Guest, Sign inJoin

Post to Round Lake

We’ll email a one-tap link to publish your post. No password, and nothing is public until you click it.
Already a member? Sign in
DHistory
History · Round Lake

Round Lake dates to 1908

More historic than 7% of U.S. towns · #741 of 768 in Illinois. What drives it

Most of Round Lake was built recently: 1% of its homes predate 1940 and the median home dates from 2003. Below: maps from 1920 on and the census since 1910.

1908founded
0on the National Register
1%homes built before 1940
1famous people
Add an old photoShare a memory
Photo: AlphaBeta135 · CC BY 4.0
Quick answers

How Round Lake began

When was Round Lake founded?

1908

Round Lake dates its founding to 1908 (Wikidata). The census first counted it in 1910.

First census: 182 in 19102020 census: 18,721118 years

How historic is Round Lake?

D

More historic than 7% of U.S. towns, on its age, its old homes and the National Register.

What drives the grade ↓
Founding year: Wikidata.The full story ↓
History grade

What drives Round Lake’s History grade

On its age, its old homes and the National Register, Round Lake is more historic than 7% of U.S. towns, #741 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 Round Lake’s overall grade.
Founding era1908, from Wikidata: founded 1900–1944, an older era than 9% of U.S. townsDHomes built before 19401.4% of homes (±1.2) · 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)Ahead of 7%
NewerOlder
Illinois towns of 2,500+ (768)Ahead of 4%

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’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.

NoteThe founding year comes from Wikidata alone; no second source gives 1908.
How sure. Graded on any two of the three inputs instead, the letter would still be D. The pre-1940 share (±1.2 points) is firm at this size.

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 Round Lake’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 Round Lake are in the public archives yet. The rest are in attics and albums.On the map since 19205 editions of the USGS map, 1920 to 1993. Watch Round Lake change.
★ What stands out · Help out

Start Round Lake’s collection

The first neighbors to add old photos shape how Round Lake’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

Round Lake on the map, 1920 to 1993

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

Round Lake on the 1920 USGS mapRound Lake on the 1960 USGS mapRound Lake on the 1972 USGS mapRound Lake on the 1980 USGS mapRound Lake on the 1993 USGS map1920Grays Lake 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 Round Lake.

The story

How Round Lake came to be

From Wikipedia’s history of Round Lake.

Read it all →

While the retreating Wisconsin glacier left an attractive environment for farmers who entered western Lake County after the Black Hawk War of 1832, the numerous lakes and wet prairies there prevented easy movement to agricultural markets. Farmers traded at stagecoach trail communities such as Hainesville, often exchanging dairy products and eggs for what they could not craft on the farm.

In the 1890s, when officials of the Chicago, Milwaukee & St. Paul Railroad extended a branch line from their Milwaukee–Chicago main line at Libertyville Junction (later Rondout) to Janesville, Wisconsin, western Lake County farmers gained easy access to Chicago.

Text from Wikipedia, licensed CC BY-SA 4.0.

Timeline

Round Lake, 1908 to 1981

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

  1. 20th century
  2. 1908
    FoundingRound Lake is established
  3. 1920On the mapFirst mapped by the U.S. Geological Survey
  4. 1981Born hereClay Guida is born here
By decade

Round Lake, decade by decade

Today4 recent
IL 134 east - Long Lake-Round Lake, IL - July 20262026IL 134 east - Long Lake-Round Lake, IL - July 2026Fairfield Rd south past Long Lake Dr - Round Lake-Round Lake Beach, IL - July 20262026Fairfield Rd south past Long Lake Dr - Round Lake-Rou…Cedar Lake Rd south at Washington St - Round Lake, IL - July 20262026Cedar Lake Rd south at Washington St - Round Lake, IL…Cedar Lake Rd north entering Round Lake Beach - Round Lake-Round Lake Beach, IL - July 20262026Cedar Lake Rd north entering Round Lake Beach - Round…
People over time

Round Lake, census by census

05,00010,00015,00020,00019201940196019802000202018,721

Grew from 182 people in 1910 to 18,721 in 2020, more than tenfold.

12 censuses, 1910–2020.

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

Stories next door

History across the town line

Each neighbor’s History grade, on the same three inputs.

Round Lake ParkIts storyC−Round Lake BeachIts storyC−VoloIts storyDLong LakeIts storyCGrant Township1 historic placeB−Wauconda TownshipIts storyC+

Questions about Round Lake’s history

What year was Round Lake founded?

In 1908, according to Wikidata. the census of 1910 counted 182 people here.

How does Round Lake rank for history?

Round Lake is more historic than 7% of U.S. towns, #741 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 Round Lake?

1% of Round Lake’s homes were built before 1940 (Census estimate, ±1.2 points), against a typical 11% for an Illinois town; the median home was built in 2003.

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 (4), Wikipedia, Wikidata and Wikipedia for famous people, 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.