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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 Rantoul (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 Rantoul. 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.

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 northeast corner of their home county. During their lives, most hospitals and doctors were in the next county to the east. Almost all of the nearby churches and cemeteries were in the county to the north.

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 north 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.

Rantoul is located in Champaign County.

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 Champaign County: Douglas, Edgar, Ford, McLean, Piatt & Vermilion.

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

  • Champaign County     (The home county of Rantoul)
    • The following are listed by their distance from Rantoul, with the one closest to Rantoul listed first.
    • Prospect
      (3 miles [4.8 km] to the west)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Prospect
      • Prospect is located in Champaign County
    • Thomasboro
      (4 miles [6.4 km] to the southwest)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Thomasboro have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Thomasboro
      • Thomasboro is located in Champaign County
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 1,066 people
      • Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Thomasboro <2>
    • Gifford
      (6 miles [9.7 km] to the east)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Gifford have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Gifford
      • Gifford is located in Champaign County
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 1,035 people
      • Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Gifford <2>
    • Ludlow
      (6 miles [9.7 km] to the north)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Ludlow have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Ludlow
      • Ludlow is located in Champaign County
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 351 people
      • Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Ludlow <2>
    • Flatville
      (6 miles [9.7 km] to the southeast)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Flatville
      • Flatville is located in Champaign County
    • Dewey
      (6 miles [9.7 km] to the west)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Dewey have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Dewey
      • Dewey is located in Champaign County
      • Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Dewey <2>
    • Penfield
      (10 miles [16.1 km] to the east)
    • Fisher
      (10 miles [16.1 km] to the west)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Fisher have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Fisher
      • Fisher is located in Champaign County
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 1,911 people
      • Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Fisher <2>
    • Royal
      (12 miles [19.3 km] to the southeast)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Royal
      • Royal is located in Champaign County
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 273 people
      • Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Royal <2>
    • Champaign
      (13 miles [20.9 km] to the south)
    • Mayview
      (13 miles [20.9 km] to the south)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Mayview
      • Mayview is located in Champaign County
    • Lake of the Woods
      (13 miles [20.9 km] to the southwest)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Lake of the Woods have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Lake of the Woods
      • Lake of the Woods is located in Champaign County
  • De Witt County
    • The following are listed by their distance from Rantoul, with the one closest to Rantoul listed first.
    • Farmer City
      (25 miles [40.2 km] to the west)
    • Watkins
      (27 miles [43.5 km] to the west)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Watkins
      • Watkins is located in De Witt County
    • Parnell
      (30 miles [48.3 km] to the west)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Parnell
      • Parnell is located in De Witt County
  • Douglas County
    • The following are listed by their distance from Rantoul, with the one closest to Rantoul listed first.
    • Fairland
      (29 miles [46.7 km] to the south)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Fairland have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Fairland
      • Fairland is located in Douglas County
    • Villa Grove
      (30 miles [48.3 km] to the south)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Villa Grove
      • Villa Grove is located in Douglas County
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 2,414 people
  • Ford County
    • The following are listed by their distance from Rantoul, with the one closest to Rantoul listed first.
    • Paxton
      (11 miles [17.7 km] to the north)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Paxton have been provided by the GNIS.<1> 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 <2>
    • Elliott
      (12 miles [19.3 km] to the northwest)
    • Proctor
      (14 miles [22.5 km] to the northwest)
      • Note: We haven't been able to verify our GPS coordinates for Proctor. Although the coordinates have been estimated, they should be in the vicinity.<3>
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Proctor
      • Proctor is located in Ford County
    • Gibson City
      (16 miles [25.7 km] to the northwest)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Gibson City
      • Gibson City is located in Ford County
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 3,275 people
      • Gibson City has also been known as:
      • Gibson
      • Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Gibson City <2>
    • Melvin
      (19 miles [30.6 km] to the north)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Melvin have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Melvin
      • Melvin is located in Ford County
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 410 people
      • Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Melvin <2>
    • Garber
      (19 miles [30.6 km] to the northwest)
      • Note: We haven't been able to verify our GPS coordinates for Garber. Although the coordinates have been estimated, they should be in the vicinity.<3>
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Garber
      • Garber is located in Ford County
    • Roberts
      (21 miles [33.8 km] to the north)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Roberts have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Roberts
      • Roberts is located in Ford County
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 328 people
      • Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Roberts <2>
    • Sibley
      (22 miles [35.4 km] to the northwest)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Sibley have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Sibley
      • Sibley is located in Ford County
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 251 people
      • Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Sibley <2>
  • Iroquois County
    • The following are listed by their distance from Rantoul, with the one closest to Rantoul listed first.
    • Loda
      (15 miles [24.1 km] to the north)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Loda have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Loda
      • Loda is located in Iroquois County
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 396 people
      • Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Loda <2>
    • Buckley
      (21 miles [33.8 km] to the north)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Buckley have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Buckley
      • Buckley is located in Iroquois County
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 528 people
      • Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Buckley <2>
    • Cissna Park
      (22 miles [35.4 km] to the northeast)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Cissna Park have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Cissna Park
      • Cissna Park is located in Iroquois County
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 771 people
      • Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Cissna Park <2>
    • Thawville
      (25 miles [40.2 km] to the north)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Thawville have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Thawville
      • Thawville is located in Iroquois County
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 241 people
      • Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Thawville <2>
    • Claytonville
      (25 miles [40.2 km] to the northeast)
    • Del Rey
      (26 miles [41.8 km] to the north)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Del Rey
      • Del Rey is located in Iroquois County
    • Goodwine
      (26 miles [41.8 km] to the northeast)
    • Ridgeville
      (28 miles [45.1 km] to the north)
      • Note: We haven't been able to verify our GPS coordinates for Ridgeville. Although the coordinates have been estimated, they should be in the vicinity.<3>
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Ridgeville
      • Ridgeville is located in Iroquois County
    • Onarga
      (29 miles [46.7 km] to the north)
    • Wellington
      (29 miles [46.7 km] to the northeast)
    • Woodworth
      (29 miles [46.7 km] to the northeast)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Woodworth
      • Woodworth is located in Iroquois County
  • Livingston County
    • Strawn
      (27 miles [43.5 km] to the northwest)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Strawn have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Strawn
      • Strawn is located in Livingston County
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 92 people
      • Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Strawn <2>
  • McLean County
    • The following are listed by their distance from Rantoul, with the one closest to Rantoul listed first.
    • Bellflower
      (19 miles [30.6 km] to the west)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Bellflower have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Bellflower
      • Bellflower is located in McLean County
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 343 people
      • Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Bellflower <2>
    • Laurette
      (20 miles [32.2 km] to the west)
      • Note: We haven't been able to verify our GPS coordinates for Laurette. Although the coordinates have been estimated, they should be in the vicinity.<3>
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Laurette
      • Laurette is located in McLean County
    • Saybrook
      (21 miles [33.8 km] to the northwest)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Saybrook have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Saybrook
      • Saybrook is located in McLean County
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 679 people
      • Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Saybrook <2>
    • Kumler
      (22 miles [35.4 km] to the west)
      • Note: We haven't been able to verify our GPS coordinates for Kumler. Although the coordinates have been estimated, they should be in the vicinity.<3>
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Kumler
      • Kumler is located in McLean County
    • Glen Avon
      (23 miles [37 km] to the west)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Glen Avon
      • Glen Avon is located in McLean County
    • Anchor
      (27 miles [43.5 km] to the northwest)
    • Cropsey
      (27 miles [43.5 km] to the northwest)
    • Arrowsmith
      (27 miles [43.5 km] to the west)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Arrowsmith have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Arrowsmith
      • Arrowsmith is located in McLean County
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 275 people
      • Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Arrowsmith <2>
    • Colfax
      (30 miles [48.3 km] to the northwest)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Colfax have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Colfax
      • Colfax is located in McLean County
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 1,009 people
      • Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Colfax <2>
  • Piatt County
    • The following are listed by their distance from Rantoul, with the one closest to Rantoul listed first.
    • Mansfield
      (19 miles [30.6 km] to the west)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Mansfield have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Mansfield
      • Mansfield is located in Piatt County
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 939 people
      • Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Mansfield <2>
    • White Heath
      (24 miles [38.6 km] to the southwest)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for White Heath have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for White Heath
      • White Heath is located in Piatt County
      • Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for White Heath <2>
    • De Land
      (28 miles [45.1 km] to the southwest)
    • Monticello
      (28 miles [45.1 km] to the southwest)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Monticello have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Monticello
      • Monticello is located in Piatt County
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 5,557 people
      • Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Monticello <2>
  • Vermilion County
    • The following are listed by their distance from Rantoul, with the one closest to Rantoul listed first.
    • Armstrong
      (14 miles [22.5 km] to the east)
    • Rankin
      (17 miles [27.4 km] to the northeast)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Rankin have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Rankin
      • Rankin is located in Vermilion County
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 507 people
      • Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Rankin <2>
    • Potomac
      (18 miles [29 km] to the east)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Potomac have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Potomac
      • Potomac is located in Vermilion County
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 681 people
      • Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Potomac <2>
    • Collison
      (19 miles [30.6 km] to the east)
    • Fithian
      (19 miles [30.6 km] to the southeast)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Fithian have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Fithian
      • Fithian is located in Vermilion County
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 444 people
      • Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Fithian <2>
    • Muncie
      (20 miles [32.2 km] to the southeast)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Muncie have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Muncie
      • Muncie is located in Vermilion County
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 134 people
      • Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Muncie <2>
    • East Lynn
      (21 miles [33.8 km] to the northeast)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for East Lynn have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for East Lynn
      • East Lynn is located in Vermilion County
      • Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for East Lynn <2>
    • Newtown
      (22 miles [35.4 km] to the southeast)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Newtown
      • Newtown is located in Vermilion County
    • Henning
      (23 miles [37 km] to the east)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Henning have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Henning
      • Henning is located in Vermilion County
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 233 people
      • Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Henning <2>
    • Glenburn
      (23 miles [37 km] to the southeast)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Glenburn
      • Glenburn is located in Vermilion County
    • Oakwood
      (23 miles [37 km] to the southeast)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Oakwood have been provided by the GNIS.<1> 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 <2>
    • Belgium Row
      (24 miles [38.6 km] to the southeast)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Belgium Row
      • Belgium Row is located in Vermilion County

