RoadsideThoughts
A Gazetteer for the United States and Canada
Home >> State of Illinois >> Douglas County >> MurdockIndex...

Welcome to Murdock ...

Murdock is located in Douglas County<1>.

The pronunciation of Murdock: MUHR-dok<2>

While we don't have a date for the founding of Murdock, you might consider that their post office opened in 1874.

Murdock is 640 feet [195 m] above sea level.<3>.

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

Note: If you travel east from Murdock (for example, toward Dana (IN)), you will leave Central Time and cross into the Eastern Time Zone (EST/EDT).

Area Codes for Murdock: 217 & 447<4>

The ZIP code for Murdock: 61941<5>

Communities Also Named Murdock ...

Using our Gazetteer, we found that there are 13 communities that are also named Murdock - they are located in Florida, Indiana, Kansas (2), Louisiana, Minnesota, Nebraska, New Mexico, Ohio, Pennsylvania, Utah (2) and Washington.

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

Communities near Murdock ...

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

  • Tuscola
    (10 miles [16.1 km] to the west)
  • Tolono
    (16 miles [25.7 km] to the northwest)
    • Tolono is located in Champaign County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Tolono
    • Population from the 2020 Census: 3,349 people
    • Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Tolono <6>
  • Arcola
    (14 miles [22.5 km] to the southwest)
  • Villa Grove
    (6 miles [9.7 km] to the northwest)
    • Villa Grove is located in Douglas County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Villa Grove
    • Population from the 2020 Census: 2,414 people
  • Philo
    (14 miles [22.5 km] to the north)
    • Philo is located in Champaign County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Philo
    • Population from the 2020 Census: 1,378 people
    • Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Philo <6>
  • Sidney
    (15 miles [24.1 km] to the north)
    • Sidney is located in Champaign County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Sidney
    • Population from the 2020 Census: 1,172 people
    • Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Sidney <6>
  • Homer
    (17 miles [27.4 km] to the north)
    • Homer is located in Champaign County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Homer
    • Population from the 2020 Census: 1,143 people
    • Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Homer <6>
  • Oakland
    (10 miles [16.1 km] to the south)
  • Newman
    (4 miles [6.4 km] to the east)
  • Ashmore
    (18 miles [29 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 Murdock. Our list includes the location of those cemeteries and we provide an overhead view. See our Cemetery List for Murdock.

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

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

TripAdvisor Tourism Pages for Murdock ...

Looking for more information about Murdock? 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 Murdock, there are neighboring communities that also have Tourism pages. More information about those communities can be found on our TripAdvisor Page for Murdock.

Adding Murdock to Our Gazetteer ...

We originally found mention of Murdock 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 (so far) for Murdock was in the document titled List of Post Offices from Cameron Blevins and Richard Helbock.<7>

From that list, the Murdock post office opened in 1874.

For more details, see References and Mentions for Murdock.

Footnotes ...

<1>If you're interested in how the shape of Illinois' counties, including Douglas, 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 Murdock. 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>The elevation is an estimate for the area around Murdock - it will be higher in some places and lower in others.
<4>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 Murdock area will be assigned with one of these codes: 217 or 447. As a result, placing a call in the Murdock area will require 10-digit dialing (where you enter both the area code and then the phone number).
<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 community (such as Murdock). When looking for a ZIP Code, whether Murdock 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>A copy of the Blevins & Helbock Post Office list with background information can be found at:

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