Welcome to Anchor ...
The village of Anchor is located in McLean County<1>.
The pronunciation of Anchor: ANK-er<2>
While we don't have a date for the founding of Anchor, you might consider that their post office opened in 1880.
From the Census Estimates for 2019, Anchor has a population of 139 people<3> (see below for details).
Anchor is 770 feet [235 m] above sea level.<4>.
Time Zone: Anchor lies in the Central Time Zone (CST/CDT) and observes daylight saving time
Note: If you travel east from Anchor (for example, toward Ambia (IN)), you will leave Central Time and cross into the Eastern Time Zone (EST/EDT).
Anchor lies within the (309) area code.
The ZIP code for Anchor: 61720<5>
Websites for Anchor ...
Chamber of Commerce: www.mcleancochamber.org/
Although we don't have any websites that are specific to Anchor, the following might be of interest:
Population Details ...
Taken from the 2019 Census Estimates, Anchor had an population of 139 people. This is a decrease of 4.79% since the 2010 Census (or a decrease of 20.57% since the 2000 Census).
At the time of the 2010 Census, Anchor had a population of 146 people. This makes Anchor the county's 21st most populous community.
With a 2010 count of 146 people, the population of Anchor decreased 16.57% from the 2000 Census (with a count of 175 people).
More information can be found on the Census Page for Anchor.
Communities Also Named Anchor ...
Using our Gazetteer, we found that there are 9 communities that are also named Anchor - they are located in Georgia, Louisiana, Mississippi, New Mexico, Oklahoma, Oregon, Pennsylvania, Texas and West Virginia.
For more information, see our Tidbits & Trivia Page for Anchor.
Communities near Anchor ...
We have created a list of 10 communities that are near Anchor.
- Fairbury
(12 miles [19.3 km] to the north)- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Fairbury
- Fairbury is located in Livingston County
- Population from the 2020 Census: 3,596 people
- Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Fairbury <6>
- Le Roy
(19 miles [30.6 km] to the southwest)- Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Le Roy have been provided by the GNIS.<7> The coordinates still need to be verified.
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Le Roy
- Le Roy is located in McLean County
- Population from the 2020 Census: 3,498 people
- Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Le Roy <6>
- Gibson City
(11 miles [17.7 km] to the southeast)- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Gibson City
- Gibson City is located in Ford County
- Population from the 2020 Census: 3,275 people
- Gibson City has also been known as:
- Gibson
- Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Gibson City <6>
- Lexington
(14 miles [22.5 km] to the west)- Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Lexington have been provided by the GNIS.<7> The coordinates still need to be verified.
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Lexington
- Lexington is located in McLean County
- Population from the 2020 Census: 2,020 people
- Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Lexington <6>
- Chenoa
(15 miles [24.1 km] to the northwest)- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Chenoa
- Chenoa is located in McLean County
- Population from the 2020 Census: 1,717 people
- Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Chenoa <6>
- Forrest
(14 miles [22.5 km] to the northeast)- Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Forrest have been provided by the GNIS.<7> The coordinates still need to be verified.
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Forrest
- Forrest is located in Livingston County
- Population from the 2020 Census: 1,124 people
- Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Forrest <6>
- Chatsworth
(18 miles [29 km] to the northeast)- Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Chatsworth have been provided by the GNIS.<7> The coordinates still need to be verified.
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Chatsworth
- Chatsworth is located in Livingston County
- Population from the 2020 Census: 1,104 people
- Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Chatsworth <6>
- Colfax
(4 miles [6.4 km] to the west)- Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Colfax have been provided by the GNIS.<7> The coordinates still need to be verified.
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Colfax
- Colfax is located in McLean County
- Population from the 2020 Census: 1,009 people
- Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Colfax <6>
- Saybrook
(9 miles [14.5 km] to the south)- Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Saybrook have been provided by the GNIS.<7> The coordinates still need to be verified.
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Saybrook
- Saybrook is located in McLean County
- Population from the 2020 Census: 679 people
- Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Saybrook <6>
- Towanda
(19 miles [30.6 km] to the west)- Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Towanda have been provided by the GNIS.<7> The coordinates still need to be verified.
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Towanda
- Towanda is located in McLean County
- Population from the 2020 Census: 461 people
- Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Towanda <6>
To Help With Your Genealogy Research ...
We have a couple of sections for those tracing their genealogy.
We created a list of cemeteries that are in the area around Anchor. Our list includes the location of those cemeteries and we provide an overhead view. See our Cemetery List for Anchor.
Using the information from an 1895 Atlas, we've created a list of communities that were in the area of Anchor. Our list includes information such as whether the 1895 community had a post office or railroad service. See our List of 1890's Communities around Anchor.
We also have a detailed list of newspapers that have been published in the area around Anchor. See our Newspapers Page for Anchor.
TripAdvisor Tourism Pages for Anchor ...
Looking for more information about Anchor? A wonderful source is the TripAdvisor website. We always start with the TripAdvisor Tourism page, where you can read an overview with links that will help you find lodging, restaurants and attractions.
In addition to the Tourism page for Anchor, there are neighboring communities that also have Tourism pages. More information about those communities can be found on our TripAdvisor Page for Anchor.
Adding Anchor to Our Gazetteer ...
We originally found mention of Anchor in both the FIPS-55 and the GNIS. For more information, see the FIPS and GNIS Codes sections on our Miscellaneous Page.
From our notes, the earliest published mention we've found for Anchor was in the document titled List of Post Offices from Cameron Blevins and Richard Helbock.<8>
From that list, the Anchor post office opened in 1880.
We also found Anchor in the book titled Business Atlas and Shippers' Guide (1895).
For more details, see References and Mentions for Anchor.
Off-the-Road Links ...
Unfortunately, we don't know of a website for Anchor. If you can help, please contact us through our Feedback Page.
The official website for McLean County: www.mclean.gov/
The official website for State of Illinois: https://illinois.gov
Footnotes ...
| <1> | If you're interested in how the shape of Illinois' counties, including McLean, have changed over time, we recommend the Atlas of Historical County Boundaries. |
| <2> | The pronunciation we've provided is our attempt to give a phonetic pronunciation for Anchor. While it might not be exactly right, hopefully it will be close. If we have it wrong or there's a better way to pronounce the name, please contact us through our Feedback Page. |
| <3> | Population counts have been provided by the U.S. Census Bureau. For more detail, please visit our Census Page for Anchor. |
| <4> | The elevation is an estimate for the area around Anchor - it will be higher in some places and lower in others. |
| <5> | ZIP Codes have been created by the United States Postal Service (USPS) as a way of grouping addresses to make delivery more efficient. The boundaries of the ZIP Code can be changed, re-assigned, eliminated or overlapped with other ZIP Codes. So keep in mind that any given ZIP Code is only 'loosely' associated with a village (such as Anchor). When looking for a ZIP Code, whether Anchor or elsewhere, it's always best to check the website of the United States Postal Service (USPS). |
| <6> | While we're fans and frequent users of TripAdvisor, you should know that we're also members of the TripAdvisor affiliate program. |
| <7> | The location has been supplied by the Geographic Names Information System - which is maintained by the U.S. Geological Survey (USGS). While these values should be definitive, we found that accuracy can vary and you should double-check the location if accuracy is required. |
| <8> | A copy of their list with background information can be found at: https://cblevins.github.io/us-post-offices/data-biography/ |