Waukegan’s post office opened in 1849, and 18% of its homes were built before 1940
More historic than 90% of U.S. towns · #77 of 768 in Illinois. What drives it
6 places in town are on the National Register, among them a historic district with 160 buildings. Below: 5 old photos and papers, maps from 1885 on, and the census since 1860.
The Waukegan post office opened in 1849, the earliest record of the town by name. Wikidata gives 1859. Four smaller post offices, Little Fort (1841), Warrenton (1853) and Whittier (1870), opened inside today’s city and later closed.
First census: 3,433 in 18602020 census: 89,321177 years
How historic is Waukegan?
A
More historic than 90% of U.S. towns, on its age, its old homes and the National Register.
Founding year: the first Waukegan post office (Blevins & Helbock, CC0). Wikidata: 1859.The full story ↓
History grade
What drives Waukegan’s History grade
On its age, its old homes and the National Register, Waukegan is more historic than 90% of U.S. towns, #77 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 Waukegan’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 Waukegan’s 19.2 sits above most of its state (86% of Illinois towns have fewer) while its 171 historic buildings outnumber those of 92% of U.S. towns.
How sure. Graded on any two of the three inputs instead, the letter would range from A− to A. 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; Wikidata gives 1859.
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 Waukegan’s past
Read from the archive, the National Register and the record. The page puts what stands out first.
Dady SchoolschoolJackson SchoolschoolLake County SanatoriumhospitalSaint Johns Evangelical Reformed ChurchchurchTownline Schoolschool
3cemeteries and burying grounds inside Waukegan
Am Echod JewishOakwoodSaint Marys
US Post Offices dataset (Blevins & Helbock, CC0). Places and cemeteries from the USGS Geographic Names Information System (2021).
Every building
Waukegan, building by building, 1885–1924
Fire insurance maps drew every building, what it was made of and what it was used for, so insurers could price the risk of fire. Pick a year, then a sheet.
The site of present-day Waukegan was recorded as Rivière du Vieux Fort ("Old Fort River") and Wakaygagh on a 1778 map by Thomas Hutchins. By the 1820s, the French name had become "Small Fort River" in English, and the settlement was known as "Little Fort". The name "Waukegance" and then "Waukegan" (meaning "little fort"; cf. Potawatomi wakaigin "fort" or "fortress") was created by John H. Kinzie and Solomon Juneau, and the new name was adopted on March 31, 1849.
Passages that mention Waukegan, 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 321Read the page →
Read the text
The first town meeting held in the township of Waukegan, under township organization, was commenced at the Court House, in Waukegan, on the first Tuesday in April, 1850. Daniel Brewer presided as Moderator, and Nathaniel P. Dowst acted as Clerk. The following persons were chosen as town officers : James B. Gorton, Supervisor; George Wood, Town Clerk; S. H. Flinn, As¬ sessor; Jeremiah Porter, Overseer of the Poor ; William B. Benjamin, Jacob Montgomery and Eber Hinkston, Commissioners of Highways ; John L.
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 322Read the page →
Read the text
became incorporated for municipal purposes as a village, by an Act of the Legislature approved February 12, 1849 ; in the act of incorporation was a provision, that at the first election for Town Officers the inhabitants might change the name of the town to Waukegan ; which election was held on the second Monday in March, 1849, at which the following persons were elected as officers : President, D. 0. Dickinson ; Trustees — First Ward, W. C. Tiffany and H.
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
Waukegan, 1841 to 1978
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 Waukegan post office opened in 1849, the earliest record of the town by name (U.S. post office records). Wikidata gives 1859.
How does Waukegan rank for history?
Waukegan is more historic than 90% of U.S. towns, #77 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 Waukegan?
6 listings: 4 buildings, 1 historic district, the Near North Historic District, with 160 contributing buildings, and 1 site. 171 historic buildings in all.
How old are the homes in Waukegan?
18% of Waukegan’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 1967.
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), Wikidata (1), the National Register of Historic Places (6), 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, Sanborn fire insurance maps (Library of Congress) 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.
c. 1865
c. 1865
