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B+History
History · Pecatonica

Pecatonica’s post office opened in 1853, and 33% of its homes were built before 1940

More historic than 72% of U.S. towns. What drives it

Its Register listing is the William H. Roberts House. Its Register listing is the William H. Roberts House. Below: maps from 1893 on and the census since 1880.

1853first post office
1on the National Register
33%homes built before 1940
2famous people
Add an old photoShare a memory
Quick answers

How Pecatonica began

When was Pecatonica founded?

1853

The Pecatonica post office opened in 1853, the earliest record of the town by name. Wikidata gives 1869. Another post office, Pekatonica (1838), opened inside today’s town and later closed.

First census: 1,029 in 18802020 census: 2,090173 years

How historic is Pecatonica?

B+

More historic than 72% of U.S. towns, on its age, its old homes and the National Register.

What drives the grade ↓
Founding year: the first Pecatonica post office (Blevins & Helbock, CC0). Wikidata: 1869.The full story ↓
History grade

What drives Pecatonica’s History grade

On its age, its old homes and the National Register, Pecatonica is more historic than 72% of U.S. towns. Its share of homes from before 1940 holds the grade up; its age pulls it down.

B+
HistoryA character grade: shown, never part of Pecatonica’s overall grade.
Founding era1853, from the first post office: founded 1850–1899, an older era than 37% of U.S. townsC+Homes built before 194032.8% of homes (±8.2) · typical IL town 10.6% · U.S. 8.4%ANational Register1 listing, 4.9 per 10,000 residents · typical IL town 0.5 · U.S. 2.4B
All U.S. towns we grade (21,289)Ahead of 72%
NewerOlder

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 Pecatonica’s 4.9 sits above most of its state (75% of Illinois towns have fewer) while its 1 listings outnumber those of 51% 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 (±8.2 points). The founding year is the first post office, not a stated founding date; Wikidata’s 1869 falls in the same era, so the grade doesn’t depend on which one is used.

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 Pecatonica’s 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 Pecatonica are in the public archives yet. The rest are in attics and albums.Mapped building by building4 fire insurance maps, 1893 to 1912, drew every building in Pecatonica.Old housesHalf of Pecatonica’s homes were built before 1959.
★ What stands out · Help out

Start Pecatonica’s collection

The first neighbors to add old photos shape how Pecatonica’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
Every building

Pecatonica, building by building, 1893–1912

Fire insurance maps drew every building, what it was made of and what it was used for, so insurers could price the risk of fire. Pick a year, then a sheet.

Pecatonica fire insurance map, 1893, sheet 11893Sheet 1 of 2
Edition
BrickWoodStone

Sanborn Map Company, via the Library of Congress. Editions published in 1930 or earlier, which are in the public domain.

The story

How Pecatonica came to be

From Wikipedia’s history of Pecatonica.

Read it all →

The village was named after the Pecatonica River, which forms its northern border. The word Pecatonica is an anglicization of two Algonquian language words; Bekaa (or Pekaa in certain dialects), which means slow and niba, which means water; forming the conjunction Bekaaniba or Slow Water. Civil War records from the state of Illinois include soldiers from "Lysander", the area's common name before incorporation by rail speculators.

Text from Wikipedia, licensed CC BY-SA 4.0.

Timeline

Pecatonica, 1838 to 1932

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

  1. 19th century
  2. 1838Post officeThe Pekatonica post office opens
  3. 1846Post officeThe Pekatonica post office closes
  4. 1853Post officeThe Pecatonica post office opens
  5. 20th century
  6. 1903Born hereWarren Kasch is born here
  7. 1917Born hereMark Dean is born here
  8. 1932On the mapFirst mapped by the U.S. Geological Survey
By decade

Pecatonica, decade by decade

Today12 recent
Pecatonica, IL Pec Wetlands Forest Preserve 052007Pecatonica, IL Pec Wetlands Forest Preserve 05Pecatonica, IL Pec Wetlands Forest Preserve 042007Pecatonica, IL Pec Wetlands Forest Preserve 04Pecatonica, IL Pec Wetlands Forest Preserve 032007Pecatonica, IL Pec Wetlands Forest Preserve 03Pecatonica, IL Pec Wetlands Forest Preserve 022007Pecatonica, IL Pec Wetlands Forest Preserve 02Pecatonica, IL Pec Wetlands Forest Preserve 012007Pecatonica, IL Pec Wetlands Forest Preserve 01Pecatonica, IL Masonic Temple 022007Pecatonica, IL Masonic Temple 02Pecatonica, IL Masonic Temple 012007Pecatonica, IL Masonic Temple 01Pecatonica, IL Downtown 022007Pecatonica, IL Downtown 02Pecatonica, IL Downtown 012007Pecatonica, IL Downtown 01Pecatonica Il Downtown32007Pecatonica Il Downtown3Pecatonica Il Downtown22007Pecatonica Il Downtown2Pecatonica Il Downtown12007Pecatonica Il Downtown1
On the map

Pecatonica on the map, 1932 to 1971

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

Pecatonica on the 1932 USGS mapPecatonica on the 1971 USGS map1932Pecatonica 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 Pecatonica.

On the National Register

1 historic place in Pecatonica

The country’s official list of buildings and places worth saving.

place listed
1
National Historic Landmarks
0
none yet
historic buildings protected
1
each building in a district counts
first listed
1979
William H. Roberts House
William H. Roberts House
Buildings

Architectural styles listings

Gothic Revival1
Italianate1
Queen Anne1
Eastlake1
William H. Roberts HouseGothic Revival

National Park Service, National Register of Historic Places. Photos from Wikimedia Commons, credited on each place’s page.

People over time

Pecatonica, census by census

05001,0001,5002,00018801900192019401960198020002020Peak: 2,195

Between 1,022 and 2,195 people in every census since 1880.

15 censuses, 1880–2020.

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

Famous people

2 famous people were born in Pecatonica

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

See all →
Mark DeanAmerican football player · b. 1917
W
Warren KaschAmerican sports coach, athletics administrator,… · b. 1903
Places that used to be

Lost post offices

Pecatonica’s post office has been open since 1853. Another post office, Pekatonica, opened and closed inside today’s town.

Pekatonica
1838–1846
Pecatonica
1853–today
18301930today

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

Questions about Pecatonica’s history

What year was Pecatonica founded?

The Pecatonica post office opened in 1853, the earliest record of the town by name (U.S. post office records). Wikidata gives 1869.

How does Pecatonica rank for history?

Pecatonica is more historic than 72% of U.S. towns. 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 Pecatonica?

One place: the William H. Roberts House (listed 1979).

How old are the homes in Pecatonica?

33% of Pecatonica’s homes were built before 1940 (Census estimate, ±8.2 points), against a typical 11% for an Illinois town; the median home was built in 1959.

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 (12), the National Register of Historic Places (1), 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), the USGS Geographic Names Information System and Sanborn fire insurance maps (Library of Congress). Archive images are copied here with their credits and licenses, shown on each photo’s page. Refreshed monthly.