Welcome to Potomac ...
The village of Potomac is located in Vermilion County<1>.
The pronunciation of Potomac: puh-TOH-mik<2>
While we don't have a date for the founding of Potomac, you might consider that their post office opened in 1871.
From the Census Estimates for 2019, Potomac has a population of 691 people<3> (see below for details).
Potomac is 670 feet [204 m] above sea level.<4>.
Time Zone: Potomac lies in the Central Time Zone (CST/CDT) and observes daylight saving time
Note: If you travel east from Potomac (for example, toward West Lebanon (IN)), you will leave Central Time and cross into the Eastern Time Zone (EST/EDT).
Area Codes for Potomac: 217 & 447<5>
The ZIP code for Potomac: 61865<6>
Population Details ...
Taken from the 2019 Census Estimates, Potomac had an population of 691 people. This is a decrease of 7.87% since the 2010 Census (or an increase of 1.47% since the 2000 Census).
At the time of the 2010 Census, Potomac had a population of 750 people. This makes Potomac the county's 10th most populous community.
With a 2010 count of 750 people, the population of Potomac increased 10.13% from the 2000 Census (which had a count of 681 people).
More information can be found on the Census Page for Potomac.
Communities Also Named Potomac ...
Using our Gazetteer, we found that there are 10 communities that are also named Potomac - they are located in Kansas, Maryland (2), Montana, Nevada, Virginia (3) and West Virginia (2).
For more information, see our Tidbits & Trivia Page for Potomac.
Communities near Potomac ...
We have created a list of 10 communities that are near Potomac.
- Danville
(15 miles [24.1 km] to the southeast)- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Danville
- Danville is located in Vermilion County
- Population from the 2020 Census: 30,106 people
- Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Danville <7>
- Rantoul
(18 miles [29 km] to the west)- Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Rantoul have been provided by the GNIS.<8> The coordinates still need to be verified.
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Rantoul
- Rantoul is located in Champaign County
- Population from the 2020 Census: 12,305 people
- Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Rantoul <7>
- Hoopeston
(12 miles [19.3 km] to the northeast)- Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Hoopeston have been provided by the GNIS.<8> The coordinates still need to be verified.
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Hoopeston
- Hoopeston is located in Vermilion County
- Population from the 2020 Census: 4,940 people
- Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Hoopeston <7>
- Paxton
(18 miles [29 km] to the northwest)- Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Paxton have been provided by the GNIS.<8> The coordinates still need to be verified.
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Paxton
- Paxton is located in Ford County
- Population from the 2020 Census: 4,117 people
- Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Paxton <7>
- Saint Joseph
(18 miles [29 km] to the southwest)- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Saint Joseph
- Saint Joseph is located in Champaign County
- Population from the 2020 Census: 3,800 people
- Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Saint Joseph <7>
- Westville
(19 miles [30.6 km] to the southeast)- Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Westville have been provided by the GNIS.<8> The coordinates still need to be verified.
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Westville
- Westville is located in Vermilion County
- Population from the 2020 Census: 2,913 people
- Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Westville <7>
- Tilton
(16 miles [25.7 km] to the southeast)- Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Tilton have been provided by the GNIS.<8> The coordinates still need to be verified.
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Tilton
- Tilton is located in Vermilion County
- Population from the 2020 Census: 2,655 people
- Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Tilton <7>
- Catlin
(17 miles [27.4 km] to the south)- Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Catlin have been provided by the GNIS.<8> The coordinates still need to be verified.
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Catlin
- Catlin is located in Vermilion County
- Population from the 2020 Census: 1,899 people
- Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Catlin <7>
- Oakwood
(13 miles [20.9 km] to the south)- Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Oakwood have been provided by the GNIS.<8> The coordinates still need to be verified.
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Oakwood
- Oakwood is located in Vermilion County
- Population from the 2020 Census: 1,460 people
- Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Oakwood <7>
- Rossville
(8 miles [12.9 km] to the northeast)- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Rossville
- Rossville is located in Vermilion County
- Population from the 2020 Census: 1,202 people
- Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Rossville <7>
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 Potomac. Our list includes the location of those cemeteries and we provide an overhead view. See our Cemetery List for Potomac.
Using the information from an 1895 Atlas, we've created a list of communities that were in the area of Potomac. 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 Potomac.
We also have a detailed list of newspapers that have been published in the area around Potomac. See our Newspapers Page for Potomac.
TripAdvisor Tourism Pages for Potomac ...
Looking for more information about Potomac? 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 Potomac, there are neighboring communities that also have Tourism pages. More information about those communities can be found on our TripAdvisor Page for Potomac.
Adding Potomac to Our Gazetteer ...
We originally found mention of Potomac 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 Potomac was in the document titled List of Post Offices from Cameron Blevins and Richard Helbock.<9>
X2X - From that list, the Potomac post office opened in 1871.
We also found Potomac on a map titled Rand McNally Map (1881).
For more details, see References and Mentions for Potomac.
Off-the-Road Links ...
Unfortunately, we don't know of a website for Potomac. If you can help, please contact us through our Feedback Page.
The official website for Vermilion County: www.co.vermilion.il.us/
The official website for State of Illinois: https://illinois.gov
Footnotes ...
| <1> | If you're interested in how the shape of Illinois' counties, including Vermilion, 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 Potomac. 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 Potomac. |
| <4> | The elevation is an estimate for the area around Potomac - it will be higher in some places and lower in others. |
| <5> | 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 Potomac area will be assigned with one of these codes: 217 or 447. As a result, placing a call in the Potomac area will require 10-digit dialing (where you enter both the area code and then the phone number). |
| <6> | 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 Potomac). When looking for a ZIP Code, whether Potomac or elsewhere, it's always best to check the website of the United States Postal Service (USPS). |
| <7> | While we're fans and frequent users of TripAdvisor, you should know that we're also members of the TripAdvisor affiliate program. |
| <8> | 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. |
| <9> | A copy of their list with background information can be found at: https://cblevins.github.io/us-post-offices/data-biography/ |