
Woven from the archive, old maps, post office records, the National Register and the people born here.
The Limestone Township post office opened in 1848, the earliest record of the town by name (U.S. post office records). Wikidata gives 2006.
How does Limestone Township rank for history?
Limestone Township is more historic than 38% of U.S. towns, #478 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 Limestone Township?
4% of Limestone 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 1976.
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 U.S. Geological Survey historical maps, 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.