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

Cemeteries Near Rantoul ...

Below are cemeteries that are in the vicinity of Rantoul.

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 Rantoul covers a larger area, with the cemeteries listed in alphabetical order.

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

  • Elmwood Cemetery
    (Less than 2 miles to the northwest)
  • Eden Cemetery
    (Less than 2 miles to the north)
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for the Eden Cemetery
    • The Eden Cemetery has also been known as:
    • American Luthern Church Cemetery
  • Holy Sepulchre Cemetery
    (2 miles [3.2 km] to the east)
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for the Holy Sepulchre Cemetery
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for the Holy Sepulchre Cemetery have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
    • The Holy Sepulchre Cemetery has also been known as:
    • Catholic Cemetery
    • Rantoul Catholic Cemetery
    • Rantoul Holy Speulchre Cemetery
    • St. Malachy Cemetery
  • Maplewood Cemetery
    (2 miles [3.2 km] to the north)
  • Beckman Cemetery
    (4 miles [6.4 km] to the southeast)
  • Ludlow Cemetery
    (4 miles [6.4 km] to the north)
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for the Ludlow Cemetery
    • To give a relative sense of its location, the Ludlow Cemetery is a large cemetery that is located less than 2 miles<5> to the northeast of Ludlow.
    • Jump to Find-A-Grave: FG ID #106685 <4>
  • St. Elizabeth Cemetery
    (6 miles [9.7 km] to the southwest)
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for the St. Elizabeth Cemetery
    • The St. Elizabeth Cemetery has also been known as:
    • Immaculate Conception Cemetery
    • Thomasboro Catholic Cemetery
  • Battershell Cemetery
    (6 miles [9.7 km] to the south)
  • Huls Cemetery
    (6 miles [9.7 km] to the east)
  • Bethlehem Cemetery
    (8 miles [12.9 km] to the southwest)
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for the Bethlehem Cemetery
    • The Bethlehem Cemetery has also been known as:
    • German Lutheran Cemetery
  • Heater Cemetery
    (8 miles [12.9 km] to the south)
  • Huffman Cemetery
    (8 miles [12.9 km] to the northeast)
  • Continue List   (228 more) ...
    • Hall Cemetery
      (8 miles [12.9 km] to the northeast)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for the Hall Cemetery
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for the Hall Cemetery have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
    • Jersey Cemetery
      (9 miles [14.5 km] to the southwest)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for the Jersey Cemetery
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for the Jersey Cemetery have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • The Jersey Cemetery has also been known as:
      • Jersey Presbyterian Cemetery
    • Brownfield Cemetery
      (9 miles [14.5 km] to the south)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for the Brownfield Cemetery
      • The Brownfield Cemetery has also been known as:
      • Old Brownfield Cemetery

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.<6>

The Rand McNally Atlas shows that Rantoul had a population of 1,074 people in 1895 with a post office and railroad service. In 2020, Rantoul had a population of 12,305 people.

