Rutland Township’s post office opened in 1854, and 1 of its places is on the National Register
More historic than 32% of U.S. towns · #539 of 768 in Illinois. What drives it
Most of Rutland Township was built recently: 3% of its homes predate 1940 and the median home dates from 2006. Below: maps from 1925 on and the census since 2000.
The Rutland Township post office opened in 1854, the earliest record of the town by name. Another post office, Rutland (1854), opened inside today’s town and later closed.
First census: 4,062 in 20002020 census: 26,666172 years
How historic is Rutland Township?
C
More historic than 32% of U.S. towns, on its age, its old homes and the National Register.
Founding year: the first Rutland Township post office (Blevins & Helbock, CC0).
History grade
What drives Rutland Township’s History grade
On its age, its old homes and the National Register, Rutland Township is more historic than 32% of U.S. towns, #539 of 768 in Illinois. Its National Register listings hold the grade up; its share of homes from before 1940 pulls it down.
C
HistoryA character grade: shown, never part of Rutland 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 Rutland Township’s 0.4 sits near the middle of its state (59% 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 C− to C+. The pre-1940 share (±2.4 points) is firm at this size. The founding year is the first post office, not a stated founding date.
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 Rutland Township’s past
Read from the archive, the National Register and the record. The page puts what stands out first.
Lost post offices, old corners, places now gone and burying grounds
Another post office, Rutland, opened and closed inside today’s town.
Hamlets and corners on the map
Binnie HillsBinnie LakesFreemanThe Landings
Gone or out of use
Atchinson SchoolschoolEakin SchoolschoolReid RLA AirportairportSchool Number 19schoolSchool Number 3schoolTazewell Schoolschool
1cemetery inside Rutland Township
Buena Vista
US Post Offices dataset (Blevins & Helbock, CC0). Places and cemeteries from the USGS Geographic Names Information System (2021).
On the map
Rutland Township on the map, 1925 to 1992
Every edition of the U.S. Geological Survey’s map of Rutland Township. Tap a year, or press play to watch the town change.
1925Elgin 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 Rutland Township.
The story so far
Rutland Township, in brief
Wikipedia doesn’t have a history of Rutland Township yet. The photos, dates and memories neighbors add here are how it gets written.
Rutland Township is one of sixteen townships in Kane County, Illinois. As of the 2020 census, its population was 26,666 and it contained 10,927 housing units. It was originally called Jackson Township; the name was changed to Rutland on July 2, 1850.
Its first post office opened in 1854. Between the 2010 and 2020 censuses its population grew from 18,806 to 26,666 (+42%).
Intro from Wikipedia. Population: U.S. Census Bureau.
Timeline
Rutland Township, 1854 to 1925
Woven from the archive, old maps, post office records, the National Register and the people born here.
The Rutland Township post office opened in 1854, the earliest record of the town by name (U.S. post office records).
How does Rutland Township rank for history?
Rutland Township is more historic than 32% of U.S. towns, #539 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 Rutland Township?
3% of Rutland Township’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 2006.
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), 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.
