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Our Genealogy Helper

Introduction ...

We have a couple of goals for our Gazetteer:

  • That it be a tool which helps us with planning our trips.
  • We're trying to shape our Gazetteer as a tool to help us understand the community in which our ancestors lived, the community that was part of their daily lives.
  • On our trips, we try to visit those places where our ancestors left their footprints.

By learning about Kankakee (and the surrounding area) during the time that our ancestors lived, we hope to have a better understanding of both their community and its relationship to their lifes. We hope that this tool helps to give us an insight into their world.

As we add data and organize our Gazetteer to help with our family research, we will be adding to this our Genealogical Helper for Kankakee. While we don't have information that is specific to any given person or family, we intend to expand our understanding about where and how people lived.

Name Variations for Kankakee ...

When searching records, keep in mind that names and their spelling can change over time. Our sources include documents like maps, railroad schedules, Travel, Express and Shipping Guides. Many of these documents date from the 1800's and it's common to find spelling differences.

Although we can't give a definitive list, hopefully the following will give you a feel for the variations that might have occurred.

Another variation: Kankakee City.

If you have information about these names (such as the reason for the change, date of change, the origin of the name), please Contact Us.

Neighboring Counties ...

When searching for family records, we have frequently made the mistake of not checking the neighboring counties.

For example, we have great-grandparents who lived in the southeast corner of their home county. During their lives, most doctors and hospitals were in the next county to the east. Almost all of the nearby churches and cemeteries were in the county to the south.

So when searching for records, we had our best success by looking in neighboring counties instead of the county in which they lived:  their home county contained property and probate records; the county to the east contained birth and death records; the county to the south contained their burial records. If we hadn't included the neighboring counties, we would have missed many valuable sources of information.

If you're in a similar situation, we hope that the following information helps.

Kankakee is located in Kankakee County and is the County Seat.

To see how the shape of Illinois' counties have changed over time, we recommend the Atlas of Historical County Boundaries.

The following counties adjoin and form the boundaries of Kankakee County: Ford, Grundy, Iroquois, Livingston, Will, Lake (IN) & Newton (IN).

Below are the counties that are near Kankakee. For each of these counties, we show a sample of those communities that are closest to Kankakee:

