Sycamore’s post office opened in 1840, and 13% of its homes were built before 1940
More historic than 88% of U.S. towns · #102 of 768 in Illinois. What drives it
5 places in town are on the National Register, among them a historic district with 187 buildings. Below: 3 old photos and papers, maps from 1937 on, and the census since 1850.
Founding year: the first Sycamore post office (Blevins & Helbock, CC0).The full story ↓
History grade
What drives Sycamore’s History grade
On its age, its old homes and the National Register, Sycamore is more historic than 88% of U.S. towns, #102 of 768 in Illinois. All 3 inputs are above most U.S. towns; its National Register listings ranks highest and its share of homes from before 1940 lowest.
A
HistoryA character grade: shown, never part of Sycamore’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 Sycamore’s 102 sits above most of its state (94% of Illinois towns have fewer) while its 190 historic buildings outnumber those of 93% 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 is a Census survey estimate (±4.6 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 Sycamore’s past
Read from the archive, the National Register and the record. The page puts what stands out first.
The first European settlers to the Sycamore-area arrived in 1835 and concentrated themselves mostly north of the Kishwaukee River (the name of which means sycamore) and the present site of Sycamore. The original town was platted by a New Yorker named Christian Sharer. A mill was constructed and the Kishwaukee dammed but the town failed. By 1837, after some controversy, the location of county seat was settled in favor of Orange, Sycamore's original name, and the settlement moved to the present-day site of the city.
Passages that mention Sycamore, cut from the printed page as they were published.
History of DeKalb County, Illinois1868 · page 371Read the page →
Read the text
The second was Sycamore precinct, including the northeast corner of the County, and extending as far south as. Charter Grove, but not including the present village of Sycamore.
Text read by machine from the scan; it may contain errors.
History of DeKalb County, Illinois1868 · page 433Read the page →
Read the text
Court House. Following the example set by the village of De Kalb, whose beautiful school-building was then the most costly and elegant owned in the State by any village of equal size, the village of Sycamore completed one this year equally tasteful and admirable in its plans. Many other places since that time have followed the example set by these two riva 55
Text read by machine from the scan; it may contain errors.
Portrait and biographical album of DeKalb County, Illinois1885 · page 768Read the page →
Read the text
into the Rock River, in Winnebago County. It has several branches, one of which heads in the town of Virgil, Kane County, and flows through Cortland and Sycamore Townships, and enters the main branch in the town of Mayfield. There are several small creeks that flow through the northern part of the county, which are valuable to the farms which they water.
Text read by machine from the scan; it may contain errors.
Scans and text from the Internet Archive. Books published in 1930 or earlier, which are in the public domain.
By decade
Sycamore, decade by decade
2 decades in the archive, from the 1910s to the 1960s. Scroll each row; tap a photo for its story.
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.
The Sycamore post office opened in 1840, the earliest record of the town by name (U.S. post office records).
How does Sycamore rank for history?
Sycamore is more historic than 88% of U.S. towns, #102 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 Sycamore?
5 listings: 3 buildings, 1 historic district, the Sycamore Historic District, with 187 contributing buildings, and 1 structure. 190 historic buildings in all.
How old are the homes in Sycamore?
13% of Sycamore’s homes were built before 1940 (Census estimate, ±4.6 points), against a typical 11% for an Illinois town; the median home was built in 1993.
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 (6), the National Register of Historic Places (5), 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), the USGS Geographic Names Information System and old county and town histories (Internet Archive). Archive images are copied here with their credits and licenses, shown on each photo’s page. Refreshed monthly.
1962
2007
2007
2006
