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DuPage River, Shorewood, Illinois (11004138155)Photo: Ken Lund from Reno, Nevada, USA · CC BY-SA 2.0
CHistory
History · Shorewood

Shorewood dates to 1830

More historic than 32% of U.S. towns · #537 of 768 in Illinois. What drives it

Most of Shorewood was built recently: 1% of its homes predate 1940 and the median home dates from 2002. Below: maps from 1892 on and the census since 1960.

1830founded
0on the National Register
1%homes built before 1940
Add an old photoShare a memory
Photo: Ken Lund from Reno, Nevada, USA · CC BY-SA 2.0
Quick answers

How Shorewood began

When was Shorewood founded?

1830

Shorewood dates its founding to 1830 (Wikidata). The census first counted it in 1960.

First census: 499 in 19602020 census: 18,186196 years

How historic is Shorewood?

C

More historic than 32% of U.S. towns, on its age, its old homes and the National Register.

What drives the grade ↓
Founding year: Wikidata. First post office: 1864.
History grade

What drives Shorewood’s History grade

On its age, its old homes and the National Register, Shorewood is more historic than 32% of U.S. towns, #537 of 768 in Illinois. Its age holds the grade up; its share of homes from before 1940 pulls it down.

C
HistoryA character grade: shown, never part of Shorewood’s overall grade.
Founding era1830, from Wikidata: founded 1776–1849, an older era than 75% of U.S. townsA−Homes 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 32%
NewerOlder
Illinois towns of 2,500+ (768)Ahead of 30%

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 Shorewood’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 1830.
How sure. Graded on any two of the three inputs instead, the letter would range from D to B−. 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 Shorewood’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 Shorewood are in the public archives yet. The rest are in attics and albums.On the map since 18927 editions of the USGS map, 1892 to 1993. Watch Shorewood change.Lost villages1 post office opened and closed inside today’s Shorewood, and 6 old place names are still on the map.Deep rootsEstablished in 1830: 196 years of Shorewood.
★ What stands out · Help out

Start Shorewood’s collection

The first neighbors to add old photos shape how Shorewood’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

Shorewood on the map, 1892 to 1993

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

Shorewood on the 1892 USGS mapShorewood on the 1923 USGS mapShorewood on the 1954 USGS mapShorewood on the 1962 USGS mapShorewood on the 1973 USGS mapShorewood on the 1980 USGS mapShorewood on the 1993 USGS map1892Joliet 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 Shorewood.

Places that used to be

Lost post offices, old corners and places now gone

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

Hamlets and corners on the map
Hunt ClubRiver Oaks WestShorewood BeachShorewood ParkSunset HillsVintage
Gone or out of use
Center SchoolschoolCronan SchoolschoolHaley Fieldairport

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

The story so far

Shorewood, in brief

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

Shorewood is a village in Troy Township, Will County, Illinois, United States. The population was 18,182 in the 2020 census, and is estimated to be 18,360 in 2024.

Shorewood was established in 1830. Between the 2010 and 2020 censuses its population grew from 15,615 to 18,186 (+16%).

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

Timeline

Shorewood, 1830 to 1892

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

  1. 19th century
  2. 1830
    FoundingShorewood is established
  3. 1864Post officeThe Grinton post office opens
  4. 1876Post officeThe Grinton post office closes
  5. 1892On the mapFirst mapped by the U.S. Geological Survey
By decade

Shorewood, decade by decade

Today4 recent
Target (Shorewood, Illinois) 12026Target (Shorewood, Illinois) 1Country West Park in Illinois, April 20252025Country West Park in Illinois, April 2025DuPage River2013DuPage RiverShorewoodlibrary2005Shorewoodlibrary
People over time

Shorewood, census by census

05,00010,00015,00020,000196019802000202018,186

Grew from 499 people in 1960 to 18,186 in 2020, more than tenfold.

7 censuses, 1960–2020.

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

Stories next door

History across the town line

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

Joliet14 historic placesA

Questions about Shorewood’s history

What year was Shorewood founded?

In 1830, according to Wikidata. Shorewood’s post office opened in 1864, and the census of 1960 counted 499 people here.

How does Shorewood rank for history?

Shorewood is more historic than 32% of U.S. towns, #537 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 Shorewood?

1% of Shorewood’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 2002.

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), 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.