The Northville Township post office opened in 1839, the earliest record of the town by name. Two smaller post offices, Northville (1839) and Asbury (1846), opened inside today’s town and later closed.
2020 census: 7,338187 years
How historic is Northville Township?
C
More historic than 34% of U.S. towns, on its age, its old homes and the National Register.
Founding year: the first Northville Township post office (Blevins & Helbock, CC0).
History grade
What drives Northville Township’s History grade
On its age, its old homes and the National Register, Northville Township is more historic than 34% of U.S. towns, #513 of 768 in Illinois. Its age holds the grade up; its share of homes from before 1940 pulls it down.
C
HistoryA character grade: shown, never part of Northville 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 Northville Township’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 B−. The pre-1940 share (±1.3 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 Northville Township’s past
Read from the archive, the National Register and the record. The page puts what stands out first.
Wikipedia doesn’t have a history of Northville Township yet. The photos, dates and memories neighbors add here are how it gets written.
Northville is an unincorporated community in Northville Township, LaSalle County, Illinois, United States. Northville is located on County Highway 2 and North 4325th Road. The Fox River is just south of the community, and once formed the southern boundary of the town. Canadian Benjamin Lett, known as the "Rob Roy" of Canada, lived on his family's farm in Northville, in the 1850s. He is buried at Lett Cemetery, near Northville.
Its first post office opened in 1839. Its population held steady between the last two censuses: 7,410 in 2010, 7,338 in 2020.
Intro from Wikipedia. Population: U.S. Census Bureau.
By decade
No old photos in the archives yet
Weddings on Main Street, storms, parades, school pictures, the old store. If it’s in your family album, it belongs here.
Be the first to add onePhotograph a print flat, in daylight, no flash.
Every edition of the U.S. Geological Survey’s map of Northville Township. Tap a year, or press play to watch the town change.
1948Sandwich 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 Northville Township.
Famous people
Famous people close to Northville Township
Nobody well known was born in Northville Township itself, so here are the best known from just nearby.
The Northville Township post office opened in 1839, the earliest record of the town by name (U.S. post office records).
How does Northville Township rank for history?
Northville Township is more historic than 34% of U.S. towns, #513 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 Northville Township?
2% of Northville Township’s homes were built before 1940 (Census estimate, ±1.3 points), against a typical 11% for an Illinois town; the median home was built in 1990.
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 U.S. Geological Survey historical maps, 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.
