Founding year: the first New Trier Township post office (Blevins & Helbock, CC0).The full story ↓
History grade
What drives New Trier Township’s History grade
On its age, its old homes and the National Register, New Trier Township is more historic than 87% of U.S. towns, #111 of 768 in Illinois. Its National Register listings hold the grade up; its age pulls it down.
A
HistoryA character grade: shown, never part of New Trier 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 New Trier Township’s 178 sits above most of its state (96% of Illinois towns have fewer) while its 997 historic buildings outnumber those of 99% of U.S. towns.
How sure. Graded on any two of the three inputs instead, the letter would range from B+ to A+. The pre-1940 share (±2.0 points) is firm at this size. The founding year is the first post office, not a stated founding date.
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 New Trier Township’s past
Read from the archive, the National Register and the record. The page puts what stands out first.
The country’s official list of buildings and places worth saving. 2 are National Historic Landmarks, the highest tier.
places listed
36
National Historic Landmarks
2
none yet
historic buildings protected
997
each building in a district counts
National Park Service, National Register of Historic Places. Photos from Wikimedia Commons, credited on each place’s page.
On the map
New Trier Township on the map, 1899 to 1993
Every edition of the U.S. Geological Survey’s map of New Trier Township. Tap a year, or press play to watch the town change.
1899Evanston 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 New Trier Township.
New Trier Township was established in 1850 as part of the Illinois township system and originally served largely rural communities along the North Shore of Cook County. Early township government responsibilities included tax assessment and collection, poor relief administration, road oversight, public health coordination, and election administration. A 1946 Township report described the Township as responsible for welfare relief, public health services, and assistance programs for dependent children, the blind, and elderly residents.
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.
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.
The New Trier Township post office opened in 1850, the earliest record of the town by name (U.S. post office records).
How does New Trier Township rank for history?
New Trier Township is more historic than 87% of U.S. towns, #111 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 New Trier Township?
33% of New Trier Township’s homes were built before 1940 (Census estimate, ±2.0 points), against a typical 11% for an Illinois town; the median home was built in 1956.
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 (15), Wikidata (1), Wikipedia and U.S. Geological Survey historical maps. Archive images are copied here with their credits and licenses, shown on each photo’s page. Refreshed monthly.
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