  • Kankakee County     (The home county of Kankakee)
    • The following are listed by their distance from Kankakee, with the one closest to Kankakee listed first.
    • Bradley
      (3 miles [4.8 km] to the north)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Bradley have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Bradley
      • Bradley is located in Kankakee County
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 15,132 people
      • Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Bradley <2>
    • Aroma Park
      (3 miles [4.8 km] to the southeast)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Aroma Park have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Aroma Park
      • Aroma Park is located in Kankakee County
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 678 people
      • Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Aroma Park <2>
    • Bourbonnais
      (4 miles [6.4 km] to the north)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Bourbonnais have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Bourbonnais
      • Bourbonnais is located in Kankakee County
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 19,378 people
      • Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Bourbonnais <2>
    • Limestone
      (4 miles [6.4 km] to the west)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Limestone have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Limestone
      • Limestone is located in Kankakee County
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 1,498 people
    • Otto
      (5 miles [8 km] to the south)
    • Sammons Point
      (5 miles [8 km] to the south)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Sammons Point have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Sammons Point
      • Sammons Point is located in Kankakee County
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 237 people
      • Sammons Point has also been known as:
      • Sammons Point village
    • Sun River Terrace
      (6 miles [9.7 km] to the east)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Sun River Terrace have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Sun River Terrace
      • Sun River Terrace is located in Kankakee County
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 488 people
    • Saint George
      (6 miles [9.7 km] to the northeast)
    • Irwin
      (7 miles [11.3 km] to the southwest)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Irwin have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Irwin
      • Irwin is located in Kankakee County
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 71 people
    • Manteno
      (8 miles [12.9 km] to the north)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Manteno have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Manteno
      • Manteno is located in Kankakee County
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 8,892 people
      • Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Manteno <2>
    • Saint Anne
      (9 miles [14.5 km] to the southeast)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Saint Anne have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Saint Anne
      • Saint Anne is located in Kankakee County
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 1,174 people
      • Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Saint Anne <2>
    • Bonfield
      (10 miles [16.1 km] to the west)
  • Cook County
    • The following are listed by their distance from Kankakee, with the one closest to Kankakee listed first.
    • Richton Park
      (26 miles [41.8 km] to the north)
    • Matteson
      (27 miles [43.5 km] to the north)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Matteson have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Matteson
      • Matteson is located in Cook County
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 19,322 people
      • Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Matteson <2>
    • Park Forest
      (27 miles [43.5 km] to the north)
    • South Chicago Heights
      (27 miles [43.5 km] to the northeast)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for South Chicago Heights have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for South Chicago Heights
      • South Chicago Heights is located in Cook County
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 3,957 people
    • Olympia Fields
      (28 miles [45.1 km] to the north)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Olympia Fields have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Olympia Fields
      • Olympia Fields is located in Cook County
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 4,747 people
      • Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Olympia Fields <2>
    • Chicago Heights
      (29 miles [46.7 km] to the northeast)
    • Sauk Village
      (29 miles [46.7 km] to the northeast)
    • Flossmoor
      (30 miles [48.3 km] to the north)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Flossmoor have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Flossmoor
      • Flossmoor is located in Cook County
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 9,018 people
      • Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Flossmoor <2>
    • Tinley Park
      (30 miles [48.3 km] to the north)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Tinley Park have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Tinley Park
      • Tinley Park is located in Cook County
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 55,221 people
      • Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Tinley Park <2>
    • Ford Heights
      (30 miles [48.3 km] to the northeast)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Ford Heights have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Ford Heights
      • Ford Heights is located in Cook County
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 2,647 people
      • Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Ford Heights <2>
  • Ford County
    • The following are listed by their distance from Kankakee, with the one closest to Kankakee listed first.
    • Cabery
      (19 miles [30.6 km] to the southwest)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Cabery have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Cabery
      • Cabery is located in Ford County
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 243 people
      • Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Cabery <2>
    • Kempton
      (23 miles [37 km] to the southwest)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Kempton have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Kempton
      • Kempton is located in Ford County
