Each edition grades its towns against each other only.
More historic than 18% of U.S. towns · #659 of 768 in Illinois. What drives it
Most of Round Lake Park was built recently: 5% of its homes predate 1940 and the median home dates from 1995. Below: maps from 1920 on and the census since 1950.
More historic than 18% of U.S. towns, on its age, its old homes and the National Register.
On its age, its old homes and the National Register, Round Lake Park is more historic than 18% of U.S. towns, #659 of 768 in Illinois. Its share of homes from before 1940 holds the grade up; its National Register listings pull it down.
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 Round Lake Park’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.
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 →
Read from the archive, the National Register and the record. The page puts what stands out first.
The first neighbors to add old photos shape how Round Lake Park’s history is told.
Every edition of the U.S. Geological Survey’s map of Round Lake Park. Tap a year, or press play to watch the town change.
U.S. Geological Survey historical topographic maps (public domain), via Esri’s collection of the scans. The red ring marks the center of Round Lake Park.
Wikipedia doesn’t have a history of Round Lake Park yet. The photos, dates and memories neighbors add here are how it gets written.
Round Lake Park is a village in Lake County, Illinois, United States. Per the 2020 census, the population was 7,680. It is located along the south side of the lake, Round Lake.
Between the 2010 and 2020 censuses its population grew from 7,505 to 7,680 (+2%).
Intro from Wikipedia. Population: U.S. Census Bureau.
Weddings on Main Street, storms, parades, school pictures, the old store. If it’s in your family album, it belongs here.
Grew from 1,836 people in 1950 to 7,680 in 2020, 4 times over.
8 censuses, 1950–2020.
U.S. Census Bureau decennial counts, from the census table on Round Lake Park’s Wikipedia page.
Nobody well known was born in Round Lake Park itself, so here are the best known from just nearby.
Places and cemeteries from the USGS Geographic Names Information System (2021).
Each neighbor’s History grade, on the same three inputs.
Round Lake Park is more historic than 18% of U.S. towns, #659 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.
5% of Round Lake Park’s homes were built before 1940 (Census estimate, ±2.4 points), against a typical 11% for an Illinois town; the median home was built in 1995.
What the archives can’t tell you, neighbors can.
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, U.S. Census counts (via Wikipedia) 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.
