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Welcome to Independence ...

Independence is located in Pike County<1>.

While we don't have a date for the founding of Independence, you might consider that their post office opened  in 1881.

Independence is 660 feet [201 m] above sea level.<2>.

Time Zone: Independence lies in the Central Time Zone (CST/CDT) and observes daylight saving time

Area Codes for Independence: 217 & 447<3>

Communities Also Named Independence ...

Using our Gazetteer, we found that there are 50 communities that are also named Independence - they are located in Alabama, Arkansas, California (2), Colorado (3), Idaho, Indiana (2), Iowa, Kansas (2), Kentucky, Louisiana, Michigan, Minnesota (2), Mississippi (2), Missouri, Montana, Nevada, New Jersey, New York, North Dakota (2), Ohio (2), Oklahoma (2), Oregon, Pennsylvania (3), Tennessee (3), Texas (2), Utah (2), Virginia, Washington (2), West Virginia (4) and Wisconsin.

For more information, see our Tidbits & Trivia Page for Independence.

Communities near Independence ...

We have created a list of 10 communities that are near Independence.

  • Pittsfield
    (5 miles [8 km] to the north)
  • Louisiana
    (14 miles [22.5 km] to the southwest)
  • Winchester
    (19 miles [30.6 km] to the east)
  • Barry
    (17 miles [27.4 km] to the northwest)
  • Griggsville
    (12 miles [19.3 km] to the north)
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Griggsville have been provided by the GNIS.<5> The coordinates still need to be verified.
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Griggsville
    • Griggsville is located in Pike County
    • Population from the 2020 Census: 1,125 people
    • Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Griggsville <4>
  • Pleasant Hill
    (7 miles [11.3 km] to the southwest)
  • Clarksville
    (12 miles [19.3 km] to the southwest)
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Clarksville have been provided by the GNIS.<5> The coordinates still need to be verified.
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Clarksville
    • Clarksville is located in Pike County (MO)
    • Population from the 2020 Census: 434 people
    • Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Clarksville <4>
  • Perry
    (17 miles [27.4 km] to the north)
  • New Canton
    (17 miles [27.4 km] to the northwest)
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for New Canton have been provided by the GNIS.<5> The coordinates still need to be verified.
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for New Canton
    • New Canton is located in Pike County
    • Population from the 2020 Census: 338 people
  • Nebo
    (6 miles [9.7 km] to the south)

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 Independence. Our list includes the location of those cemeteries and we provide an overhead view. See our Cemetery List for Independence.

Using the information from an 1895 Atlas, we've created a list of communities that were in the area of Independence. 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 Independence.

We also have a detailed list of newspapers that have been published in the area around Independence. See our Newspapers Page for Independence.

TripAdvisor Tourism Pages for Independence ...

Looking for more information about Independence? 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.

While we are unaware of a Tourism page that is specific to Independence, there are neighboring communities that do have Tourism pages. A map of those communities can be found with our TripAdvisor Page for Independence.

Adding Independence to Our Gazetteer ...

We originally found mention of Independence 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 Independence was in the document titled List of Post Offices from Cameron Blevins and Richard Helbock.<6>

From that list, the Independence post office opened in 1881.

For more details, see References and Mentions for Independence.

Footnotes ...

<1>If you're interested in how the shape of Illinois' counties, including Pike, have changed over time, we recommend the Atlas of Historical County Boundaries.
<2>The elevation is an estimate for the area around Independence - it will be higher in some places and lower in others.
<3>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 217 code has been Overlayed with the 447 area code. New phone numbers in the Independence area will be assigned with one of these codes: 217 or 447. As a result, placing a call in the Independence area will require 10-digit dialing (where you enter both the area code and then the phone number).
<4>While we're fans and frequent users of TripAdvisor, you should know that we're also members of the TripAdvisor affiliate program.
<5>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.
<6>A copy of their list with background information can be found at:

      https://cblevins.github.io/us-post-offices/data-biography/