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 206 people
      • Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Kempton <2>
    • Piper City
      (30 miles [48.3 km] to the southwest)
  • Grundy County
    • The following are listed by their distance from Kankakee, with the one closest to Kankakee listed first.
    • Clarke City
      (20 miles [32.2 km] to the west)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Clarke City have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Clarke City
      • Clarke City is located in Grundy County
    • East Brooklyn
      (21 miles [33.8 km] to the west)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for East Brooklyn have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for East Brooklyn
      • East Brooklyn is located in Grundy County
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 104 people
    • Braceville
      (22 miles [35.4 km] to the west)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Braceville have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Braceville
      • Braceville is located in Grundy County
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 755 people
      • Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Braceville <2>
    • South Wilmington
      (22 miles [35.4 km] to the west)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for South Wilmington have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for South Wilmington
      • South Wilmington is located in Grundy County
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 637 people
    • Diamond
      (23 miles [37 km] to the northwest)
    • Central City
      (23 miles [37 km] to the west)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Central City have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Central City
      • Central City is located in Grundy County
    • Gardner
      (23 miles [37 km] to the west)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Gardner have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Gardner
      • Gardner is located in Grundy County
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 1,377 people
      • Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Gardner <2>
    • Coal City
      (24 miles [38.6 km] to the northwest)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Coal City have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Coal City
      • Coal City is located in Grundy County
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 5,351 people
      • Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Coal City <2>
    • Carbon Hill
      (25 miles [40.2 km] to the northwest)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Carbon Hill have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Carbon Hill
      • Carbon Hill is located in Grundy County
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 334 people
    • Channahon
      (29 miles [46.7 km] to the northwest)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Channahon have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Channahon
      • Channahon is located in Grundy County
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 13,409 people
      • Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Channahon <2>
    • Mazon
      (30 miles [48.3 km] to the west)
  • Iroquois County
    • The following are listed by their distance from Kankakee, with the one closest to Kankakee listed first.
    • Chebanse
      (8 miles [12.9 km] to the south)
    • Papineau
      (12 miles [19.3 km] to the southeast)
    • Clifton
      (13 miles [20.9 km] to the south)
    • L'Erable
      (14 miles [22.5 km] to the south)
      • Note: We haven't been able to verify our GPS coordinates for L'Erable. Although the coordinates have been estimated, they should be in the vicinity.<3>
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for L'Erable
      • L'Erable is located in Iroquois County
      • Google driving directions:
      • From your current location to L'Erable
      • From Kankakee to L'Erable
    • Beaverville
      (15 miles [24.1 km] to the southeast)
    • Martinton
      (15 miles [24.1 km] to the southeast)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Martinton have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Martinton
      • Martinton is located in Iroquois County
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 338 people
      • Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Martinton <2>
    • Ashkum
      (17 miles [27.4 km] to the south)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Ashkum have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Ashkum
      • Ashkum is located in Iroquois County
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 683 people
      • Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Ashkum <2>
    • Donovan
      (20 miles [32.2 km] to the southeast)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Donovan have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Donovan
      • Donovan is located in Iroquois County
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 279 people
      • Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Donovan <2>
    • Danforth
      (21 miles [33.8 km] to the south)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Danforth have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Danforth
      • Danforth is located in Iroquois County
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 542 people
      • Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Danforth <2>
    • Crescent City
      (24 miles [38.6 km] to the south)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Crescent City have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Crescent City
      • Crescent City is located in Iroquois County
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 547 people
      • Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Crescent City <2>
    • Watseka
      (24 miles [38.6 km] to the south)
    • Iroquois
      (24 miles [38.6 km] to the southeast)
  • Livingston County
    • The following are listed by their distance from Kankakee, with the one closest to Kankakee listed first.
    • Cardiff
      (22 miles [35.4 km] to the west)
    • Campus
      (24 miles [38.6 km] to the west)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Campus have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Campus
      • Campus is located in Livingston County
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 157 people
      • Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Campus <2>
    • Cullom
      (27 miles [43.5 km] to the southwest)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Cullom have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Cullom
