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History · Mettawa

Mettawa dates to 1960, and 16% of its homes were built before 1940

2 places in town are on the National Register, among them the Adlai E. Stevenson II Farm, a National Historic Landmark, and a historic district with 2 buildings. 2 places in town are on the National Register, among them the Adlai E. Stevenson II Farm, a National Historic Landmark, and a historic district with 2 buildings. Below: maps from 1900 on and the census since 1960.

1960founded
2on the National Register
16%homes built before 1940
Add an old photoShare a memory
Quick answers

How Mettawa began

When was Mettawa founded?

1960

Mettawa dates its founding to 1960 (Wikidata). The census first counted it in 1960.

First census: 126 in 19602020 census: 53366 years
Founding year: Wikidata.The full story ↓

What stands out about Mettawa’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 Mettawa are in the public archives yet. The rest are in attics and albums.On the map since 19007 editions of the USGS map, 1900 to 1993. Watch Mettawa change.A National Historic Landmark2 places on the National Register, including Adlai E. Stevenson II Farm, a National Historic Landmark.
★ What stands out · Help out

Start Mettawa’s collection

The first neighbors to add old photos shape how Mettawa’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
On the map

Mettawa on the map, 1900 to 1993

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

Mettawa on the 1900 USGS mapMettawa on the 1928 USGS mapMettawa on the 1953 USGS mapMettawa on the 1963 USGS mapMettawa on the 1972 USGS mapMettawa on the 1980 USGS mapMettawa on the 1993 USGS map1900Highwood 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 Mettawa.

On the National Register

2 historic places in Mettawa

The country’s official list of buildings and places worth saving. One is a National Historic Landmark, the highest tier.

places listed
2
National Historic Landmark
1
Adlai E. Stevenson II Farm
historic buildings protected
3
each building in a district counts
first listed
1982
Lloyd Lewis House
Lloyd Lewis HouseAdlai E. Stevenson II Farm★
BuildingsDistricts★ landmark

Architectural styles listings

International Style1
Moderne1
Usonian House1
★ Landmark
Adlai E. Stevenson II FarmInternational Style
Lloyd Lewis HouseUsonian House

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

The story

How Mettawa came to be

From Wikipedia’s history of Mettawa.

Read it all →

The name of the town derived from Potawatomi chief Mettaywah, who lived in the area before signing the 1833 Treaty of Chicago and being displaced to Kansas. The traveler Colbee reported visiting the chief's village near the Des Plaines River and eating pork, cakes fried in pork fat, and a corn and bean dish. Many Potawatomi returned to Illinois annually until the end of the nineteenth century to visit their burial grounds.

ChaptersConservation and recreationCommercial developmentResidential development

Text from Wikipedia, licensed CC BY-SA 4.0.

Timeline

Mettawa, 1900 to 2014

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

  1. 20th century
  2. 1900On the mapFirst mapped by the U.S. Geological Survey
  3. 1960
    FoundingMettawa is established
  4. 21st century
  5. 2014LandmarkAdlai E. Stevenson II Farm named a National Historic Landmark
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.
Add from your album
People over time

Mettawa, census by census

01002003004005006001960198020002020Peak: 547

Between 126 and 547 people in every census since 1960.

7 censuses, 1960–2020.

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

Famous people

Famous people close to Mettawa

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

See all →
A
Aaron SwartzAmerican computer programmer and internet-polit… · b. 1986
Alex BorsteinAmerican actress · b. 1971
Grace SlickAmerican musician, writer and painter · b. 1939
J
John Francis DaleyAmerican actor and director · b. 1985
Edward WestonAmerican photographer · b. 1886
Bill CassidyAmerican physician and politician · b. 1957
Places that used to be

Places now gone

Gone or out of use
Bradley SchoolschoolSaint Marys Academyschool

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

Stories next door

History across the town line

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

Libertyville8 historic placesA−Lake Forest20 historic placesA−Vernon HillsIts storyDGreen OaksIts storyC

Questions about Mettawa’s history

What year was Mettawa founded?

In 1960, according to Wikidata. the census of 1960 counted 126 people here.

What is on the National Register in Mettawa?

Two places: the Adlai E. Stevenson II Farm (listed 2003) and the Lloyd Lewis House (1982).

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). How TownRatings grades history →

From the National Register of Historic Places (2), Wikipedia, U.S. Geological Survey historical maps, U.S. Census counts (via Wikipedia) 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.