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B−History
History · Zion

Zion dates to 1900, and 18% of its homes were built before 1940

More historic than 51% of U.S. towns · #391 of 768 in Illinois. What drives it

3 places in town are on the National Register, among them a historic district with 10 buildings. Below: 17 old photos and papers, maps from 1906 on, and the census since 1910.

1900founded
3on the National Register
18%homes built before 1940
17old photos & papers
10famous people
Add an old photoShare a memory
From Zion’s archive · credits on each photo
Quick answers

How Zion began

When was Zion founded?

1900

Zion dates its founding to 1900 (Wikipedia’s history). The census first counted it in 1910.

First census: 4,789 in 19102020 census: 24,655126 years

How historic is Zion?

B−

More historic than 51% of U.S. towns, on its age, its old homes and the National Register.

What drives the grade ↓
Founding year: Wikipedia. First post office: 1902.The full story ↓
History grade

What drives Zion’s History grade

On its age, its old homes and the National Register, Zion is more historic than 51% of U.S. towns, #391 of 768 in Illinois. Its National Register listings hold the grade up; its age pulls it down.

B−
HistoryA character grade: shown, never part of Zion’s overall grade.
Founding era1900, from Wikipedia: founded 1900–1944, an older era than 9% of U.S. townsDHomes built before 194017.9% of homes (±3.0) · typical IL town 10.6% · U.S. 8.4%B+National Register3 listings, 12 historic buildings, 4.9 per 10,000 residents · typical IL town 0.5 · U.S. 2.4A−
All U.S. towns we grade (21,289)Ahead of 51%
NewerOlder
Illinois towns of 2,500+ (768)Ahead of 49%

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 Zion’s 4.9 sits above most of its state (75% 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 C to A−. The pre-1940 share is a Census survey estimate (±3.0 points). Two sources give 1900.

Founding year: Wikipedia (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 Zion’s past

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

A town in old photos17 old photos, postcards and papers, 1865–1921.On the map since 19065 editions of the USGS map, 1906 to 1993. Watch Zion change.Mapped building by building3 fire insurance maps, 1907 to 1918, drew every building in Zion.Famous sons and daughtersGary Coleman, Richard Bull and 8 more were born here.
★ What stands out · By decade

Zion, decade by decade

4 decades in the archive, from the 1860s to the 1920s. Scroll each row; tap a photo for its story.

1860s2 items
People participating in Baptismal scene, Zion City, July 17, 1901c. 1865People participating in Baptismal scene, Zion City, J…People participating in Baptismal scene, Zion City, July 17, 1901c. 1865People participating in Baptismal scene, Zion City, J…
1900s10 items
Zion Industries at Shiloh Tabernacle, July 1904, Zion City, Ill1904Zion Industries at Shiloh Tabernacle, July 1904, Zion…Zion City, Ill1904Zion City, IllZion Industries at Shiloh Tabernacle, July 19041904Zion Industries at Shiloh Tabernacle, July 1904Fourth anniversary of consrecration [sic] of Zion Temple site, July, 19041904Fourth anniversary of consrecration [sic] of Zion Tem…Officers and Choir of Zion1904Officers and Choir of ZionIndustrial parade, July 19041904Industrial parade, July 1904Shiloh Tabernacle, July 17, 19041904Shiloh Tabernacle, July 17, 1904Welcome home of the general overseer, Rev. John Alex Dowie [i.e. Dowey], July, 19041904Welcome home of the general overseer, Rev. John Alex …Administration building, Zion City, Illinois, recto (NBY 8593)1908Administration building, Zion City, Illinois, recto (…PostcardAdministration building, Zion City, Illinois, recto (NBY 8594)1908Administration building, Zion City, Illinois, recto (…Postcard
1910s–1920s5 items
Truck loads of beer enroute to Chicago, which were waylaid and captured at Zion City, Ill. ... all bottles were destroy…1910Truck loads of beer enroute to Chicago, which were wa…Bottle close-up, Woman with a bottle of Miller Beer in 1921 detail, from- Zion City, Ill., destroys 80,000 pint bottles…1921Bottle close-up, Woman with a bottle of Miller Beer i…Zion City, Ill., destroys 80,000 pint bottles of beer1921Zion City, Ill., destroys 80,000 pint bottles of beerZion City, Ill., destroys 80,000 pint bottles of beer1921Zion City, Ill., destroys 80,000 pint bottles of beerZion City, Ill., destroys 80,000 pint bottles of beer1921Zion City, Ill., destroys 80,000 pint bottles of beer
1930s–1990snothing yet
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.
Add from your album
On the map

Zion on the map, 1906 to 1993

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

Zion on the 1906 USGS mapZion on the 1960 USGS mapZion on the 1972 USGS mapZion on the 1980 USGS mapZion on the 1993 USGS map1906Waukegan 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 Zion.

Every building

Zion, building by building, 1907–1918

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.

Zion fire insurance map, 1907, sheet 11907Sheet 1 of 3
Edition
BrickWoodStone

Sanborn Map Company, via the Library of Congress. Editions published in 1930 or earlier, which are in the public domain.

The story

How Zion came to be

From Wikipedia’s history of Zion.

