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DHistory
History · Northbrook

Northbrook dates to 1901

More historic than 11% of U.S. towns · #722 of 768 in Illinois. What drives it

Most of Northbrook was built recently: 4% of its homes predate 1940 and the median home dates from 1976. Below: maps from 1900 on and the census since 1910.

1901founded
0on the National Register
4%homes built before 1940
14famous people
Add an old photoShare a memory
Photo: CL Minecraft · CC BY-SA 4.0
Quick answers

How Northbrook began

When was Northbrook founded?

1901

Northbrook dates its founding to 1901 (Wikidata). The census first counted it in 1910.

First census: 441 in 19102020 census: 35,222125 years

How historic is Northbrook?

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: Wikidata. First post office: 1853.The full story ↓
History grade

What drives Northbrook’s History grade

On its age, its old homes and the National Register, Northbrook is more historic than 11% of U.S. towns, #722 of 768 in Illinois. Its share of homes from before 1940 holds the grade up; its age pulls it down.

D
HistoryA character grade: shown, never part of Northbrook’s overall grade.
Founding era1901, from Wikidata: founded 1900–1944, an older era than 9% of U.S. townsDHomes built before 19404.1% of homes (±1.5) · typical IL town 10.6% · U.S. 8.4%CNational 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 Northbrook’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.

How sure. Graded on any two of the three inputs instead, the letter would range from D to C−. The pre-1940 share (±1.5 points) is firm at this size. Two sources give 1901.

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 Northbrook’s past

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

Lost villages5 post offices opened and closed inside today’s Northbrook, and 144 old place names are still on the map.A history waiting to be writtenNo old photos of Northbrook are in the public archives yet. The rest are in attics and albums.On the map since 19008 editions of the USGS map, 1900 to 2000. Watch Northbrook change.Famous sons and daughtersScott Adsit, Jayne Brook and 12 more were born here.
★ What stands out · Places that used to be

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

Northbrook’s post office has been open since 1923. Five other post offices opened and closed inside today’s town.

South Northfield
1853–1880
North Northfield
1874–1904
Shermerville
1885–1923
Grover
1886–1886
Lakeside
1887–1907
Techny
1906–today
Northbrook
1923–today
18501940today
Hamlets and corners on the map
Ancient TreeArrowheadAvanti RidgeBachs AdditionBirch PondBriarwood GlenBridlewood LaneBrookside EstatesButtonwoodC H Taylor's Sanwaldrun EstatesCedarbrook CourtChapel Hill EstatesCharlemagneCharlemagne EastCharring CrossCobblewoodColonial VillageCoral ManorCovenant VillageCozy CornerDriftwoodDundee Road AcresDunsten GreenEdgewood Grove
Gone or out of use
Northbrook SchoolschoolSky Harbor Airportschool
4cemeteries and burying grounds inside Northbrook
North NorthfieldNorthfield UnionSacred Heart CatholicSaint Mary's

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

Help out

Start Northbrook’s collection

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

Decades since 1900 with photos
00s10s20s30s40s50s60s70s80s90s
0 of 10 decades. The empty ones are waiting for someone’s album.
Share a family photoSign in to add one+10
On the map

Northbrook on the map, 1900 to 2000

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

Northbrook on the 1900 USGS mapNorthbrook on the 1928 USGS mapNorthbrook on the 1951 USGS mapNorthbrook on the 1963 USGS mapNorthbrook on the 1972 USGS mapNorthbrook on the 1980 USGS mapNorthbrook on the 1993 USGS mapNorthbrook on the 2000 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 Northbrook.

The story

How Northbrook came to be

From Wikipedia’s history of Northbrook.

