1 of Palos Township’s places is on the National Register
More historic than 33% of U.S. towns · #526 of 768 in Illinois. What drives it
Most of Palos Township was built recently: 2% of its homes predate 1940 and the median home dates from 1977. Below: 2 old photos and papers, maps from 1890 on, and the census since 1930.
On its age, its old homes and the National Register, Palos Township is more historic than 33% of U.S. towns, #526 of 768 in Illinois. Its National Register listings hold the grade up; its share of homes from before 1940 pulls it down.
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HistoryA character grade: shown, never part of Palos 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 Palos Township’s 0.4 sits near the middle of its state (59% of Illinois towns have fewer) while its 2 historic buildings outnumber those of 60% of U.S. towns.
How sure. Graded on two of the three inputs, so a change in either one moves the letter more than it would with three. The pre-1940 share (±0.7 points) is firm at this size.
Founding year: our sources. 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 Township’s past
Read from the archive, the National Register and the record. The page puts what stands out first.
Every edition of the U.S. Geological Survey’s map of Palos Township. Tap a year, or press play to watch the town change.
1890Des 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 Township.
The story so far
Palos Township, in brief
Wikipedia doesn’t have a history of Palos Township yet. The photos, dates and memories neighbors add here are how it gets written.
Palos Township is one of 29 townships in Cook County, Illinois. As of the 2020 census, its population was 56,836, with its most populous municipality being Palos Hills (pop. 17,484). The vast majority of the township's population resides in its eastern half; the half west of La Grange Road consists of the Palos Forest Preserves, a section of the Cook County Forest Preserves. In 1850 the small town of Trenton, Illinois changed its name to Palos; this recommendation was made by M. S. Powell, the local postmaster, whose ancestor supposedly sailed with Christopher Columbus from Palos de la Frontera. When it incorporated as a village in 1914, Palos officially became Palos Park. Nearby communitie…
Between the 2010 and 2020 censuses its population grew from 54,615 to 56,836 (+4%).
Intro from Wikipedia. Population: U.S. Census Bureau.
From the old history books
What they wrote about Palos Township in 1884
Passages that mention Palos Township, cut from the printed page as they were published.
History of Cook County, Illinois. From the earliest period to the present time1884 · page 819Read the page →
Read the text
acid gas. The oldest settler of the country around this location is Mrs. George Wallace Becbe, an account of whose settlement appears in the Willow Springs' article of Palos Township. Mrs. Weed, the mother-in-law of Elijah Wentworth, "old geese," lived near here. An iron-bridge was recently erected over the canal at this point ; this, and the ice-houses of A. S. Piper & Co., on Willow Springs lake an enlargement and widening
Text read by machine from the scan; it may contain errors.
Scans and text from the Internet Archive. Books published in 1930 or earlier, which are in the public domain.
Timeline
Palos Township, 1880 to 1996
Woven from the archive, old maps, post office records, the National Register and the people born here.
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.
Palos Township is more historic than 33% of U.S. towns, #526 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 Palos Township?
One place: the Chicago Sanitary and Ship Canal Historic District (listed 2011).
How old are the homes in Palos Township?
2% of Palos Township’s homes were built before 1940 (Census estimate), against a typical 11% for an Illinois town; the median home was built in 1977.
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 (2), the National Register of Historic Places (1), Wikidata and Wikipedia for famous people, U.S. Geological Survey historical maps, U.S. Census counts (via Wikipedia), the USGS Geographic Names Information System and old county and town histories (Internet Archive). Archive images are copied here with their credits and licenses, shown on each photo’s page. Refreshed monthly.
1880