Welcome to Atkinson ...
The town of Atkinson is located in Henry County<1>.
Google driving directions from your current location to Atkinson (Patience, this may take a moment).
The location of Atkinson has been provided by the Geographic Names Information System (the GNIS).<2>
The pronunciation of Atkinson: AT-kin-suhn<3>
While we don't have a date for the founding of Atkinson, you might consider that their post office opened in 1856.
The town was incorporated March 7, 1867.
From the Census Estimates for 2019, Atkinson has a population of 965 people<4> (see below for details).
Atkinson is 640 feet [195 m] above sea level.<5>.
Time Zone: Atkinson lies in the Central Time Zone (CST/CDT) and observes daylight saving time
Area Codes for Atkinson: 309 & 861<6>
The ZIP code for Atkinson: 61235<7>
Population Details ...
Taken from the 2019 Census Estimates, Atkinson had an population of 965 people. This is a decrease of 0.72% since the 2010 Census (or a decrease of 3.6% since the 2000 Census).
At the time of the 2010 Census, Atkinson had a population of 972 people. This makes Atkinson the county's 7th most populous community.
With a 2010 count of 972 people, the population of Atkinson decreased 2.9% from the 2000 Census (with a count of 1,001 people).
More information can be found on the Census Page for Atkinson.
Communities Also Named Atkinson ...
Using our Gazetteer, we found that there are 16 communities that are also named Atkinson - they are located in Alabama, Georgia (2), Indiana, Kentucky, Maine, Maryland, Michigan, Minnesota, Nebraska, New Hampshire, North Carolina, Nova Scotia, Ontario, Utah and Washington.
For more information, see our Tidbits & Trivia Page for Atkinson.
Communities near Atkinson ...
We have created a list of 10 communities that are near Atkinson.
- Kewanee
(12 miles [19.3 km] to the south)- Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Kewanee have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Kewanee
- Kewanee is located in Henry County
- Population from the 2020 Census: 12,174 people
- Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Kewanee <8>
- Geneseo
(7 miles [11.3 km] to the west)- Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Geneseo have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Geneseo
- Geneseo is located in Henry County
- Population from the 2020 Census: 6,505 people
- Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Geneseo <8>
- Colona
(18 miles [29 km] to the west)- Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Colona have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Colona
- Colona is located in Henry County
- Population from the 2020 Census: 5,049 people
- Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Colona <8>
- Green Rock
(18 miles [29 km] to the west)- Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Green Rock have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Green Rock
- Green Rock is located in Henry County
- Galva
(17 miles [27.4 km] to the south)- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Galva
- Galva is located in Henry County
- Population from the 2020 Census: 2,449 people
- Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Galva <8>
- Cambridge
(12 miles [19.3 km] to the southwest)- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Cambridge
- Cambridge is located in Henry County
- Population from the 2020 Census: 2,051 people
- Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Cambridge <8>
- Prophetstown
(18 miles [29 km] to the north)- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Prophetstown
- Prophetstown is located in Whiteside County
- Population from the 2020 Census: 1,919 people
- Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Prophetstown <8>
- Orion
(19 miles [30.6 km] to the west)- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Orion
- Orion is located in Henry County
- Population from the 2020 Census: 1,776 people
- Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Orion <8>
- Erie
(17 miles [27.4 km] to the north)- Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Erie have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Erie
- Erie is located in Whiteside County
- Population from the 2020 Census: 1,482 people
- Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Erie <8>
- Sheffield
(14 miles [22.5 km] to the east)- Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Sheffield have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Sheffield
- Sheffield is located in Bureau County
- Population from the 2020 Census: 855 people
- Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Sheffield <8>
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 Atkinson. Our list includes the location of those cemeteries and we provide an overhead view. See our Cemetery List for Atkinson.
Using the information from an 1895 Atlas, we've created a list of communities that were in the area of Atkinson. 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 Atkinson.
We also have a detailed list of newspapers that have been published in the area around Atkinson. Our list includes 7 papers. See our Newspapers Page for Atkinson.
TripAdvisor Tourism Pages for Atkinson ...
Looking for more information about Atkinson? 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 Atkinson, there are neighboring communities that also have Tourism pages. More information about those communities can be found on our TripAdvisor Page for Atkinson.
Adding Atkinson to Our Gazetteer ...
We originally found mention of Atkinson 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 Atkinson was in the document titled List of Post Offices from Cameron Blevins and Richard Helbock.<9>
From that list, the Atkinson post office opened in 1856.
We also found Atkinson on a map (with an unknown title) dated 1870.
For more details, see References and Mentions for Atkinson.
Off-the-Road Links ...
Unfortunately, we don't know of a website for Atkinson. If you can help, please contact us through our Feedback Page.
The official website for Henry County: www.henrycty.com/
The official website for State of Illinois: https://illinois.gov
Footnotes ...
| <1> | If you're interested in how the shape of Illinois' counties, including Henry, have changed over time, we recommend the Atlas of Historical County Boundaries. |
| <2> | 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. |
| <3> | The pronunciation we've provided is our attempt to give a phonetic pronunciation for Atkinson. 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. |
| <4> | Population counts have been provided by the U.S. Census Bureau. For more detail, please visit our Census Page for Atkinson. |
| <5> | The elevation is an estimate for the area around Atkinson - it will be higher in some places and lower in others. |
| <6> | When there's a risk of an area code running out of phone numbers, an 'Overlay Area Code' is created that has the same geographic boundaries as the existing area code. In this case, the 309 code has been Overlayed with the 861 area code. New phone numbers in the Atkinson area will be assigned with one of these codes: 309 or 861. As a result, placing a call in the Atkinson area will require 10-digit dialing (where you enter both the area code and then the phone number). |
| <7> | 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 town (such as Atkinson). When looking for a ZIP Code, whether Atkinson or elsewhere, it's always best to check the website of the United States Postal Service (USPS). |
| <8> | While we're fans and frequent users of TripAdvisor, you should know that we're also members of the TripAdvisor affiliate program. |
| <9> | A copy of their list with background information can be found at: https://cblevins.github.io/us-post-offices/data-biography/ |