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DHistory
History · Mundelein

Mundelein dates to 1835

More historic than 11% of U.S. towns · #720 of 768 in Illinois. What drives it

Most of Mundelein was built recently: 2% of its homes predate 1940 and the median home dates from 1985. Below: 8 old photos and papers from 1907 on and the census since 1910.

1835founded
0on the National Register
2%homes built before 1940
8old photos & papers
7famous people
Add an old photoShare a memory
From Mundelein’s archive · credits on each photo
Quick answers

How Mundelein began

When was Mundelein founded?

1835

Mundelein dates its founding to 1835 (Wikipedia’s history). The census first counted it in 1910.

First census: 358 in 19102020 census: 31,560191 years

How historic is Mundelein?

D

More historic than 11% of U.S. towns, on its age, its old homes and the National Register.

What drives the grade ↓
Founding year: Wikipedia. First post office: 1887.The full story ↓
History grade

What drives Mundelein’s History grade

On its age, its old homes and the National Register, Mundelein is more historic than 11% of U.S. towns, #720 of 768 in Illinois. Its National Register listings hold the grade up; its share of homes from before 1940 pulls it down.

D
HistoryA character grade: shown, never part of Mundelein’s overall grade.
Founding eraNo founding year we can rely on, so the grade uses the other two–Homes built before 19401.6% of homes (±0.7) · typical IL town 10.6% · U.S. 8.4%C−National RegisterNo listings counted · typical IL town 0.5 per 10,000 · U.S. 2.4C
All U.S. towns we grade (21,289)Ahead of 11%
NewerOlder
Illinois towns of 2,500+ (768)Ahead of 6%

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 Mundelein’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.

NoteThe founding year comes from Wikipedia alone; no second source gives 1835.
How sure. Graded on two of the three inputs, so a change in either one moves the letter more than it would with three. The pre-1940 share (±0.7 points) is firm at this size.

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 Mundelein’s past

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

Lost villages2 post offices opened and closed inside today’s Mundelein, and 1 old place names are still on the map.Deep rootsEstablished in 1835: 191 years of Mundelein.
★ What stands out · Places that used to be

Lost post offices, old corners, places now gone and burying grounds

Mundelein’s post office has been open since 1925. Two other post offices opened and closed inside today’s town.

Rockefeller
1887–1913
Area
1913–1925
Mundelein
1925–today
18801950today
Hamlets and corners on the map
Rockefeller
Gone or out of use
Butterfield Schoolschool
1cemetery inside Mundelein
Diamond Lake

US Post Offices dataset (Blevins & Helbock, CC0). Places and cemeteries from the USGS Geographic Names Information System (2021).

Timeline

Mundelein, 1835 to 1999

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

  1. 19th century
  2. 1835
    FoundingMundelein is established
  3. 1887Post officeThe Rockefeller post office opens
  4. 20th century
  5. 1907In the archiveBird's-eye view, Rockefeller, Ill
  6. 1913Post officeThe Rockefeller post office closes
  7. 1913Post officeThe Area post office opens
  8. 1925Post officeThe Area post office closes
  9. 1925Post officeThe Mundelein post office opens
  10. 1927In the archiveUntitled - Educational Buildings (NBY 8838)
  11. 1933In the archiveBenedictine Convent of Perpetual Adoration (NBY 5606)
  12. 1954Born hereEd Sullivan, Jr. is born here
  13. 1988Born hereCharlie Campbell is born here
  14. 1997Born hereBrienne Minor is born here
  15. 1999Born hereZaire Barnes is born here
The story

How Mundelein came to be

From Wikipedia’s history of Mundelein.

Read it all →

Native Americans of the area, such as the Potawatomi people, were trading with French trappers as early as 1650. The Potwatomi had settled on a camp on the south end of Diamond Lake. Natives lost possession of land in the area in 1836 and were forced west of the Mississippi River. Peter Shaddle was the first European settler in 1835, and built a log cabin, finally acquired by University of Saint Mary of the Lake. Shaddle sold his claim to settlers from New York.

Later settlers from England named the town "Mechanics Grove", due to the settler's occupations of millwrights, wheelwrights and carpenters. The town's first school opened in 1837 and a church the following year.

ChaptersPre-incorporationPost-incorporation

Text from Wikipedia, licensed CC BY-SA 4.0.

