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BHistory
History · Niles Township

Niles Township dates to 1832, and 7 of its places are on the National Register

More historic than 64% of U.S. towns · #297 of 768 in Illinois. What drives it

Most of Niles Township was built recently: 6% of its homes predate 1940 and the median home dates from 1960. Below: 3 old photos and papers, maps from 1900 on, and the census since 1880.

1832founded
7on the National Register
6%homes built before 1940
3old photos & papers
Add an old photoShare a memory
From Niles Township’s archive · credits on each photo
Quick answers

How Niles Township began

When was Niles Township founded?

1832

Niles Township dates its founding to 1832 (Wikidata). The census first counted it in 1880.

First census: 289 in 18802020 census: 112,407194 years

How historic is Niles Township?

B

More historic than 64% of U.S. towns, on its age, its old homes and the National Register.

What drives the grade ↓
Founding year: Wikidata. First post office: 1850.The full story ↓
History grade

What drives Niles Township’s History grade

On its age, its old homes and the National Register, Niles Township is more historic than 64% of U.S. towns, #297 of 768 in Illinois. Its age holds the grade up; its share of homes from before 1940 pulls it down.

B
HistoryA character grade: shown, never part of Niles Township’s overall grade.
Founding era1832, from Wikidata: founded 1776–1849, an older era than 75% of U.S. townsA−Homes built before 19405.6% of homes (±1.0) · typical IL town 10.6% · U.S. 8.4%CNational Register7 listings, 0.6 per 10,000 residents · typical IL town 0.5 · U.S. 2.4B+
All U.S. towns we grade (21,289)Ahead of 64%
NewerOlder
Illinois towns of 2,500+ (768)Ahead of 61%

Among the 400 U.S. cities of 100,000 or more, Niles Township ranks #194 on History.

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 Niles Township’s 0.6 sits near the middle of its state (61% of Illinois towns have fewer) while its 7 listings outnumber those of 73% 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 (±1.0 points) is firm at this size. Two sources give 1832.

Founding year: Wikidata (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 Niles Township’s past

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

A history waiting to be writtenOnly 3 old photos are in the public archives. The rest are in attics and albums.On the map since 19007 editions of the USGS map, 1900 to 1993. Watch Niles Township change.Landmarks on the Register7 places on the National Register.Deep rootsEstablished in 1832: 194 years of Niles Township.
★ What stands out · Help out

Start Niles Township’s collection

The first neighbors to add old photos shape how Niles Township’s history is told.

Decades since 1900 with photos
00s10s20s30s40s50s60s70s80s90s
1 of 10 decades. The empty ones are waiting for someone’s album.
Retake an old view19680615 01 Glenview Bus Co. @ Golf Mil…: stand where they stood+15Share a family photoSign in to add one+10
On the map

Niles Township on the map, 1900 to 1993

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

Niles Township on the 1900 USGS mapNiles Township on the 1929 USGS mapNiles Township on the 1953 USGS mapNiles Township on the 1963 USGS mapNiles Township on the 1972 USGS mapNiles Township on the 1980 USGS mapNiles Township 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 Niles Township.

On the National Register

7 historic places in Niles Township

The country’s official list of buildings and places worth saving.

places listed
7
National Historic Landmarks
0
none yet
historic buildings protected
7
each building in a district counts

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

The story

How Niles Township came to be

From Wikipedia’s history of Niles Township.

Read it all →

Joseph Curtis settled in what became Niles in 1827, and John Dewes followed in 1831. The settlement was originally called "Dutchman's Point", referring to German immigrants who followed, including John Plank of Hesse-Darmstadt (who sold whiskey to passing travelers and remaining Native Americans) and the Ebinger brothers of Stuttgart, as well as John Schadiger, Julius Perren, John-Jackson Ruland (d. 1880) and Revolutionary war soldier John Ketchum.

ChaptersNiles and Niles Township foundingPost–World War II growth

Text from Wikipedia, licensed CC BY-SA 4.0.

Timeline

Niles Township, 1832 to 1968

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

  1. 19th century
  2. 1832
    FoundingNiles Township is established
  3. 20th century
  4. 1900On the mapFirst mapped by the U.S. Geological Survey
  5. 1968In the archive19680615 01 Glenview Bus Co. @ Golf Mill Shopping Center
By decade

Niles Township, decade by decade

One decade in the archive so far: the 1960s. Scroll each row; tap a photo for its story.

1960s3 items
19680615 01 Glenview Bus Co. @ Golf Mill Shopping Center196819680615 01 Glenview Bus Co. @ Golf Mill Shopping Cen…19680615 02 GBC 38 UMC @ Golf Mill Shopping Center196819680615 02 GBC 38 UMC @ Golf Mill Shopping Center19680615 07 GBC 42 Golf Mill Shopping Center196819680615 07 GBC 42 Golf Mill Shopping Center
1970s–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
Today20 recent
Well - panoramio (4)2012Well - panoramio (4)Shure Store near Chicago2012Shure Store near ChicagoNilesILpublicLibrary2008NilesILpublicLibraryPace 26492007Pace 2649KM 3976 Niles Elementary School2007KM 3976 Niles Elementary SchoolKM 3972 highway signboard2007KM 3972 highway signboardPace19262006Pace1926PACE bus 61172006PACE bus 6117PACE bus 19362006PACE bus 1936Niles Veterans Memorial Fountain winter 20062006Niles Veterans Memorial Fountain winter 2006Niles Police Department2006Niles Police DepartmentNVMW flags half staff2006NVMW flags half staffNPD flags half staff2006NPD flags half staffLightning warning2006Lightning warningLightning warning (cropped)2006Lightning warning (cropped)Cemetery enterance2006Cemetery enteranceChabad Synagogue2005Chabad Synagogue20040102 05 Pace 1935 1936 Golf Mill Shopping Center200420040102 05 Pace 1935 1936 Golf Mill Shopping Center20040102 04 Pace 1935 1036 Golf Mill Shopping Center200420040102 04 Pace 1935 1036 Golf Mill Shopping Center20040102 02 Pace 6012 Golf Mill Shopping Center200420040102 02 Pace 6012 Golf Mill Shopping Center
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.

19680615 01 Glenview Bus Co. @ Golf Mill Shopping Center
Retake this view19680615 01 Glenview Bus Co. @ Golf Mill Shopping Center, 1968

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

Retake this view · +15
People over time

Niles Township, census by census

05,00010,00015,00020,00025,00030,00035,00018801900192019401960198020002020Peak: 31,432

Between 289 and 31,432 people in every census since 1880.

14 censuses, 1880–2020.

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

Stories next door

History across the town line

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

Chicago407 historic placesA+Skokie5 historic placesB+Niles1 historic placeB−Evanston59 historic placesA+New Trier Township36 historic placesANorthfield Township2 historic placesC+LincolnwoodIts storyDWilmette14 historic placesAMaine Township4 historic placesB

Questions about Niles Township’s history

What year was Niles Township founded?

In 1832, according to Wikidata. Niles Township’s post office opened in 1850, and the census of 1880 counted 289 people here.

How does Niles Township rank for history?

Niles Township is more historic than 64% of U.S. towns, #297 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 Niles Township?

6% of Niles Township’s homes were built before 1940 (Census estimate, ±1.0 points), against a typical 11% for an Illinois town; the median home was built in 1960.

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 (23), Wikidata (1), Wikipedia, U.S. Geological Survey historical maps and U.S. Census counts (via Wikipedia). Archive images are copied here with their credits and licenses, shown on each photo’s page. Refreshed monthly.