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DHistory
History · Schiller Park

Schiller Park’s post office opened in 1922

More historic than 13% of U.S. towns · #704 of 768 in Illinois. What drives it

Most of Schiller Park was built recently: 6% of its homes predate 1940 and the median home dates from 1962. Below: 2 old photos and papers, maps from 1891 on, and the census since 1920.

1922first post office
0on the National Register
6%homes built before 1940
2old photos & papers
1famous people
Add an old photoShare a memory
From Schiller Park’s archive · credits on each photo
Quick answers

How Schiller Park began

When was Schiller Park founded?

1922

The Schiller Park post office opened in 1922, the earliest record of the town by name.

First census: 390 in 19202020 census: 11,709104 years

How historic is Schiller Park?

D

More historic than 13% of U.S. towns, on its age, its old homes and the National Register.

What drives the grade ↓
Founding year: the first Schiller Park post office (Blevins & Helbock, CC0).
History grade

What drives Schiller Park’s History grade

On its age, its old homes and the National Register, Schiller Park is more historic than 13% of U.S. towns, #704 of 768 in Illinois. Its share of homes from before 1940 holds the grade up; its age pulls it down.

D
HistoryA character grade: shown, never part of Schiller Park’s overall grade.
Founding era1922, from the first post office: founded 1900–1944, an older era than 9% of U.S. townsDHomes built before 19406.0% of homes (±3.8) · typical IL town 10.6% · U.S. 8.4%CNational 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 13%
NewerOlder
Illinois towns of 2,500+ (768)Ahead of 8%

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 Schiller 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.

How sure. Graded on any two of the three inputs instead, the letter would range from D to C−. The pre-1940 share is a Census survey estimate (±3.8 points). 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 Schiller Park’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 2 old photos are in the public archives. The rest are in attics and albums.On the map since 18917 editions of the USGS map, 1891 to 1993. Watch Schiller Park change.Old housesHalf of Schiller Park’s homes were built before 1962.
★ What stands out · Help out

Start Schiller Park’s collection

The first neighbors to add old photos shape how Schiller Park’s history is told.

Decades since 1900 with photos
00s10s20s30s40s50s60s70s80s90s
1 of 10 decades. The empty ones are waiting for someone’s album.
Retake an old viewSchiller Woods Magic Pump 1964: stand where they stood+15Share a family photoSign in to add one+10
On the map

Schiller Park on the map, 1891 to 1993

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

Schiller Park on the 1891 USGS mapSchiller Park on the 1900 USGS mapSchiller Park on the 1928 USGS mapSchiller Park on the 1953 USGS mapSchiller Park on the 1963 USGS mapSchiller Park on the 1972 USGS mapSchiller Park on the 1993 USGS map1891Riverside 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 Schiller Park.

The story so far

Schiller Park, in brief

Wikipedia doesn’t have a history of Schiller Park yet. The photos, dates and memories neighbors add here are how it gets written.

Schiller Park is a village in Leyden Township, Cook County, Illinois, United States. The population was 11,709 at the 2020 census.

Its first post office opened in 1922. Its population held steady between the last two censuses: 11,793 in 2010, 11,709 in 2020.

Intro from Wikipedia. Population: U.S. Census Bureau.

Timeline

Schiller Park, 1891 to 1967

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

  1. 19th century
  2. 1891On the mapFirst mapped by the U.S. Geological Survey
  3. 20th century
  4. 1922Post officeThe Schiller Park post office opens
  5. 1960Born hereJim Spivey is born here
  6. 1964In the archiveSchiller Woods Magic Pump 1964
  7. 1967Post officeThe Schiller Park post office closes
By decade

Schiller Park, decade by decade

One decade in the archive so far: the 1960s. Scroll each row; tap a photo for its story.

1960s2 items
Schiller Woods Magic Pump 19641964Schiller Woods Magic Pump 1964SOO SW9 2118 at Schiller Park, IL ON September 10, 19671967SOO SW9 2118 at Schiller Park, IL ON September 10, 19…
1970s–1990snothing yet
Nothing in the archives for these yearsWeddings on Main Street, storms, parades, school pictures, the old store. If it’s in your family album, it belongs here.
Add from your album
Today19 recent
US 12 east US 45 south at Balmoral Ave - Schiller Park, IL - April 20232023US 12 east US 45 south at Balmoral Ave - Schiller Par…Chocolate Soldier back2023Chocolate Soldier backOutbound Metra at2019Outbound Metra atSchiller Park station2016Schiller Park stationUntitled photo2015Untitled photoUntitled photo2015Untitled photoTri-State Tollway, I-294, Chicago, Illinois2013Tri-State Tollway, I-294, Chicago, IllinoisChevalier Woods2010Chevalier WoodsChevalier Woods - panoramio (1)2010Chevalier Woods - panoramio (1)Shiller woods2008Shiller woodsShiller woods - panoramio (2)2008Shiller woods - panoramio (2)Shiller woods - panoramio (1)2008Shiller woods - panoramio (1)Des Plaines River2008Des Plaines RiverDes Plaines River - panoramio (6)2008Des Plaines River - panoramio (6)Des Plaines River - panoramio (5)2008Des Plaines River - panoramio (5)Des Plaines River - panoramio (3)2008Des Plaines River - panoramio (3)Des Plaines River - panoramio (2)2008Des Plaines River - panoramio (2)Des Plaines River - panoramio (1)2008Des Plaines River - panoramio (1)Catherine Chevalier Woods Forest Preserve - panoramio (2)2008Catherine Chevalier Woods Forest Preserve - panoramio…
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.

Schiller Woods Magic Pump 1964
Retake this viewSchiller Woods Magic Pump 1964, 1964

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

Retake this view · +15
People over time

Schiller Park, census by census

02,0004,0006,0008,00010,00012,00014,000192019401960198020002020Peak: 12,712

Between 390 and 12,712 people in every census since 1920.

11 censuses, 1920–2020.

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

Places that used to be

Lost post offices, old corners, places now gone and burying grounds

Schiller Park had its own post office from 1922 to 1967.

Schiller Park
1922–1967
19201970today
Hamlets and corners on the map
Riverview
Gone or out of use
Saint Beatrice Schoolschool
1cemetery inside Schiller Park
Eden Memorial Park

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.

Leyden Township1 historic placeB−Chicago407 historic placesA+Franklin ParkIts storyC

Questions about Schiller Park’s history

What year was Schiller Park founded?

The Schiller Park post office opened in 1922, the earliest record of the town by name (U.S. post office records).

How does Schiller Park rank for history?

Schiller Park is more historic than 13% of U.S. towns, #704 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 Schiller Park?

6% of Schiller Park’s homes were built before 1940 (Census estimate, ±3.8 points), against a typical 11% for an Illinois town; the median home was built in 1962.

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 (21), 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) 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.