      • Cullom is located in Livingston County
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 519 people
      • Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Cullom <2>
    • Emington
      (27 miles [43.5 km] to the west)
    • Griswold
      (29 miles [46.7 km] to the southwest)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Griswold have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Griswold
      • Griswold is located in Livingston County
    • Dwight
      (29 miles [46.7 km] to the west)
    • Charlotte
      (30 miles [48.3 km] to the southwest)
      • Note: We haven't been able to verify our GPS coordinates for Charlotte. Although the coordinates have been estimated, they should be in the vicinity.<3>
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Charlotte
      • Charlotte is located in Livingston County
      • Google driving directions:
      • From your current location to Charlotte
      • From Kankakee to Charlotte
  • Will County
    • The following are listed by their distance from Kankakee, with the one closest to Kankakee listed first.
    • Peotone
      (15 miles [24.1 km] to the north)
    • Wallingford
      (17 miles [27.4 km] to the north)
    • Symerton
      (17 miles [27.4 km] to the northwest)
    • Lakewood Shores
      (18 miles [29 km] to the northwest)
    • Beecher
      (19 miles [30.6 km] to the northeast)
    • Wilmington
      (19 miles [30.6 km] to the northwest)
      • Note: We haven't been able to verify our GPS coordinates for Wilmington. Although the coordinates have been estimated, they should be in the vicinity.<3>
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Wilmington
      • Wilmington is located in Will County
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 5,597 people
      • Google driving directions:
      • From your current location to Wilmington
      • From Kankakee to Wilmington
    • Manhattan
      (21 miles [33.8 km] to the north)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Manhattan have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Manhattan
      • Manhattan is located in Will County
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 8,798 people
      • Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Manhattan <2>
    • Monee
      (21 miles [33.8 km] to the north)
    • Goodenow
      (21 miles [33.8 km] to the northeast)
    • Braidwood
      (21 miles [33.8 km] to the northwest)
    • Godley
      (21 miles [33.8 km] to the west)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Godley have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Godley
      • Godley is located in Will County
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 771 people
    • University Park
      (23 miles [37 km] to the north)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for University Park have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for University Park
      • University Park is located in Will County
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 6,817 people
      • Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for University Park <2>
  • Lake County (IN)
    • The following are listed by their distance from Kankakee, with the one closest to Kankakee listed first.
    • Illinoi
      (18 miles [29 km] to the east)
      • Note: We haven't been able to verify our GPS coordinates for Illinoi. Although the coordinates have been estimated, they should be in the vicinity.<3>
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Illinoi
      • Illinoi is located in Lake County (IN)
      • Google driving directions:
      • From your current location to Illinoi
      • From Kankakee to Illinoi
    • Schneider
      (21 miles [33.8 km] to the east)
    • Lowell
      (26 miles [41.8 km] to the northeast)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Lowell have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Lowell
      • Lowell is located in Lake County (IN)
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 10,137 people
      • Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Lowell <2>
    • Shelby
      (27 miles [43.5 km] to the east)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Shelby have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Shelby
      • Shelby is located in Lake County (IN)
    • Cedar Lake
      (27 miles [43.5 km] to the northeast)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Cedar Lake have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Cedar Lake
      • Cedar Lake is located in Lake County (IN)
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 13,588 people
      • Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Cedar Lake <2>
    • Lake Dalecarlia
      (28 miles [45.1 km] to the northeast)
    • Saint John
      (30 miles [48.3 km] to the northeast)
  • Newton County (IN)
    • The following are listed by their distance from Kankakee, with the one closest to Kankakee listed first.
    • Lake Village
      (21 miles [33.8 km] to the east)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Lake Village have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Lake Village
      • Lake Village is located in Newton County (IN)
    • Sumava Resorts
      (22 miles [35.4 km] to the east)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Sumava Resorts have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Sumava Resorts
      • Sumava Resorts is located in Newton County (IN)
      • Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Sumava Resorts <2>
    • Morocco
      (24 miles [38.6 km] to the southeast)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Morocco have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Morocco
      • Morocco is located in Newton County (IN)
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 1,086 people
      • Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Morocco <2>
    • Thayer
      (27 miles [43.5 km] to the east)
      • Note: We haven't been able to verify our GPS coordinates for Thayer. Although the coordinates have been estimated, they should be in the vicinity.<3>
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Thayer
      • Thayer is located in Newton County (IN)
      • Google driving directions:
      • From your current location to Thayer
      • From Kankakee to Thayer
    • Beaver City
      (27 miles [43.5 km] to the southeast)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Beaver City have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Beaver City
      • Beaver City is located in Newton County (IN)
    • Roselawn
      (28 miles [45.1 km] to the east)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Roselawn have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Roselawn
      • Roselawn is located in Newton County (IN)

