1 place in town is on the National Register, among them the Mazon Creek Fossil Beds, a National Historic Landmark. Below: maps from 1892 on and old-book passages.
On its age, its old homes and the National Register, Wauponsee Township is more historic than 63% of U.S. towns. All 2 inputs are above most U.S. towns; its National Register listings ranks highest and its share of homes from before 1940 lowest.
B
HistoryA character grade: shown, never part of Wauponsee Township’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 Wauponsee Township’s 3.6 sits above most of its state (72% of Illinois towns have fewer) while its 1 listings outnumber those of 51% of U.S. towns.
How sure. Graded on two of the three inputs, so a change in either one moves the letter more than it would with three. The pre-1940 share is a Census survey estimate (±5.4 points).
Founding year: our sources. 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 Wauponsee Township’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 Wauponsee Township. Tap a year, or press play to watch the town change.
1892Morris 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 Wauponsee Township.
Places that used to be
Old corners, places now gone and burying grounds
Old hamlets and crossroads still carry their names on the map.
Claypool SchoolschoolGrundy County FarmlocalePlum Schoolschool
1cemetery inside Wauponsee Township
Sample
Places and cemeteries from the USGS Geographic Names Information System (2021).
The story so far
Wauponsee Township, in brief
Wikipedia doesn’t have a history of Wauponsee Township yet. The photos, dates and memories neighbors add here are how it gets written.
Wauponsee is an unincorporated community in Vienna Township, Grundy County, Illinois, United States. Wauponsee is located on Verona Road, 6.9 miles (11.1 km) south-southwest of Morris.
Between the 2010 and 2020 censuses its population fell from 2,423 to 2,289 (-6%).
Intro from Wikipedia. Population: U.S. Census Bureau.
From the old history books
What they wrote about Wauponsee Township, 1882–1914
Passages that mention Wauponsee Township, cut from the printed page as they were published.
Historical encyclopedia of Illinois /cedited by Newton Bateman, Paul Selby,1914Read the page →
Read the text
Wauponsee Township lias always been a much traveled section, although no towns or cities have sprung up in its midst, owing largely to the lack of railroad facilities, and the proximitj of the county seat. The old hotel on the -Al.r/.on River, was a tavern noted for its entertainment in olden days, although not much frequented now.
Text read by machine from the scan; it may contain errors.
History of Grundy County, Illinois1882 · page 81Read the page →
Read the text
freezing weather rendering the grist-mill useless for weeks at a time. In 1852, he bought eighty acres of farm land in Section 21, of Wauponsee Township, which he sold in the spring of 1882; has recently bought 320 acres in Douglas County, Dakota Territory, where he will soon move his family. Mr.
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.
Wauponsee Township is more historic than 63% 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.
What is on the National Register in Wauponsee Township?
One place: the Mazon Creek Fossil Beds (listed 1997).
How old are the homes in Wauponsee Township?
12% of Wauponsee Township’s homes were built before 1940 (Census estimate, ±5.4 points), against a typical 11% for an Illinois town; the median home was built in 1976.
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 the National Register of Historic Places (1), U.S. Geological Survey historical maps, 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.