Read it all →

The city was founded in 1900 by John Alexander Dowie, a Scots-Australian evangelical minister and faith healer who had migrated to the United States in 1888. By 1890, he had settled in Chicago, where he built a faith healing business that included a mail order component, and he had also attracted thousands of followers.

He bought land 40 miles (60 km) north of Chicago to found Zion, where he personally owned all of the land and most businesses. The city was named after Mount Zion in Jerusalem.

Text from Wikipedia, licensed CC BY-SA 4.0.

Timeline

Zion, 1865 to 1991

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

  1. 19th century
  2. 1865In the archivePeople participating in Baptismal scene, Zion City, July 17, 1901
  3. 20th century
  4. 1900
    FoundingZion is established
  5. 1902Post officeThe Zion City post office opens
  6. 1903BuiltShiloh House is built
  7. 1904In the archiveZion Industries at Shiloh Tabernacle, July 1904, Zion City, Ill
  8. 1906Born hereJames Gordon Lindsay is born here
  9. 1906On the mapFirst mapped by the U.S. Geological Survey
  10. 1910In the archiveTruck loads of beer enroute to Chicago, which were waylaid and captured at Zion City, Ill…
  11. 1918Post officeThe Zion City post office closes
  12. 1918Post officeThe Zion post office opens
  13. 1921In the archiveBottle close-up, Woman with a bottle of Miller Beer in 1921 detail, from- Zion City, Ill.…
  14. 1924Born hereRichard Bull is born here
  15. 1934BuiltCamp Logan National Guard Rifle Range Historic District is built
  16. 1968Born hereGary Coleman is born here
  17. 1991Born hereLenzelle Smith Jr. is born here
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.

People participating in Baptismal scene, Zion City, July 17, 1901
Retake this viewPeople participating in Baptismal scene, Zion City, July 17, 1901, c. 1865

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

Retake this view · +15
On the National Register

3 listings protect 12 historic buildings

The country’s official list of buildings and places worth saving.

places listed
3
National Historic Landmarks
0
none yet
historic buildings protected
12
each building in a district counts
first listed
1977
Shiloh House
Shiloh House, built 1903Zion Chapter HouseCamp Logan National Guard Rifle Range Historic District, built 1934
BuildingsDistricts

Architectural styles listings

Prairie School1
Shiloh HouseBuilt 1903
Zion Chapter HousePrairie School
Camp Logan National Guard Rifle Range Historic DistrictBuilt 1934

National Park Service, National Register of Historic Places. Photos from Wikimedia Commons, credited on each place’s page.

People over time

Zion, census by census

05,00010,00015,00020,00025,00019201940196019802000202024,655

Grew from 4,789 people in 1910 to 24,655 in 2020, 5 times over.

12 censuses, 1910–2020.

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

Famous people

10 famous people were born in Zion

Writers, athletes, leaders and more, ranked by how widely they’re known.

See all →
Gary ColemanAmerican actor · b. 1968
Richard BullAmerican film, stage and television actor · b. 1924
James Gordon LindsayAmerican preacher and publisher · b. 1906
Lenzelle Smith Jr.American basketball player · b. 1991
R
Russell NypeAmerican actor · b. 1920
J
John HammondAmerican basketball coach and manager · b. 1954
Places that used to be

Lost post offices, places now gone and burying grounds

Zion’s post office has been open since 1918. Another post office, Zion City, opened and closed inside today’s town.

Zion City
1902–1918
Zion
1918–today
19001960today
Gone or out of use
Camp LoganmilitaryChristian Catholic Apostolic Church of ZionchurchZion Gospel Tabernaclechurch
2cemeteries and burying grounds inside Zion
Lake MoundMount Olivet Memorial Park

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

Help out

Finish Zion’s story

Most archives stop around 1920. The photos from after that are in family albums, not libraries.

Decades since 1900 with photos
00s10s20s30s40s50s60s70s80s90s
3 of 10 decades. The empty ones are waiting for someone’s album.
Retake an old viewPeople participating in Baptismal scene…: stand where they stood+15Share a family photoSign in to add one+10
Stories next door

History across the town line

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

Zion Township3 historic placesnot graded: under 1,000 residents or part of its townBenton Township1 historic placeC+Beach ParkIts storyC−WadsworthIts storyCNewport Township1 historic placeB+Winthrop Harbor1 historic placeC+

Questions about Zion’s history

What year was Zion founded?

In 1900, according to Wikipedia’s history of the town. Zion’s post office opened in 1902, and the census of 1910 counted 4,789 people here.

How does Zion rank for history?

Zion is more historic than 51% of U.S. towns, #391 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 Zion?

Three places: the Shiloh House (listed 1977), the Zion Chapter House (1980) and the Camp Logan National Guard Rifle Range Historic District (2000).

How old are the homes in Zion?

18% of Zion’s homes were built before 1940 (Census estimate, ±3.0 points), against a typical 11% for an Illinois town; the median home was built in 1971.

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 (7), the Library of Congress (10), Wikidata (1), the National Register of Historic Places (3), 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 Sanborn fire insurance maps (Library of Congress). Archive images are copied here with their credits and licenses, shown on each photo’s page. Refreshed monthly.