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

  • Prospect
    (3 miles [4.8 km] to the west)
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Prospect
    • Prospect is located in Champaign County
  • Thomasboro
    (4 miles [6.4 km] to the southwest)
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Thomasboro have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Thomasboro
    • Thomasboro is located in Champaign County
    • Population from the 2020 Census: 1,066 people
    • Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Thomasboro <2>
  • Dillsburg
    (4 miles [6.4 km] to the east)
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Dillsburg have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Dillsburg
    • Dillsburg is located in Champaign County
  • Tomlinson
    (4 miles [6.4 km] to the west)
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Tomlinson have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Tomlinson
    • Tomlinson is located in Champaign County
  • Flatville
    (6 miles [9.7 km] to the southeast)
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Flatville
    • Flatville is located in Champaign County
  • Gifford
    (6 miles [9.7 km] to the east)
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Gifford have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Gifford
    • Gifford is located in Champaign County
    • Population from the 2020 Census: 1,035 people
    • Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Gifford <2>
  • Ludlow
    (6 miles [9.7 km] to the north)
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Ludlow have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Ludlow
    • Ludlow is located in Champaign County
    • Population from the 2020 Census: 351 people
    • Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Ludlow <2>
  • Dewey
    (6 miles [9.7 km] to the west)
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Dewey have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Dewey
    • Dewey is located in Champaign County
    • Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Dewey <2>
  • Leverett
    (8 miles [12.9 km] to the south)
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Leverett have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Leverett
    • Leverett is located in Champaign County
  • Sellers
    (8 miles [12.9 km] to the south)
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Sellers have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Sellers
    • Sellers is located in Champaign County
  • Penfield
    (10 miles [16.1 km] to the east)
  • Fisher
    (10 miles [16.1 km] to the west)
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Fisher have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Fisher
    • Fisher is located in Champaign County
    • Population from the 2020 Census: 1,911 people
    • Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Fisher <2>
  • Continue List   (14 more) ...
    • Paxton
      (11 miles [17.7 km] to the north)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Paxton have been provided by the GNIS.<1> 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 <2>
    • Royal
      (12 miles [19.3 km] to the southeast)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Royal
      • Royal is located in Champaign County
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 273 people
      • Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Royal <2>
    • Elliott
      (12 miles [19.3 km] to the northwest)

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

Newspapers Published in the Vicinity of Rantoul ...

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 213 newspapers that have been published in the area around Rantoul.

We have organized these newspapers into two lists:

  • A Local Newspaper List - focusing on the papers published in the immediate area of Rantoul. There are actually two parts to this list - papers printed in the immediate area of Rantoul and those printed in the larger area surrounding Rantoul.
  • An Extended Newspaper List - a longer list, sorted by paper name and containing those papers published within 28 miles [45.1 km]<5> of Rantoul.

Websites to Help With Your Genealogy Research ...

When we do our genealogical research, we begin with the websites from Cyndi's List, FamilySearch and Genealogy Trails. These 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 Rantoul:

The official website for Rantoul: www.village.rantoul.il.us/

The official website for Champaign County: www.co.champaign.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>Our distances are not driving distances, but are calculated as a 'straight-line' distance. A straight line distance ignores obstructions like rivers, canyons, lakes, et cetera - it's truly a line from Point A (ie- Rantoul) to Point B.Our distance measurements begin at a specific point in Rantoul. The point we use is located at these GPS coordinates - Latitude: 40.3024, Longitude: -88.1535       In this case, the coordinates for Rantoul have been provided by the Geographic Names Information System (GNIS).
<6>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 Rantoul, please let us know so that we can improve our accuracy.




 

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This page was last modified/updated: 28 Apr 2025