Each edition grades its towns against each other only.
More historic than 17% of U.S. towns · #663 of 768 in Illinois. What drives it
Most of Minooka was built recently: 2% of its homes predate 1940 and the median home dates from 2003. Below: 8 old photos and papers, maps from 1892 on, and the census since 1880.
Minooka dates its founding to 1852 (Wikipedia’s history). The census first counted it in 1880.
More historic than 17% of U.S. towns, on its age, its old homes and the National Register.
On its age, its old homes and the National Register, Minooka is more historic than 17% of U.S. towns, #663 of 768 in Illinois. Its age holds the grade up; its share of homes from before 1940 pulls it down.
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 Minooka’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.
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 →
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 Minooka. Tap a year, or press play to watch the town change.
U.S. Geological Survey historical topographic maps (public domain), via Esri’s collection of the scans. The red ring marks the center of Minooka.
Fire insurance maps drew every building, what it was made of and what it was used for, so insurers could price the risk of fire. Pick a year, then a sheet.
1893Sheet 1 of 1Sanborn Map Company, via the Library of Congress. Editions published in 1930 or earlier, which are in the public domain.
From Wikipedia’s history of Minooka.
Minooka was established as a place in 1852 when the railroad was built through this area. It was incorporated as a village in 1869. The name "Minooka" is derived from a Native American word meaning "maple forest" or "good earth".
The Chicago, Rock Island and Pacific Railroad served the town at Minooka Station.
Text from Wikipedia, licensed CC BY-SA 4.0.
Passages that mention Minooka, cut from the printed page as they were published.
E. N. WEES, blacksmith, Minooka. Among the representative business men of the town of Minooka, and who were among the first to become established in business here, is E.
Text read by machine from the scan; it may contain errors.
E. N. WEES, blacksmith, Minooka. Among the representative business men of the town of Minooka, and who were among the first to become established in business here, is E.
Text read by machine from the scan; it may contain errors.![ocratic ticket. At present lie is president of the Farmers First National Bank of Minooka, having held that oflice since the organization of the hank. lie also holds stock in the Minooka Grain and Lunther & Supply Company of Minooka, and is one of the substantia] men of ins part of the county.](https://images.townratings.com/story/4380/bk-8ff6ebab8eca9b76-l.jpg)
ocratic ticket. At present lie is president of the Farmers First National Bank of Minooka, having held that oflice since the organization of the hank. lie also holds stock in the Minooka Grain and Lunther & Supply Company of Minooka, and is one of the substantia] men of ins part of the county.
Text read by machine from the scan; it may contain errors.
in Kendall Count3-, 111., in 1848, continuing in this till about 1865; then sold his farm and engaged in the agricultural implement business at Minooka, Grundy County, where he carried on a very large trade in this line for quite a number of years. He came from Minooka to Morris in the fall of 1870, and resumed the agricultural business, and is running the lead-
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.
Woven from the archive, old maps, post office records, the National Register and the people born here.
On the mapFirst mapped by the U.S. Geological Survey
In the archiveVIEW OF EAST FACADE - Rutherford Barn, East Hansel Road
In the archiveCRI&P 621 (Alco DL109) with wayfreight west of Minooka, IL on January 18, 1967
In the archiveIllinois Traction System Minooka Passenger Station3 decades in the archive, from the 1930s to the 1980s. Scroll each row; tap a photo for its story.
No then-and-now pairs yet. Take a photo from the same spot as an old one and they appear here side by side.
Find the spot, match the angle, and add your photo. It becomes the first then-and-now pair on Minooka’s page.
Retake this view · +15Grew from 416 people in 1880 to 12,758 in 2020, more than tenfold.
15 censuses, 1880–2020.
U.S. Census Bureau decennial counts, from the census table on Minooka’s Wikipedia page.
Minooka’s post office has been open since 1854.
US Post Offices dataset (Blevins & Helbock, CC0). Places and cemeteries from the USGS Geographic Names Information System (2021).
Most archives stop around 1920. The photos from after that are in family albums, not libraries.
Each neighbor’s History grade, on the same three inputs.
In 1852, according to Wikipedia’s history of the town. Minooka’s post office opened in 1854, and the census of 1880 counted 416 people here.
Minooka is more historic than 17% of U.S. towns, #663 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.
2% of Minooka’s homes were built before 1940 (Census estimate, ±2.6 points), against a typical 11% for an Illinois town; the median home was built in 2003.
What the archives can’t tell you, neighbors can.
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 (12), Wikipedia, 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), the USGS Geographic Names Information System, Sanborn fire insurance maps (Library of Congress) 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.
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1933
1968
2025
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