St. Charles Township dates to 1834, and 10 of its places are on the National Register
More historic than 74% of U.S. towns · #231 of 768 in Illinois. What drives it
Most of St. Charles Township was built recently: 8% of its homes predate 1940 and the median home dates from 1987. Below: 9 old photos and papers, maps from 1932 on, and the census since 1860.
Founding year: Wikidata. First post office: 1838.The full story ↓
History grade
What drives St. Charles Township’s History grade
On its age, its old homes and the National Register, St. Charles Township is more historic than 74% of U.S. towns, #231 of 768 in Illinois. Its National Register listings hold the grade up; its share of homes from before 1940 pulls it down.
B+
HistoryA character grade: shown, never part of St. Charles 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 St. Charles Township’s 3.7 sits above most of its state (73% of Illinois towns have fewer) while its 19 historic buildings outnumber those of 79% of U.S. towns.
How sure. Graded on any two of the three inputs instead, the letter would range from B to A−. The pre-1940 share (±1.5 points) is firm at this size. Two sources give 1834.
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 St. Charles 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
Three other post offices opened and closed inside today’s town.
Little Woods
1842–1853
Silver Glen
1870–1873
Coleman
1889–1893
18401930today
Hamlets and corners on the map
Bakers AcresBonnie ValleyColemanCrane Road EstatesCrane Woods EstatesEvanswoodFarmingtonFerson Creek WoodsFive Island ParkFox River EstatesFox River HeightsHawkins GlenKnoll Creek WestLake CharlotteLongview EstatesMallard Lake NorthMallard Lake SouthMiddlecreekNovak ParkPheasant RunRainbow HillsRedgate RidgeRiver Grange LakesValley View
St. Charles was the location of the Native American community for the chief of the Pottawatomie that inhabited the area. A city park overlooking the river was dedicated to the Native Americans. After the Black Hawk War in 1832, the entire area of the Fox Valley was opened to American settlement. Evan Shelby and William Franklin staked the first claim in what is now St. Charles in 1833. They came back in 1834 with their families from Indiana and were joined by over a dozen other families later that year. The township was initially known as Charleston, but this name was already taken by the downstate city of Charleston, Illinois, so the name of St. Charles (suggested by S. S. Jones, a lawyer) was adopted in 1839. St. Charles became incorporated as a city February 9, 1839, and reincorporated October 17, 1874 (under the 1870 Illinois Constitution).
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.
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.
Every edition of the U.S. Geological Survey’s map of St. Charles Township. Tap a year, or press play to watch the town change.
1932Geneva 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 St. Charles 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.
Retake this view1940 Census Enumeration District Maps - Illinois - Kane County - St. Charles - ED 45-107, ED 45-108, ED 45-109, ED 45-1…, 1880
Find the spot, match the angle, and add your photo. It becomes the first then-and-now pair on St. Charles Township’s page.
In 1834, according to Wikidata. St. Charles Township’s post office opened in 1838, and the census of 1860 counted 1,822 people here.
How does St. Charles Township rank for history?
St. Charles Township is more historic than 74% of U.S. towns, #231 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.
What is on the National Register in St. Charles Township?
10 listings: 1 building, among them the Durant House (listed 1976, the first). 19 historic buildings in all.
How old are the homes in St. Charles Township?
8% of St. Charles Township’s homes were built before 1940 (Census estimate, ±1.5 points), against a typical 11% for an Illinois town; the median home was built in 1987.
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 (15), Wikidata (3), the National Register of Historic Places (1), Wikipedia, 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.
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