More historic than 28% of U.S. towns · #571 of 768 in Illinois. What drives it
Most of Wadsworth was built recently: 9% of its homes predate 1940 and the median home dates from 1986. Below: 2 old photos and papers, maps from 1906 on, and the census since 1880.
The Wadsworth post office opened in 1874, the earliest record of the town by name. Another post office, Rosecrans (1863), opened inside today’s town and later closed.
First census: 64 in 18802020 census: 3,517152 years
How historic is Wadsworth?
C
More historic than 28% of U.S. towns, on its age, its old homes and the National Register.
Founding year: the first Wadsworth post office (Blevins & Helbock, CC0).
History grade
What drives Wadsworth’s History grade
On its age, its old homes and the National Register, Wadsworth is more historic than 28% of U.S. towns, #571 of 768 in Illinois. Its share of homes from before 1940 holds the grade up; its National Register listings pull it down.
C
HistoryA character grade: shown, never part of Wadsworth’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 Wadsworth’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 C− to C. The pre-1940 share is a Census survey estimate (±7.1 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 Wadsworth’s past
Read from the archive, the National Register and the record. The page puts what stands out first.
Every edition of the U.S. Geological Survey’s map of Wadsworth. Tap a year, or press play to watch the town change.
1906Waukegan 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 Wadsworth.
The story so far
Wadsworth, in brief
Wikipedia doesn’t have a history of Wadsworth yet. The photos, dates and memories neighbors add here are how it gets written.
Wadsworth is a village in Lake County, Illinois, United States. Per the 2020 census, the population was 3,517. It is named after E. S. Wadsworth, who was a major stockholder for the Chicago, Milwaukee, St. Paul and Pacific Railroad, which passes through the village.
Its first post office opened in 1874. Between the 2010 and 2020 censuses its population fell from 3,815 to 3,517 (-8%).
Intro from Wikipedia. Population: U.S. Census Bureau.
From the old history books
What they wrote about Wadsworth in 1877
Passages that mention Wadsworth, cut from the printed page as they were published.
The past and present of Lake County, Illinois, containing a history of the county ... a biographical directory ... war record ... early settlers ... statistics ... history of Illinois ... the Northwest ... etc., etc ..1877 · page 299Read the page →
Read the text
The station at Wadsworth is becoming a place of considerable local impor¬ tance. A town plat was laid out here by John Lux, and completed October 8, 1874. The railroad was completed and trains commenced running in Febru¬ ary, 1873. The building up of the place commenced in the Spring following.
Text read by machine from the scan; it may contain errors.
The past and present of Lake County, Illinois, containing a history of the county ... a biographical directory ... war record ... early settlers ... statistics ... history of Illinois ... the Northwest ... etc., etc ..1877 · page 237Read the page →
Read the text
that trains commenced running in January, 1873. The stations on the line of this road in Lake County are as follows : Deerfield and Lancaster, in the town¬ ship of Deerfield ; Libertyville, in the township of that name ; Warrenton and Gurnee, in the township of Warren; Wadsworth and Russell, in the township of Newport. At all stations where agents are in charge, there are telegraph and express offices, usually operated by the station agents, and a large amount of general business is done.
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.
Timeline
Wadsworth, 1863 to 1959
Woven from the archive, old maps, post office records, the National Register and the people born 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 Wadsworth post office opened in 1874, the earliest record of the town by name (U.S. post office records).
How does Wadsworth rank for history?
Wadsworth is more historic than 28% of U.S. towns, #571 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 Wadsworth?
9% of Wadsworth’s homes were built before 1940 (Census estimate, ±7.1 points), against a typical 11% for an Illinois town; the median home was built in 1986.
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 (5), 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.
1959
2024
2009
2006
