Wilmette Community Development Office
This office has microfilm copies of building permits dating back to 1920. Many of the earlier records were destroyed by a tornado that swept through the village in that year. The office also has architectural inventories conducted of the buildings in east Wilmette in 1992, Gross Point area in 1991, and in Indian Hills in 1995. These surveys included photos and information on the architectural significance of each building. Copies of the surveys are also located in the Wilmette Historical Museum.

Cook County Assessors Office
The Assessors website is a great place to find the official physical description of your house and a photograph taken by the Assessors Office, and, of course, your tax assessment!

Cook County Recorder of Deeds
118 N. Clark Street, Room 120, Chicago, Illinois 60602
Complete records of ownership of property since 1872 (after the Chicago Fire) can be found in this office. If you provide the street address, you will be referred to the appropriate books, or you can pay a title search company to do the work for you. You cannot always find the date of actual construction of the building, although you often can make some determination of it from the record.

Property transactions from 01/01/1985 to the present are accessible online at the Recorder's website.