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CHistory
History · Stickney

Stickney dates to 1913, and 24% of its homes were built before 1940

More historic than 30% of U.S. towns · #559 of 768 in Illinois. What drives it

Below: maps from 1891 on and the census since 1920.

1913founded
0on the National Register
24%homes built before 1940
Add an old photoShare a memory
Quick answers

How Stickney began, and where its name came from

When was Stickney founded?

1913

Stickney dates its founding to 1913 (Wikidata). The census first counted it in 1920.

First census: 550 in 19202020 census: 7,110113 years

How did Stickney get its name?

Stickney was named after native of Maine, Alpheaus Beede Stickney, who was the president of the Chicago Great Western Railway.

How historic is Stickney?

C

More historic than 30% of U.S. towns, on its age, its old homes and the National Register.

What drives the grade ↓
Founding year: Wikidata. First post office: 1835. Name: Wikipedia, licensed CC BY-SA 4.0.The full story ↓
History grade

What drives Stickney’s History grade

On its age, its old homes and the National Register, Stickney is more historic than 30% of U.S. towns, #559 of 768 in Illinois. Its share of homes from before 1940 holds the grade up; its age pulls it down.

C
HistoryA character grade: shown, never part of Stickney’s overall grade.
Founding era1913, from Wikidata: founded 1900–1944, an older era than 9% of U.S. townsDHomes built before 194023.5% of homes (±10.0) · typical IL town 10.6% · U.S. 8.4%A−National 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 30%
NewerOlder
Illinois towns of 2,500+ (768)Ahead of 27%

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 Stickney’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 1913.
How sure. Graded on any two of the three inputs instead, the letter would range from D to B−. The pre-1940 share is a Census survey estimate (±10.0 points).

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 Stickney’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 Stickney are in the public archives yet. The rest are in attics and albums.On the map since 18918 editions of the USGS map, 1891 to 1993. Watch Stickney change.Old housesHalf of Stickney’s homes were built before 1954.
★ What stands out · Help out

Start Stickney’s collection

The first neighbors to add old photos shape how Stickney’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

Stickney on the map, 1891 to 1993

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

Stickney on the 1891 USGS mapStickney on the 1900 USGS mapStickney on the 1928 USGS mapStickney on the 1953 USGS mapStickney on the 1963 USGS mapStickney on the 1972 USGS mapStickney on the 1980 USGS mapStickney 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 Stickney.

The story

How Stickney came to be

From Wikipedia’s history of Stickney.

Read it all →

Before modern settlement, the area now known as Stickney was once covered by Mud Lake, a marshy area that only began to recede after the construction of the Illinois and Michigan Canal. After this, the land where Stickney is became drier, and early residents, such as Dutch and German farmers moved there.

On December 13th, 1913, The Village of Stickney was officially incorporated. It was named after native of Maine, Alpheaus Beede Stickney, who was the president of the Chicago Great Western Railway. Starting in the 1920s, neighboring communities such as Berwyn, and Cicero started to expand, as well as Stickney. Around that time, criminals including Al Capone moved in, establishing speakeasies and brothels.

Text from Wikipedia, licensed CC BY-SA 4.0.

Timeline

Stickney, 1835 to 1913

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

  1. 19th century
  2. 1835Post officeThe Hadley post office opens
  3. 1882Post officeThe Hadley post office closes
  4. 1891On the mapFirst mapped by the U.S. Geological Survey
  5. 20th century
  6. 1913
    FoundingStickney is established
By decade

No old photos in the archives yet

Weddings on Main Street, storms, parades, school pictures, the old store. If it’s in your family album, it belongs here.

Be the first to add onePhotograph a print flat, in daylight, no flash.
Add from your album
People over time

Stickney, census by census

05001,0001,5002,0002,5003,0003,5004,0004,5005,0005,5006,0006,5007,0007,5001920194019601980200020207,110

Grew from 550 people in 1920 to 7,110 in 2020, more than tenfold.

11 censuses, 1920–2020.

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

Places that used to be

Lost post offices, places now gone and burying grounds

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

Gone or out of use
Ogden Ditchcanal
1cemetery inside Stickney
Mount Auburn Memorial

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.

Stickney TownshipIts storyC−Chicago407 historic placesA+Forest ViewIts storynot graded: under 1,000 residents or part of its townCicero1 historic placeB+

Questions about Stickney’s history

What year was Stickney founded?

In 1913, according to Wikidata. Stickney’s post office opened in 1835, and the census of 1920 counted 550 people here.

How does Stickney rank for history?

Stickney is more historic than 30% of U.S. towns, #559 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 Stickney?

24% of Stickney’s homes were built before 1940 (Census estimate, ±10.0 points), against a typical 11% for an Illinois town; the median home was built in 1954.

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 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.