By decade

Mundelein, decade by decade

3 decades in the archive, from the 1900s to the 1930s. Scroll each row; tap a photo for its story.

1900s–1930s8 items
Bird's-eye view, Rockefeller, Ill1907Bird's-eye view, Rockefeller, IllUntitled - Educational Buildings (NBY 8838)1927Untitled - Educational Buildings (NBY 8838)Untitled - Educational Buildings (NBY 9245)1927Untitled - Educational Buildings (NBY 9245)Benedictine Convent of Perpetual Adoration (NBY 5606)1933Benedictine Convent of Perpetual Adoration (NBY 5606)HABS ILL,49-MUND,1- (sheet 0 of 1) - Marsh's Settlement, Schoolhouse, Route 1761933HABS ILL,49-MUND,1- (sheet 0 of 1) - Marsh's Settleme…HABS ILL,49-MUND,1- (sheet 0 of 1) - Marsh's Settlement, Schoolhouse, Route 1761933HABS ILL,49-MUND,1- (sheet 0 of 1) - Marsh's Settleme…HABS ILL,49-MUND,1- (sheet 1 of 1) - Marsh's Settlement, Schoolhouse, Route 1761933HABS ILL,49-MUND,1- (sheet 1 of 1) - Marsh's Settleme…HABS ILL,49-MUND,1- (sheet 1 of 1) - Marsh's Settlement, Schoolhouse, Route 1761933HABS ILL,49-MUND,1- (sheet 1 of 1) - Marsh's Settleme…
1940s–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
Today10 recent
Veterans Point Park2024Veterans Point ParkMundelein Village Hall2024Mundelein Village HallMundelein Post Office2024Mundelein Post OfficeMundelein Heritage Museum2024Mundelein Heritage MuseumMeadows Family Dentistry at Mundelein High School, 1174 W Maple Ave Mundelein IL 600602024Meadows Family Dentistry at Mundelein High School, 11…Fremont Public Library Illinois2024Fremont Public Library IllinoisDowntown2024DowntownSign at the intersection of Illinois Routes 60 and 83 in downtown Ivanhoe, Illinois2016Sign at the intersection of Illinois Routes 60 and 83…Mundelein, IL, USA2012Mundelein, IL, USAGreetings from Mundelein, Illinois, "St. Mary of the Lake" - Large Letter Postcard2012Greetings from Mundelein, Illinois, "St. Mary of the …Document
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.

Bird's-eye view, Rockefeller, Ill
Retake this viewBird's-eye view, Rockefeller, Ill, 1907

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

Retake this view · +15
People over time

Mundelein, census by census

05,00010,00015,00020,00025,00030,00035,00019201940196019802000202031,560

Grew from 358 people in 1910 to 31,560 in 2020, more than tenfold.

12 censuses, 1910–2020.

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

Famous people

7 famous people were born in Mundelein

Writers, athletes, leaders and more, ranked by how widely they’re known.

See all →
B
Brienne MinorAmerican tennis player · b. 1997
C
Charlie CampbellAmerican soccer player · b. 1988
Zaire BarnesAmerican football linebcaker · b. 1999
E
Ed Sullivan, Jr.American politician · b. 1954
Penny Bernard SchaberAmerican politician · b. 1953
Ryan BoruckiAmerican professional baseball pitcher · b. 1994
Help out

Finish Mundelein’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 viewBird's-eye view, Rockefeller, Ill: 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.

Long GroveIts storyCVernon HillsIts storyDLibertyville8 historic placesA−Hawthorn WoodsIts storyD−GrayslakeIts storyC−Indian CreekIts storynot graded: under 1,000 residents or part of its townFremont TownshipIts storyDLibertyville Township10 historic placesB+

Questions about Mundelein’s history

What year was Mundelein founded?

In 1835, according to Wikipedia’s history of the town. Mundelein’s post office opened in 1887, and the census of 1910 counted 358 people here.

How does Mundelein rank for history?

Mundelein is more historic than 11% of U.S. towns, #720 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 Mundelein?

2% of Mundelein’s homes were built before 1940 (Census estimate), against a typical 11% for an Illinois town; the median home was built in 1985.

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 (17), the Library of Congress (1), Wikipedia, Wikidata and Wikipedia for famous people, 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.