History · West Dundee

West Dundee dates to 1835, and 18% of its homes were built before 1940

More historic than 60% of U.S. towns · #333 of 768 in Illinois. What drives it

Below: 1 old photo or paper, maps from 1925 on, and the census since 1880.

1835founded

0on the National Register

18%homes built before 1940

1old photo or paper

1famous people

Add an old photo Share a memory

From West Dundee’s archive · credits on each photo

Quick answers

How West Dundee began

When was West Dundee founded?

1835

West Dundee dates its founding to 1835 (Wikidata). The census first counted it in 1880.

First census: 585 in 18802020 census: 7,686191 years

How historic is West Dundee?

More historic than 60% of U.S. towns, on its age, its old homes and the National Register.

What drives the grade ↓

Founding year: Wikidata. First post office: 1841.The full story ↓

History grade

What drives West Dundee’s History grade

On its age, its old homes and the National Register, West Dundee is more historic than 60% of U.S. towns, #333 of 768 in Illinois. Its age holds the grade up; its National Register listings pull it down.

HistoryA character grade: shown, never part of West Dundee’s overall grade.

Founding era1835, from Wikidata: founded 1776–1849, an older era than 75% of U.S. townsA⁻Homes built before 194017.6% of homes (±7.3) · typical IL town 10.6% · U.S. 8.4%B National RegisterNo listings counted · typical IL town 0.5 per 10,000 · U.S. 2.4C

All U.S. towns we grade (21,289)Ahead of 60%

NewerOlder

Illinois towns of 2,500+ (768)Ahead of 57%

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 West Dundee’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.

NoteThe founding year comes from Wikidata alone; no second source gives 1835.

How sure. Graded on any two of the three inputs instead, the letter would range from C+ to A−. The pre-1940 share is a Census survey estimate (±7.3 points).

Founding year: Wikidata (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 West Dundee’s past

Read from the archive, the National Register and the record. The page puts what stands out first.

A history waiting to be writtenOnly 1 old photo is in the public archives. The rest are in attics and albums.Deep rootsEstablished in 1835: 191 years of West Dundee.On the map since 19256 editions of the USGS map, 1925 to 1992. Watch West Dundee change.

★ What stands out · Help out

Start West Dundee’s collection

The first neighbors to add old photos shape how West Dundee’s history is told.

Decades since 1900 with photos

00s10s20s30s40s50s60s70s80s90s

0 of 10 decades. The empty ones are waiting for someone’s album.

Date a photo1 archive item has no date. Guess the decade.+2 Retake an old viewMain Street Bridge, Spanning Fox River …: stand where they stood+15 Share a family photoSign in to add one+10

Timeline

West Dundee, 1835 to 1995

Woven from the archive, old maps, post office records, the National Register and the people born here.

19th century
1835
FoundingWest Dundee is established
1841Post officeThe Dundee post office opens
20th century
1925On the mapFirst mapped by the U.S. Geological Survey
1995Born hereBrogan Rafferty is born here

On the map

West Dundee on the map, 1925 to 1992

Every edition of the U.S. Geological Survey’s map of West Dundee. Tap a year, or press play to watch the town change.

1925Elgin 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 West Dundee.

The story

How West Dundee came to be

From Wikipedia’s history of West Dundee.

Read it all →

In 1835, Elder John and Nancy Oatman established a tavern and a store that became the core of the community. Others settlers came, and in 1837 they held a lottery to determine who would name the town. Alexander Gardiner won and named the town Dundee in honor of his Scottish hometown, with which West Dundee is now sister cities. In 1843 Scotsman Allan Pinkerton, later the renowned detective, set up business as a cooper. The town was incorporated in 1887.

Text from Wikipedia, licensed CC BY-SA 4.0.

By decade

West Dundee, decade by decade

Date unknown1 to date

Main Street Bridge, Spanning Fox River at State Route 72

Date?Main Street Bridge, Spanning Fox River at State Route…

Today3 recent

Marine Week Chicago 2025- The Quantico Marine Rock Band performs at Rookies RocHaus

2025Marine Week Chicago 2025- The Quantico Marine Rock Ba…

Then & now

Stand where they stood

No then-and-now pairs yet. Take a photo from the same spot as an old one and they appear here side by side.

Retake this viewMain Street Bridge, Spanning Fox River at State Route 72

Find the spot, match the angle, and add your photo. It becomes the first then-and-now pair on West Dundee’s page.

Retake this view · +15

People over time

West Dundee, census by census

Grew from 585 people in 1880 to 7,686 in 2020, more than tenfold.

15 censuses, 1880–2020.

U.S. Census Bureau decennial counts, from the census table on West Dundee’s Wikipedia page.

Places that used to be

Places now gone

Gone or out of use

Saint Catherines Roman Catholic ChurchchurchSaint Catherines SchoolschoolWest Dundee Public Schoolschool

US Post Offices dataset (Blevins & Helbock, CC0). Places and cemeteries from the USGS Geographic Names Information System (2021).

Stories next door

History across the town line

Each neighbor’s History grade, on the same three inputs.

Elgin12 historic placesA Sleepy HollowIts storyD⁻Carpentersville1 historic placeC East Dundee1 historic placeB⁺Gilberts1 historic placeC⁺

Questions about West Dundee’s history

What year was West Dundee founded?

In 1835, according to Wikidata. West Dundee’s post office opened in 1841, and the census of 1880 counted 585 people here.

How does West Dundee rank for history?

West Dundee is more historic than 60% of U.S. towns, #333 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 West Dundee?

18% of West Dundee’s homes were built before 1940 (Census estimate, ±7.3 points), against a typical 11% for an Illinois town; the median home was built in 1989.

Memory lane

What the archives can’t tell you, neighbors can.

Town Square →

Start a conversation

Sources

Where this page comes from

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 (3), the Library of Congress (1), 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) and the USGS Geographic Names Information System. Archive images are copied here with their credits and licenses, shown on each photo’s page. Refreshed monthly.

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