For an expanded list of the communities that are closest to Kankakee, see our County-by-County Page for Kankakee.

Cemeteries Near Kankakee ...

Below are cemeteries that are in the vicinity of Kankakee.

This is a new section and is likely to have errors. If you find an error, such as a missing cemetery or we have the wrong name, please let us know. If you know of them, we would also appreciate learning about previous or alternate names.

If you need information about a burial or interment, photos, transcripts, how to contact the cemetery or local authorities, please visit our selection of Genealogy Websites (see below).

If not found below, our Cemetery List for Kankakee covers a larger area, with the cemeteries listed in alphabetical order.

The following cemeteries are listed based on their distance from Kankakee, with the one closest to Kankakee listed first.

Nearby Communities in 1895 ...

We've built the following list with information that came from an Atlas published by Rand McNally in 1895. The Atlas had details such as the population of the community (which appears to have come from the 1890 Census) and whether there was a post office and/or railroad service available. We also indicate if the community no longer exists and is now historic.<5>

The Rand McNally Atlas shows that Kankakee had a population of 9,025 people in 1895 with a post office and railroad service. In 2020, Kankakee had a population of 25,668 people.

These communities are listed based on their distance from Kankakee, with the one closest to Kankakee listed first.

  • Greenwich
    (3 miles [4.8 km] to the west)
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Greenwich have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Greenwich
    • Greenwich is located in Kankakee County
  • Otto
    (5 miles [8 km] to the south)
  • Exline
    (5 miles [8 km] to the northeast)
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Exline have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Exline
    • Exline is located in Kankakee County
  • Saint George
    (6 miles [9.7 km] to the northeast)
  • Irwin
    (7 miles [11.3 km] to the southwest)
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Irwin have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Irwin
    • Irwin is located in Kankakee County
    • Population from the 2020 Census: 71 people
  • Chebanse
    (8 miles [12.9 km] to the south)
  • Saint Anne
    (9 miles [14.5 km] to the southeast)
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Saint Anne have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Saint Anne
    • Saint Anne is located in Kankakee County
    • Population from the 2020 Census: 1,174 people
    • Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Saint Anne <2>
  • Koster
    (9 miles [14.5 km] to the east)
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Koster have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Koster
    • Koster is located in Kankakee County
  • Momence
    (10 miles [16.1 km] to the east)
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Momence have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Momence
    • Momence is located in Kankakee County
    • Population from the 2020 Census: 3,049 people
    • Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Momence <2>
  • Deselm
    (10 miles [16.1 km] to the northwest)
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Deselm have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Deselm
    • Deselm is located in Kankakee County
  • Bonfield
    (10 miles [16.1 km] to the west)
  • Goodrich
    (10 miles [16.1 km] to the west)
    • Note: We haven't been able to verify our GPS coordinates for Goodrich. Although the coordinates have been estimated, they should be in the vicinity.<3>
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Goodrich
    • Goodrich is located in Kankakee County
    • Google driving directions:
    • From your current location to Goodrich
    • From Kankakee to Goodrich
  • Continue List   (14 more) ...

We've also created an expanded list of communities that existed in the 1890's and were located in the area around Kankakee. See our List of 1890's Communities around Kankakee.

Newspapers Published in the Vicinity of Kankakee ...

An ongoing effort between the Library of Congress and the National Endowment for the Humanities (NEH) has resulted in the National Digital Newspaper Program (NDNP).

To share their results, the partnership has created the Chronicling America website. The goal of this partnership is to assemble a database about the current and historic newspapers of the United States. This includes a growing collection of scanned images from selected papers. All of it available to the public on their website.

Using information that we've taken from the Chronicling America website, we've identified 64 newspapers that have been published in the area around Kankakee.

We have organized these newspapers into two lists:

  • A Local Newspaper List - focusing on the papers published in the immediate area of Kankakee. There are actually two parts to this list - papers printed in the immediate area of Kankakee and those printed in the larger area surrounding Kankakee.
  • An Extended Newspaper List - a longer list, sorted by paper name and containing those papers published within 25 miles [40.2 km]<6> of Kankakee.

Websites to Help With Your Genealogy Research ...

When we do our genealogical research, we like to start with the websites from Cyndi's List, FamilySearch and Genealogy Trails. These helpful websites offer the information directly or else point to where you can find it. Their information is open to everyone.

To help you get started, the following links will take you to the pages that are relevant to Kankakee:

The official website for Kankakee: www.ci.kankakee.il.us/

The official website for Kankakee County: www.co.kankakee.il.us/

The official website for State of Illinois: https://illinois.gov

Footnotes ...

<1>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.
<2>While we're fans and frequent users of TripAdvisor, you should know that we're also members of the TripAdvisor affiliate program.
<3>An 'estimated' location is one where we have been given GPS coordinates, but are unable to verify the accuracy of those coordinates. That said, we have some confidence that we have placed the marker near the actual location. A typical reason for being unable to verify a location is that it might be on private property or maybe historic and gone without an obvious trace.
<4>The Find-a-Grave website is an excellent research tool with information about a cemetery's location and interments. They also offer a forum for their members which can provide additional help. More information about Find-a-Grave can be found on their website: findagrave.com.
<5>We use the term 'Historic' broadly and it generally means that the community no longer exists. However, it can also mean that the community might still exist, but was significantly larger or had a more 'official' existence in the past than it does now. Unfortunately our sources of data have proven to be unreliable. If you can provide us with more specific information about Kankakee, please let us know so that we can improve our accuracy.
<6>Our distances are not driving distances, but are calculated as a 'straight-line' distance. A straight line distance ignores things like rivers, canyons, lakes, et cetera - it's truly a line drawn from Point A (ie- Kankakee) to Point B.Our distance measurements begin at a specific point in Kankakee. The point we use is located at these GPS coordinates - Latitude: 41.1200, Longitude: -87.8598    









 

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This page was last modified/updated: 28 Apr 2025