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Sandwich City Hall5Photo: A. McMurray A mcmurray · CC BY 2.5
–Not graded
History · Sandwich Township

Sandwich Township’s post office opened in 1850, and 19% of its homes were built before 1940

2 places in town are on the National Register. Below: 1 old photo or paper, maps from 1948 on, and the census since 1860.

1850first post office
2on the National Register
19%homes built before 1940
1old photo or paper
Add an old photoShare a memory
From Sandwich Township’s archive · credits on each photo
Quick answers

How Sandwich Township began

When was Sandwich Township founded?

1850

The Sandwich Township post office opened in 1850, the earliest record of the town by name. Wikidata gives 1859. Another post office, Freeland (1855), opened inside today’s town and later closed.

First census: 952 in 18602020 census: 7,510176 years
Founding year: the first Sandwich Township post office (Blevins & Helbock, CC0). Wikidata: 1859.The full story ↓

What stands out about Sandwich Township’s past

Read from the archive, the National Register and the record. The page puts what stands out first.

A history waiting to be writtenOnly 1 old photo is in the public archives. The rest are in attics and albums.
★ What stands out · Help out

Start Sandwich Township’s collection

The first neighbors to add old photos shape how Sandwich Township’s history is told.

Decades since 1900 with photos
00s10s20s30s40s50s60s70s80s90s
0 of 10 decades. The empty ones are waiting for someone’s album.
Retake an old viewBird's eye view of the city of Sandwich…: stand where they stood+15Share a family photoSign in to add one+10
The story

How Sandwich Township came to be

From Wikipedia’s history of Sandwich Township.

Read it all →

The town's history is tied to politician John Wentworth and his efforts to move the Illinois border with Wisconsin from being even with the southernmost latitude of Lake Michigan to its present location. If those efforts had not been successful, the state line would reside along the LaSalle-DeKalb County border, placing the incorporated community in Wisconsin. The community was established when Almon Gage sought a railroad stop on the Chicago, Burlington and Quincy Railroad that ran through town. Originally naming it Newark Station (not to be confused with the nearby village of Newark) he and Wentworth worked extensively to create the community and also to get the railroad stop created. In honor of his efforts, Wentworth was given the opportunity to name the town. He named it after his home of Sandwich, New Hampshire. The city's Wentworth Apartments and Wentworth Street are named after …

Text from Wikipedia, licensed CC BY-SA 4.0.

Timeline

Sandwich Township, 1855 to 1948

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

  1. 19th century
  2. 1855Post officeThe Freeland post office opens
  3. 1869In the archiveBird's eye view of the city of Sandwich, De Kalb County, Illinois 1869
  4. 1886Post officeThe Freeland post office closes
  5. 20th century
  6. 1948On the mapFirst mapped by the U.S. Geological Survey
By decade

Sandwich Township, decade by decade

One decade in the archive so far: the 1860s. Scroll each row; tap a photo for its story.

1860s1 item
Bird's eye view of the city of Sandwich, De Kalb County, Illinois 18691869Bird's eye view of the city of Sandwich, De Kalb Coun…
Today9 recent
Water tower in a town with an unusual name: Sandwich, Illinois. The town got its name when prominent local resident "Lo…2020Water tower in a town with an unusual name: Sandwich,…New cars awaiting buyers at the local Ford dealer2020New cars awaiting buyers at the local Ford dealer20180906 02 Steam @ Sandwich Fair - Flickr - davidwilson1949201820180906 02 Steam @ Sandwich Fair - Flickr - davidwil…Sandwich Water tower2007Sandwich Water towerSandwich Il library2007Sandwich Il libraryMarcy Block2007Marcy BlockHummel BLdg2007Hummel BLdgDowtown Sandwich Il12007Dowtown Sandwich Il1ILMap-doton-Sandwich2006ILMap-doton-Sandwich
On the map

Sandwich Township on the map, 1948 to 1971

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

Sandwich Township on the 1948 USGS mapSandwich Township on the 1950 USGS mapSandwich Township on the 1971 USGS map1948Sandwich 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 Sandwich Township.

Then & now

Stand where they stood

No then-and-now pairs yet. Take a photo from the same spot as an old one and they appear here side by side.

Bird's eye view of the city of Sandwich, De Kalb County, Illinois 1869
Retake this viewBird's eye view of the city of Sandwich, De Kalb County, Illinois 1869, 1869

Find the spot, match the angle, and add your photo. It becomes the first then-and-now pair on Sandwich Township’s page.

Retake this view · +15
On the National Register

2 historic places in Sandwich Township

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

places listed
2
National Historic Landmarks
0
none yet
historic buildings protected
2
each building in a district counts

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

People over time

Sandwich Township, census by census

02,0004,0006,0008,000190019502000Peak: 7,421

Between 952 and 7,421 people in every census since 1860.

17 censuses, 1860–2020.

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

Places that used to be

Lost post offices, places now gone and burying grounds

Another post office, Freeland, opened and closed inside today’s town.

Gone or out of use
Coy SchoolschoolFreeland Schoolschool
2cemeteries and burying grounds inside Sandwich Township
Pratts Oak LawnSaint Paul Catholic

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

Stories next door

History across the town line

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

Somonauk TownshipIts storynot graded: under 1,000 residents or part of its townLittle Rock Township6 historic placesA−Squaw Grove TownshipIts storyB+Northville TownshipIts storyC

Questions about Sandwich Township’s history

What year was Sandwich Township founded?

The Sandwich Township post office opened in 1850, the earliest record of the town by name (U.S. post office records). Wikidata gives 1859.

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). How TownRatings grades history →

From Wikimedia Commons (8), the Library of Congress (2), Wikipedia, 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.