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Palos Hills Town Square ParkPhoto: Crosbiesmith · CC BY-SA 4.0
D−History
History · Palos Hills

Palos Hills dates to 1958

Among the newest of U.S. towns · #766 of 768 in Illinois. What drives it

Most of Palos Hills was built recently: 0.2% of its homes predate 1940 and the median home dates from 1977. Below: maps from 1890 on and the census since 1960.

1958founded
0on the National Register
0.2%homes built before 1940
1famous people
Add an old photoShare a memory
Photo: Crosbiesmith · CC BY-SA 4.0
Quick answers

How Palos Hills began

When was Palos Hills founded?

1958

Palos Hills dates its founding to 1958 (Wikidata and Wikipedia’s history agree). The census first counted it in 1960.

First census: 3,766 in 19602020 census: 18,53068 years

How historic is Palos Hills?

D−

Among the newest of U.S. towns, on its age, its old homes and the National Register.

What drives the grade ↓
Founding year: Wikidata; Wikipedia’s history section gives the same year. First post office: 1878.
History grade

What drives Palos Hills’ History grade

On its age, its old homes and the National Register, Palos Hills is among the newest of U.S. towns, #766 of 768 in Illinois. Its National Register listings hold the grade up; its age pulls it down.

D−
HistoryA character grade: shown, never part of Palos Hills’ overall grade.
Founding era1958, from Wikidata: founded 1945 or later, an older era than 2% of U.S. townsD−Homes built before 19400.2% of homes (±0.4) · typical IL town 10.6% · U.S. 8.4%DNational RegisterNo listings counted · typical IL town 0.5 per 10,000 · U.S. 2.4C
All U.S. towns we grade (21,289)Among the newest
NewerOlder
Illinois towns of 2,500+ (768)#766 of 768

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 Palos Hills’ 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 D. The pre-1940 share (±0.4 points) is firm at this size. Two sources give 1958.

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 Palos Hills’ past

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

A history waiting to be writtenNo old photos of Palos Hills are in the public archives yet. The rest are in attics and albums.On the map since 18908 editions of the USGS map, 1890 to 1993. Watch Palos Hills change.
★ What stands out · Help out

Start Palos Hills’s collection

The first neighbors to add old photos shape how Palos Hills’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

Palos Hills on the map, 1890 to 1993

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

Palos Hills on the 1890 USGS mapPalos Hills on the 1900 USGS mapPalos Hills on the 1928 USGS mapPalos Hills on the 1953 USGS mapPalos Hills on the 1963 USGS mapPalos Hills on the 1973 USGS mapPalos Hills on the 1980 USGS mapPalos Hills on the 1993 USGS map1890Des Plaines 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 Palos Hills.

The story so far

Palos Hills, in brief

Wikipedia doesn’t have a history of Palos Hills yet. The photos, dates and memories neighbors add here are how it gets written.

Palos Hills is a city in Cook County, Illinois, United States. It is a southwest suburb of Chicago. The city was established in 1958 and had reached a population of 18,530 in the 2020 census. It is named after Palos de la Frontera, Spain, from which Christopher Columbus set sail to North America. Moraine Valley Community College and Amos Alonzo Stagg High School are its main schools.

Palos Hills was established in 1958. Between the 2010 and 2020 censuses its population grew from 17,484 to 18,530 (+6%).

Intro from Wikipedia. Population: U.S. Census Bureau.

Timeline

Palos Hills, 1878 to 1989

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

  1. 19th century
  2. 1878Post officeThe South Mount Forest post office opens
  3. 1890On the mapFirst mapped by the U.S. Geological Survey
  4. 1895Post officeThe South Mount Forest post office closes
  5. 20th century
  6. 1958
    FoundingPalos Hills is established
  7. 1989Born hereT. J. McFarland is born here
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.
Add from your album
People over time

Palos Hills, census by census

05,00010,00015,00020,000196019802000202018,530

Grew from 3,766 people in 1960 to 18,530 in 2020, 4 times over.

7 censuses, 1960–2020.

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

Places that used to be

Lost post offices and places now gone

Another post office, South Mount Forest, opened and closed inside today’s town.

Gone or out of use
South Mount Forestlocale

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.

Hickory HillsIts storyD−BridgeviewIts storyDWorthIts storyC−Palos ParkIts storyC−Palos HeightsIts storyD

Questions about Palos Hills’ history

What year was Palos Hills founded?

In 1958, according to Wikidata and Wikipedia’s history of the town. Palos Hills’ post office opened in 1878, and the census of 1960 counted 3,766 people here.

How does Palos Hills rank for history?

Palos Hills is among the newest of U.S. towns, #766 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 Palos Hills?

0.2% of Palos Hills’ homes were built before 1940 (Census estimate), against a typical 11% for an Illinois town; the median home was built in 1977.

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 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.