Long-term income investors know that finding dividend stocks with decades of interrupted payments is only part of the winning formula for income investing. Dividend growth matters, too - which is exactly why investors cherish the Dividend Aristocrats.

Dividend Aristocrats are companies in the Standard & Poor's 500-stock index that have hiked their dividends every year for at least 25 consecutive years. Rising dividends naturally make these stocks more attractive to new income investors, and steady payout hikes reward existing investors with increasingly higher yields on their shares' original buy-in cost.

Most importantly, regular dividend hikes fuel the magic of compounding. Indeed, many of the best stocks of all time have long histories of dividend growth.

Since reliable dividend stocks with growing payouts can provide some comfort amid market uncertainty, we took a look at the 11 Dividend Aristocrats with the longest histories of annual dividend increases. After all, when a dividend stock manages to raise its payout through good times and bad, decade after decade, you know management is making its income-reliant shareholders a top priority.

Illinois Tool Works

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Illinois Tool Works (, $145.66) - which makes construction products, car parts, restaurant equipment and more - dates back to 1912. Its dividend isn't much younger; the company started delivering regular payouts in 1933.