More historic than 10% of U.S. towns · #725 of 768 in Illinois. What drives it
Most of Loves Park was built recently: 6% of its homes predate 1940 and the median home dates from 1986. Below: maps from 1918 on and the census since 1950.
Founding year: Wikipedia. First post office: 1839.The full story ↓
History grade
What drives Loves Park’s History grade
On its age, its old homes and the National Register, Loves Park is more historic than 10% of U.S. towns, #725 of 768 in Illinois. Its share of homes from before 1940 holds the grade up; its age pulls it down.
D
HistoryA character grade: shown, never part of Loves Park’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 Loves Park’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 D− to C−. The pre-1940 share (±1.7 points) is firm at this size. Two sources give 1947.
Founding year: Wikipedia (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 Loves Park’s past
Read from the archive, the National Register and the record. The page puts what stands out first.
Malcolm Love, an industrialist in Rockford, Illinois, purchased 236 acres of land in this area in 1901 and set up a gathering place that came to be known as Love's Park. The city of Loves Park was incorporated in 1947.
When the city's economy was negatively affected by the early 1980s recession, City Hall was moved from the Grand Avenue fire station into the Marshall Middle School to save money. In 2001, Danfoss moved their plant from Rockford to Loves Park, becoming one of the town's largest employers.
In 1947, according to Wikipedia’s history of the town. Loves Park’s post office opened in 1839, and the census of 1950 counted 5,366 people here.
How does Loves Park rank for history?
Loves Park is more historic than 10% of U.S. towns, #725 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 Loves Park?
6% of Loves Park’s homes were built before 1940 (Census estimate, ±1.7 points), against a typical 11% for an Illinois town; the median home was built in 1986.
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), Wikipedia, 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.
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