North Chicago dates to 1892, and 19% of its homes were built before 1940
More historic than 72% of U.S. towns · #249 of 768 in Illinois. What drives it
3 places in town are on the National Register, among them a historic district with 43 buildings. Below: 2 old photos and papers, maps from 1906 on, and the census since 1900.
Founding year: Wikidata. First post office: 1895.The full story ↓
History grade
What drives North Chicago’s History grade
On its age, its old homes and the National Register, North Chicago is more historic than 72% of U.S. towns, #249 of 768 in Illinois. Its National Register listings hold the grade up; its age pulls it down.
B+
HistoryA character grade: shown, never part of North Chicago’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 North Chicago’s 14.7 sits above most of its state (85% of Illinois towns have fewer) while its 45 historic buildings outnumber those of 84% 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 is a Census survey estimate (±4.1 points). Two sources give 1892.
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 North Chicago’s past
Read from the archive, the National Register and the record. The page puts what stands out first.
Land speculators moved into the area south of what is now the city of Waukegan in the 1890s. Industrial development began almost immediately with a railroad depot being set up in 1892; most notable was the arrival of the Washburn and Moen Manufacturing Company, a major barbed wire maker.
The settlement was incorporated as a village in 1895 and as a city in 1909. In 1911, a naval training area was created, the present Great Lakes Naval Training Center, currently the only "boot camp" for Navy enlisted personnel after the closure of facilities in Florida, California, and Houston, MS.
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.
Every edition of the U.S. Geological Survey’s map of North Chicago. Tap a year, or press play to watch the town change.
1906Waukegan 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 North Chicago.
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.
Retake this viewCamp.robert.smalls.inspection, 1943
Find the spot, match the angle, and add your photo. It becomes the first then-and-now pair on North Chicago’s page.
Lost post offices, old corners, places now gone and burying grounds
North Chicago’s post office has been open since 1895. Another post office, Great Lakes, opened and closed inside today’s town.
North Chicago
1895–today
Great Lakes
1912–1917
18901960today
Hamlets and corners on the map
Five PointsGreat LakesMoran Corners
Gone or out of use
Christian Valley Missionary Baptist ChurchchurchChurch of God in Jesus ChristchurchFirst Baptist ChurchchurchFirst Methodist Episcopal ChurchchurchFirst Presbyterian ChurchchurchHoly Family Roman Catholic ChurchchurchHoly Family SchoolschoolHoly Rosary Conventchurch
1cemetery inside North Chicago
Northshore Garden of Memories
US Post Offices dataset (Blevins & Helbock, CC0). 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.
In 1892, according to Wikidata. North Chicago’s post office opened in 1895, and the census of 1900 counted 1,150 people here.
How does North Chicago rank for history?
North Chicago is more historic than 72% of U.S. towns, #249 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.
What is on the National Register in North Chicago?
Three places: the Dewey House (listed 1985), the Great Lakes Naval Training Station (1986) and the Holy Family Church (2003).
How old are the homes in North Chicago?
19% of North Chicago’s homes were built before 1940 (Census estimate, ±4.1 points), against a typical 11% for an Illinois town; the median home was built in 1973.
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 (11), Wikidata (1), the National Register of Historic Places (3), 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) 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.
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