Most of Twin Grove was built recently: 1% of its homes predate 1940 and the median home dates from 1985. Below: maps from 1951 on and old-book passages.
Founding year: the first Twin Grove post office (Blevins & Helbock, CC0).
History grade
What drives Twin Grove’s History grade
On its age, its old homes and the National Register, Twin Grove is more historic than 15% of U.S. towns. Its age holds the grade up; its share of homes from before 1940 pulls it down.
C−
HistoryA character grade: shown, never part of Twin Grove’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 Twin Grove’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 (±1.5 points) is firm at this size. 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 Twin Grove’s past
Read from the archive, the National Register and the record. The page puts what stands out first.
Wikipedia doesn’t have a history of Twin Grove yet. The photos, dates and memories neighbors add here are how it gets written.
Twin Grove is an unincorporated community and census-designated place (CDP) in McLean County, Illinois, United States. As of the 2020 census, Twin Grove had a population of 1,524.
Its first post office opened in 1874. Between the 2010 and 2020 censuses its population fell from 1,564 to 1,524 (-3%).
Intro from Wikipedia. Population: U.S. Census Bureau.
From the old history books
What they wrote about Twin Grove, 1879–1924
Passages that mention Twin Grove, cut from the printed page as they were published.
The History of McLean County, Illinois1879 · page 612Read the page →
Read the text
There was an early organization of the Christian Church at Twin Grove, but it was across the line north. Many of the members of that Church lived in Dale Township, but the first organization of a church inside of what is now Dale, did not occur until 1859. At what is known as the California Schoolhouse, something more than a mile north of Shirley, this first society was organized December 4, 1859. It was organized by the advice and consent of the Grassy Ridge Church in Bloomington Township. There were thirteen original members. Jonathan Park was the minister ;
Text read by machine from the scan; it may contain errors.
The History of McLean County, Illinois1879 · page 687Read the page →
Read the text
In 1830, there were at Twin Grove the following families: Stephen Webb, Matthew Harbard (who lived on what was afterward known as the Daniel Munsell place), Landay Hurst and a Mr. Lucas. In the fall of the same year, George Beeler came to the Twin Grove, from Butler County, Ohio. Ormond Robison came to Dry Grove in 1832. He remained but a short time, but moved to White Oak Grove in 1835. At this time, John Enlow came to the east side of Twin Grove. He stopped on the prairie and went to farming immediately. In 1837, the Munsells came from Indiana.
Text read by machine from the scan; it may contain errors.
History of McLean County, Illinois1924 · page 209Read the page →
Read the text
was the last work of the lamented J. H. Gilliland. There is a colored church at Normal formed in 1884. Saybrook Church dates back to 1868, and Shirley Church to 1869. The congregation at Stanford was formed in 1870 and has a church and parsonage. Twin Grove Church was formed in 1841 and still has a building after two previous ones had been burned down. The list of pastors of the various churches in McLean County at present is as follows: Arrowsmith, Gary Crone; Bellflower, C. S. Linkletter; Blooming
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
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.
The Twin Grove post office opened in 1874, the earliest record of the town by name (U.S. post office records).
How does Twin Grove rank for history?
Twin Grove is more historic than 15% of U.S. towns. 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 Twin Grove?
1% of Twin Grove’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 1985.
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 U.S. Geological Survey historical maps 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.
