Each edition grades its towns against each other only.
More historic than 17% of U.S. towns · #669 of 768 in Illinois. What drives it
Most of Winfield was built recently: 2% of its homes predate 1940 and the median home dates from 1986. Below: maps from 1908 on and the census since 1880.
The Winfield post office opened in 1852, the earliest record of the town by name. Wikidata gives 1921.
More historic than 17% of U.S. towns, on its age, its old homes and the National Register.
On its age, its old homes and the National Register, Winfield is more historic than 17% of U.S. towns, #669 of 768 in Illinois. Its age holds the grade up; its share of homes from before 1940 pulls it down.
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 Winfield’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.
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 →
Read from the archive, the National Register and the record. The page puts what stands out first.
The first neighbors to add old photos shape how Winfield’s history is told.
Every edition of the U.S. Geological Survey’s map of Winfield. Tap a year, or press play to watch the town change.
U.S. Geological Survey historical topographic maps (public domain), via Esri’s collection of the scans. The red ring marks the center of Winfield.
Writers, athletes, leaders and more, ranked by how widely they’re known.
From Wikipedia’s history of Winfield.
Winfield originally tried to become an incorporated village in 1884 under the town name 'Frederick Park'. However, the motion was denied as the town did not have 300 residents as was required for incorporation. When the village was finally incorporated in 1921, the town had a population of 310 people.
Text from Wikipedia, licensed CC BY-SA 4.0.
Woven from the archive, old maps, post office records, the National Register and the people born here.
2014Winfield.StJohnBaptistRC.1906Schaefer.Powers02
2012Winfield, Illinois Town Center
2007Robberfly with damselfly prey
2007Fruto del Árbol Del Pan
2006Untitled photo
2005Tachinidae Gymnocheta
2005Sawfly 003
2005Polistes fuscatus
2005Osage orange 1
2005Horse fly Tabanus 2
2005Ant Formica sp
2004UltimateEndorsement
2004Dogbane leaf beetles
2003Salticidae Eris sp
2002Locust borer wiki
2002Acanthocephala terminalisGrew from 164 people in 1880 to 9,835 in 2020, more than tenfold.
11 censuses, 1880–2020.
U.S. Census Bureau decennial counts, from the census table on Winfield’s Wikipedia page.
Winfield’s post office has been open since 1852.
US Post Offices dataset (Blevins & Helbock, CC0). Places and cemeteries from the USGS Geographic Names Information System (2021).
Each neighbor’s History grade, on the same three inputs.
The Winfield post office opened in 1852, the earliest record of the town by name (U.S. post office records). Wikidata gives 1921.
Winfield is more historic than 17% of U.S. towns, #669 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.
2% of Winfield’s homes were built before 1940 (Census estimate), against a typical 11% for an Illinois town; the median home was built in 1986.
What the archives can’t tell you, neighbors can.
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 (16), 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.
