Winnetka’s post office opened in 1857, and 49% of its homes were built before 1940
More historic than 84% of U.S. towns · #151 of 768 in Illinois. What drives it
10 places in town are on the National Register, among them 2 National Historic Landmarks. Below: 6 old photos and papers, maps from 1899 on, and the census since 1880.
The Winnetka post office opened in 1857, the earliest record of the town by name. Wikidata gives 1869. Three smaller post offices, New Trier (1850), Lake View (1869) and Hubbard Woods (1907), opened inside today’s town and later closed.
First census: 584 in 18802020 census: 12,744169 years
How historic is Winnetka?
A−
More historic than 84% of U.S. towns, on its age, its old homes and the National Register.
Founding year: the first Winnetka post office (Blevins & Helbock, CC0). Wikidata: 1869.The full story ↓
History grade
What drives Winnetka’s History grade
On its age, its old homes and the National Register, Winnetka is more historic than 84% of U.S. towns, #151 of 768 in Illinois. Its share of homes from before 1940 holds the grade up; its age pulls it down.
A−
HistoryA character grade: shown, never part of Winnetka’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 Winnetka’s 9.6 sits above most of its state (83% of Illinois towns have fewer) while its 12 historic buildings outnumber those of 77% of U.S. towns.
How sure. Graded on any two of the three inputs instead, the letter would range from B to A+. The pre-1940 share is a Census survey estimate (±4.7 points). The founding year is the first post office, not a stated founding date; Wikidata’s 1869 falls in the same era, so the grade doesn’t depend on which one is used.
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 Winnetka’s past
Read from the archive, the National Register and the record. The page puts what stands out first.
The first houses were built in 1836. That year, Erastus Patterson and his family arrived from Vermont and opened a tavern to service passengers on the Green Bay Trail post road. The village was first subdivided in 1854 by Charles Peck and Walter S. Gurnee, President of the Chicago, Milwaukee & St. Paul Railroad. The railroads Peck and Gurnee created in 1854 allowed for prosperity and development along the North Shore. Close to 100 individuals inhabited New Trier Township in 1850 (which is named after Trier, Germany, the home of many settlers living in the North Shore). Winnetka's first private school was opened in 1856 by Mr. and Mrs. Charles Peck with seventeen pupils. In 1859, the first public school building was built with private funds at the southeast corner of Elm and Maple streets. The village was incorporated in 1869 with a population of 450. The name is believed to originate fr…
Passages that mention Winnetka, cut from the printed page as they were published.
History of Cook County, Illinois1909 · page 261Read the page →
Read the text
Winnetka was laid out by Charles E. Peck and Walter S. Gurnee in 1854. James L. Wilson bought the first lot. Anson H. Taylor in 1856 was the first postmaster. The name Winnetka signifies "Beautiful Place." In the northern portion is a spot known as Lake View, one of the most attractive points on the west shore of the lake. The village of Winnetka was incorporated in 1869, the first trustees being Artemus Carter, Jared Gage, Timothy Wright, David Wilder, Thomas Bassett, and Mr. Atwood. The first village offi-
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
Winnetka, 1850 to 1990
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 Winnetka post office opened in 1857, the earliest record of the town by name (U.S. post office records). Wikidata gives 1869.
How does Winnetka rank for history?
Winnetka is more historic than 84% of U.S. towns, #151 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 Winnetka?
10 listings, 2 of them National Historic Landmarks: 10 buildings, among them the Henry Demarest Lloyd House (a National Historic Landmark since 1966). 12 historic buildings in all.
How old are the homes in Winnetka?
49% of Winnetka’s homes were built before 1940 (Census estimate, ±4.7 points), against a typical 11% for an Illinois town; the median home was built in 1942.
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 (4), the Library of Congress (2), the National Register of Historic Places (10), 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 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.
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