Read it all →

Members of the Potawatomi tribe were the earliest recorded residents of the Northbrook area. After signing the 1833 Treaty of Chicago, the Potawatomi ceded their Illinois lands and moved to a place near Council Bluffs, Iowa. Afterward, Joel Sterling Sherman moved from Connecticut with his family and bought 159 acres (64 ha) of land in the northwest quarter of Section 10 for $1.25 per acre; Northbrook's downtown is located on this site. A German immigrant named Frederick Schermer donated a portion of the land he bought from Sherman to be used for the town's first railroad station, which was named after him. By the 1870s, Shermerville (which also took its name from Shermer) was a farming community. In 1901 the community was incorporated as the Village of Shermerville after a close referendum for incorporation. At the time of incorporation, it had 311 residents and 60 houses. In these earl…

Text from Wikipedia, licensed CC BY-SA 4.0.

Timeline

Northbrook, 1853 to 1995

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

  1. 19th century
  2. 1853Post officeThe South Northfield post office opens
  3. 1874Post officeThe North Northfield post office opens
  4. 1880Post officeThe South Northfield post office closes
  5. 1885Post officeThe Shermerville post office opens
  6. 20th century
  7. 1900On the mapFirst mapped by the U.S. Geological Survey
  8. 1901
    FoundingNorthbrook is established
  9. 1904Post officeThe North Northfield post office closes
  10. 1923Post officeThe Shermerville post office closes
  11. 1960Born hereJayne Brook is born here
  12. 1965Born hereScott Adsit is born here
  13. 1985Born hereMike Brown is born here
  14. 1995Born hereJ. T. Compher is born here
By decade

Northbrook, decade by decade

Today18 recent
I-94 WB US 41 NB split (2) - Northbrook, IL - June 20242024I-94 WB US 41 NB split (2) - Northbrook, IL - June 20…I-94 WB US 41 NB split (1) - Northbrook, IL - June 20242024I-94 WB US 41 NB split (1) - Northbrook, IL - June 20…Downtown2024DowntownTechny Towers2020Techny TowersWood Oaks Green Park in2019Wood Oaks Green Park inUntitled photo2019Untitled photoTechnyTowersConference&RetreatCenter2016TechnyTowersConference&RetreatCenterFrancheezie-032015Francheezie-03Northbrook, IL 60062, USA2014Northbrook, IL 60062, USAChristmas tree at Northbrook Court 20102010Christmas tree at Northbrook Court 2010UL Headquarter2009UL HeadquarterStGiles2006StGilesShaboneeSchool2006ShaboneeSchoolNorthbrookWelcomeSign2006NorthbrookWelcomeSignNorthbrookVH2006NorthbrookVHNorthbrookCourtEntrance2006NorthbrookCourtEntranceC&BNbkCt2006C&BNbkCtPodium2005Podium
People over time

Northbrook, census by census

05,00010,00015,00020,00025,00030,00035,00019201940196019802000202035,222

Grew from 441 people in 1910 to 35,222 in 2020, more than tenfold.

12 censuses, 1910–2020.

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

Famous people

14 famous people were born in Northbrook

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

See all →
Scott AdsitAmerican stand-up comedian · b. 1965
J
Jayne BrookAmerican actress · b. 1960
J. T. CompherAmerican ice hockey player · b. 1995
Mike BrownAmerican ice hockey player · b. 1985
Jon ScheyerAmerican basketball player and coach · b. 1987
Jesse CompherAmerican ice hockey player · b. 1999
Stories next door

History across the town line

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

Glenview2 historic placesC+NorthfieldIts storyC−Deerfield1 historic placeCGlencoe6 historic placesA−Northfield Township2 historic placesC+Moraine Township33 historic placesA+WheelingIts storyC+New Trier Township36 historic placesA

Questions about Northbrook’s history

What year was Northbrook founded?

In 1901, according to Wikidata. Northbrook’s post office opened in 1853, and the census of 1910 counted 441 people here.

How does Northbrook rank for history?

Northbrook is more historic than 11% of U.S. towns, #722 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 Northbrook?

4% of Northbrook’s homes were built before 1940 (Census estimate, ±1.5 points), against a typical 11% for an Illinois town; the median home was built in 1976.

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 (18), 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.